By Peter Reuell/Daily News staff The MetroWest Daily News Posted Apr 16, 2008 @ 12:33 AM ASHLAND — A year after the shooting massacre that left 33 people dead at Virginia Tech, security remains a concern on local college campuses.
On campuses from Framingham to Franklin, officials said, the aftershocks of the shooting - and a more recent incident at Northern Illinois University, which left five others dead - are still being felt.
After the April 16, 2007, killings at Virginia Tech, many schools quickly re-evaluated their security plans, particularly their ability to communicate with faculty and staff in a crisis.
At many, including Framingham State College, the solution was to install a system that allows administrators to send emergency messages by phone and computer to the entire campus at the touch of a button.
"You learn from the incident, and it allows you to, perhaps, make changes in your own systems," said Framingham State spokesman Peter Chisholm.
The school later this month plans to finish installing a siren that will alert students, faculty and staff to campuswide emergencies.
"At every college or university campus in the country, I'm sure, the president and public safety administrators sat down and reviewed what they had in place, and what improvements they could make," Chisholm said.
The incident that sparked those meetings happened a year ago today in Blacksburg, Va.
Just after 7 a.m., disturbed Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho killed two students in a dormitory, then went on a shooting rampage in a classroom building, eventually killing 32 people and himself.
At Massachusetts Bay Community College in Wellesley, administrators are close to installing a campuswide notification system similar to Framingham State's. They have held numerous meetings to review the school's crisis policies.
"There's a method or protocol for just about every situation that could arise on campus," said Lisa Cascio, the school's director of communications and public affairs. "When something like this happens, every campus across the country feels vulnerable."
Along with an emergency communications system, Franklin's Dean College officials rely on an emergency alarm, which alerts everyone on campus to emergencies.
"We've trained everybody to know - students, faculty and staff - if you hear that alarm, that means check your text messages," said Pat Samson, director of public relations and communications.
"I think incidents like these, it's not that it raised the priority. I think it refocused attention," she added. "We want to make sure everything is up to date.
"I think it sharpens the focus. (Safety) is in the top three things, so it's always on the minds of the college's administrators, and the families and the students. When these events happen, things just come more sharply into focus."
(Peter Reuell can be reached at 508-626-4428 or preuell@cnc.com.)
Posted by: dgold127
The Va. Tech. community will be in my thoughts and prayers today. I can't begin to imagine how difficult it must have been for them to make it through that trying time.
It's unfortunate that it took such a tragedy to open the eyes of the administrations across the country. It is nearly impossible to prevent this from ever happening again, so we all need to make sure we are prepared to react quickly and effectively should a similar incident occur on our campus.
Take your training seriously and never let yourself fall into the "it won't happen here" mentality. Be safe.
Posted by: mpd61
Yeah remember when you hear those sirens!!!!! Whipout your LG phone and wait breathlessly for those text messages to arrive and make you bullet-proof! Absolute garbage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: rg1283
Go into the president's safe room, its the Bathroom closest!!!
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops
About MassCops, the home for Massachusetts law enforcement.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network opened in 1998 and is now a part of the New England Police Network The site is a pro-police discussion forum intended for sworn police officers and civilian law enforcement officials as well as those interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement here in Massachusetts.
The goal of The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network is to provide an informal network of law enforcement officials here in Massachusetts for educational and informational purposes.
The forum covers many topics such as Police Related News Articles, Agency & Profession Discussions, Police Training as well as Law Enforcement Career Information.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network and The New England Police Network (NEPN) and it's network sites are privately owned websites/domains and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any government association or agency.
MassCops (masscops.com) and (masscop.com) are privately owned are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (masscop.org)
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops