Updated 01/10/2008 03:10 PM
Task force offers school safety advice
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RALEIGH -- Since the Virginia Tech massacre in April that killed 32 people, North Carolina colleges and universities have been concerned about improving safety. That’s why Attorney General Roy Cooper formed the Campus Safety Task Force to study how campuses can better prevent and prepare for possible dangerous situations.
"It is important to feel safe because it makes me learn better in a safe environment,” said Sheranae Myers, a junior at Peace College.
The Campus Safety Task Force came up with 11 suggestions to prevent violence and protect campuses.
"Your recommendations regarding campus threat assessments and guidance about student privacy laws can prevent violence,” said Cooper.
The Task Force says each school should have emergency plans and train students and faculty for times of crises.
"To make sure that we're constantly reassessing threats and looking for gaps in those plans is just really key,” explained Peace College president Laura Bingham
Bingham says communication is the most important thing, and the Task Force recommends each school has multiple ways to alert students of emergencies.
"You just never know where your campus community is going to be and when an incident is going to occur,” said Candice Johnston, the dean of students at Peace College.
"Maybe trying a little more personal communication or maybe handing out a weekly reminder to everybody, hey, here are some things you need to keep in mind,” said Jen Dunstan, a Peace College junior, when asked what she thinks might get students’ attention.
The group also stresses that colleges have teams that can monitor faculty and students who may be potential threats.
"I think a lot of what students need is a relationship or for students to know students care about them prevents more than people think,” added Anne Gordon, a resident director at Peace College.
Attorney General Cooper has one suggestion for the state legislature:
"People with severe and dangerous mental illness shouldn't be able to buy a gun and it's as simple as that,” Cooper stressed.
1. Campuses should establish threat assessment teams.
2. Campus administrators and mental health professionals should be provided accurate guidance about student privacy laws.
3. N.C. should prohibit those who have been involuntarily committed from purchasing guns by reporting this information to the National Instant Background Check System.
4. Campuses should adopt emergency plans that integrate into the National Incident Management System.
5. Campuses should enter into mutual aid agreements or MOUs with key partners where relevant.
6. Campuses should practice and regularly update their emergency plans.
7. Campuses should educate and train faculty, staff, and students as part of their emergency plans.
8. Campuses should adopt multiple, redundant notification systems and rigorously evaluate such systems.
9. Campuses should partner with local law enforcement and first responders to ensure interoperable communications.
10. Campuses should incorporate victim counseling services in their emergency plans and establish a system of regular briefings for victims' families.
11. The State should establish a Center for Campus Safety to coordinate training programs, hold an annual summit, and share "best practices" information.