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ASUWT acting vice president Marc Johnson writes down his thoughts in a memorial book sent to Virginia Tech. Following the tragedy, UWT showed sympathy and solidarity by hosting two seperate memorials.

In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, universities all over the country have been forced to review their individual campus security plans, and the University of Washington Tacoma is no different.

“Since the incident, we’ve taken the opportunity to look at our tactical plan,” UWT Vice Chancellor of Administrative Services Ysabel Trinidad said.

One of the primary issues that raise concern for the safety of students, staff and faculty is the university’s urban location – the middle of downtown Tacoma.

“Crimes that we have on campus tend to be crimes against property, not people,” UWT Chancellor Patricia Spakes said.

Is a lockdown the answer?

Following the shootings, many colleges around the country began looking at campus lockdown capability as a possible solution to what happened at Virginia Tech, according to Spakes.

According to the current campus emergency action plan, located on the university Web site, a campus lockdown can only be made “if there is a serious risk or danger to the staff, faculty, and students of the UWT from an armed or dangerous person on campus.”

The decision to lock down the campus is made locally by Spakes. If Spakes is not available, that decision would fall to Trinidad.

In the event that a lockdown order is made, Campus Security currently has the authority to automatically lock most of the outside building doors at UWT within seconds, theoretically keeping would-be assailants out and other people safe inside.

Each department on campus would then be notified of the lockdown by use of a phone chain, or the public address system – in buildings that have one.

Spakes worries that a reliance on a security plan centered on a lockdown capability might send the wrong message.

“I don’t believe that having lockdown capability is the solution to the problem…it might lull campuses into a false sense of security,” Spakes said.

For example, Spakes explained, in a lockdown situation, people fleeing from a perpetrator would not be able to enter buildings and get to a safe location.

“You’re basically creating a shooting gallery,” Spakes said.

Spakes has asked Trinidad to come up with guidelines and parameters to preclude a lockdown of the campus, weighing the risks to students, staff and faculty.

The decision of whether an incident rises to the level of locking down the campus depends on a number of factors, according to Trinidad.

The only lockdown in the university’s history happened a few years ago following a bank robbery. Trinidad points to the seriousness of the act as a reason for the lockdown.

“[A lockdown] is one tool in a variety of tools that you want to have available,” Spakes said. “Since we’ve had some experience with it, we know that we would have to make the decision to use a lockdown knowing that it creates some other consequences that we’d have to be willing to live with.”

Mobilization and communication

Because of the university’s urban setting, there are a number of unique challenges that have to be addressed in the event of a lockdown situation.

If the decision is made to mobilize, it is imperative to get that information out “as quickly as possible,” Trinidad said. “When do we notify the campus community, how do we do it, and what do we say?”

Spakes said that administration reviewed policies at UWT after the perceived failure of Virginia Tech authorities to properly communicate with faculty, staff and students before and during the shooting.

In the aftermath, several faculty and staff members offered up their own solutions to the question, “What if it happened here?”

“People literally stayed up all night coming up with solutions,” Spakes said.

Text messaging could be one way for the university to get the word out to students, staff and faculty in the event of an emergency. Computer Support Analyst Kris Symer came up with the initial idea for the text messaging plan, which would allow administration officials to send out the messages.

Those interested in receiving the messages could sign up on the UWT Web page, Symer said.

“In an urban campus, where people are driving on and driving off, text messaging may be the only way to reach students and tell them not to come on campus,” Spakes said.

Other communications tools include the possible addition of more blue emergency phones across campus, Trinidad noted.

Reaching out

After the shootings at Virginia Tech, staff and faculty began hearing concerns from students regarding their safety on campus, Spakes said, adding that many of those concerns came from the freshman class. In response, members of the university began visiting freshmen classes.

“They’re basically a captive audience,” Derek Levy, interim associate vice chairman for Student Affairs said. “We want to let them know what resources are available to them.”

If students need someone to talk to, or if they have concerns about another student, they can take advantage of the UWT Student Counseling Center. Problems and concerns may be dealt with on a formal or informal basis, depending on the situation, Levy said.

Formal steps include involving campus security, an ombudsman, the Tacoma Police Department, or a personal attorney. Informally, students can be asked to work the problem out together or they may decide that no action is necessary.

But again, much like the lockdown decision, there are no hard and fast rules on when a situation calls for any of these steps – it all depends on the level of concern, Levy said.

Analyst Kris Symer came up with the initial idea for the text messaging plan, which would allow administration officials to send out the messages.

Those interested in receiving the messages could sign up on the UWT Web page, Symer said.

“In an urban campus, where people are driving on and driving off, text messaging may be the only way to reach students and tell them not to come on campus,” Spakes said.

Other communications tools include the possible addition of more blue emergency phones across campus, Trinidad noted.

Reaching out

After the shootings at Virginia Tech, staff and faculty began hearing concerns from students regarding their safety on campus, Spakes said, adding that many of those concerns came from the freshman class. In response, members of the university began visiting freshmen classes.

“They’re basically a captive audience,” Derek Levy, interim associate vice chairman for Student Affairs said. “We want to let them know what resources are available to them.”

If students need someone to talk to, or if they have concerns about another student, they can take advantage of the UWT Student Counseling Center or Student Affairs. Problems and concerns may be dealt with on a formal or informal basis, depending on the situation, Levy said.

Formal steps include involving campus security, an ombudsman, the Tacoma Police Department, or a personal attorney.

Informally, students can be asked to work the problem out together or they may decide that no action is necessary.

But again, much like the lockdown decision, there are no hard and fast rules on when a situation calls for any of these steps – it all depends on the level of concern, Levy said.

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