Did Virginia Tech adequately notify students and the surrounding community about a gunman on campus Monday? The initial answer is no. Those who criticize the school for the methods ? e-mail ? and timing ? authorities sent the first notice two hours after the first shooting ? of communicating with students are right to ask tough questions.
What is clear is that all schools must design and test reasonable plans not only to protect students but to establish how to reach as many as possible and educate them about emergency procedures. Officials admit they did not sound a general alarm immediately after the first murders because they “had information” that the killer had fled campus. That is negligent. They should have instantly warned the entire area about the gunman.
Recommended Stories
The University of Maryland posted its emergency procedures online with a message from the president about the shooting. All of the state?s universities should make procedures and phone numbers and other useful information available online at a well-known emergency Web site and post the address around campus. In this era, the Internet is often the best way to contact people. But it must not be the only way.
At Towson University 15,500 students of the nearly 19,000 enrolled live off campus. Reports show 11,000 students were driving into campus at Virginia Tech for classes the morning of the shooting. E-mail would not work for those already in cars unless everyone had a mobile e-mail device. A blast text message to students? cell phones might be something to consider, as almost everyone carries one. That would require knowing cell phone information if schools do not already collect it. Coordinating with local police and news media to blast emergency messages over airwaves and Web sites makes sense. So do emergency hotline numbers like one Johns Hopkins and other schools use.
Every university differs in terms of its size, but coordinating a state-wide forum on best safety and emergency response practices is something for area universities and high schools to consider. Plans must include communicating with citizens off campus.
Despite the perception that such events are on the rise, they remain extremely rare. That?s little comfort for the families and friends of those killed and wounded by Cho Seung-Hui. But it should give local schools the peace of mind to craft a comprehensive plan to protect their students ? and while they are at it, their communities.
