FSU Shooting Raises Questions About Safety On College Campuses Nationwide
A gunman walked into a Florida library full of college students studying for exams and opened fire, hitting three students. When police arrived they fatally shot the gunman. The incident occurred at Florida State University in Tallahassee one week before Thanksgiving.
Guns are prohibited on Miami Dade College campuses, but the shooting has left some wondering if a similar tragedy could happen here.
“I don’t feel safe on campus because campuses are very open and lack good security,” said Laura Quesada an English major at Kendall Campus.
The organization Everytown For Gun Safety reports that since the Dec. 2012 shooting in Newtown, CT, there have been at least 92 school shootings in America. About half occurred at colleges.
Many students are unsure of what to do if someone used a gun with intent to kill on campus.
“I honestly don’t know if MDC has an active shooter plan, but they should have one just in case,” said Jennifer Navas a computer information system major.
Tony Bradley, the director of Emergency Preparedness at MDC said in case of an incident like the FSU shooting, students should follow the Run-Hide-Fight protocols established by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He means students should Get Out (Run), Hide Out (Hide), and Act Out (Fight). He also wants students, faculty and staff to be proactive by adopting the national campaign of “see something – say something”where if a person sees something suspicious taking place, they report it to local law enforcement or in the case of emergency call 911. In many shooter incidents, like in Tallahassee, the perpetrator showed signs of mental health issues before the actual event. Experts say family, friends and co-workers should recognize these changes and report the information to the proper authorities.
“Miami Dade College has a college-wide Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) that outlines the planning factors we take for an all-hazards environment, to include active shooter incidents,” Bradley said.
The College has a District-level Crisis Management Team. All campuses also have an appointed and trained Crisis Management Team that oversees all emergency responses at their campus. In addition, each campus has an Emergency Operation Plan (EOP) that follows the planning factors contained in the CEMP.
The College has collaborated with the county police to organize situational awareness training on what he calls dangerous subjects or active shooters. Bradley has also organized 14 workshops that trained more than 150 faculty and staff on what to do in the case of an active shooter.
But the emergency plan is not clear to some.
“You most likely get your cell phone, call 911 and get the hell out of campus,” said Pat Jones, the Honors College secretary at Kendall Campus.
A smartphone app called In Case of Crisis allows for incident reporting, push notifications, and the ability to build and support multiple safety plans.
But most college students understand that there is no way to completely protect a campus from a shooter intent on causing harm.
“I think shootings can happen anywhere, but I’m not too worried because I’m pretty sure I could disarm them,” said Sarah Comettant an Engineering student at Wolfson Campus.
