Task force recommends safety measures

By Campbell Massie

Published Aug. 24, 2007

Communication between all levels involved when making emergency plans on college campuses should be improved, a final report from a safety task force states.

The statewide Missouri Campus Security Task Force, assembled by Gov. Matt Blunt, released a report Aug. 21 detailing its recommendations for making Missouri's campuses safer.

"Campuses are viewed as relatively safe places, causing occupants to feel as if they are in a 'bubble' where they are immune from bad things happening," the task force's final report stated.

On April 16, Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 of his fellow classmates at Virginia Tech and wounded 25 others before turning the gun on himself. The task force was formed in the wake of these events.

The task force was composed of 29 members from different areas that would respond in case of an emergency, including MU Police Chief Jack Watring and Chuck Witt, Columbia Fire Department assistant fire chief. The task force took testimony from students, concerned individuals and Virginia state police, who responded to the events at Virginia Tech. The task force did not focus solely on situations involving a shooter, but instead on all hazards, natural or otherwise. The focus of the report was to generally decide "what were the best practices and things that colleges and universities could do to make them safer," Witt said.

The final report stressed that communication between all levels involved when making emergency plans should be improved. From a fire department standpoint, Witt said they should "be at the table when they are exercising that plan, so we know each other before the incident and we work together though the entire process."

The plan also called for each campus to designate someone as a both an organizer and a point of contact for all levels involved. This person would be in charge of setting up emergency plans, helping bridge the gap between government, campuses and first responders and making sure that chief executives on all sides have appropriate training. FEMA will offer training in National Incident Management System and Incident Command System for senior staff members to prepare them for an emergency.

Members of the task force felt it was of the utmost importance to make sure leaders knew procedures, but campuses cannot leave out the students and faculty in emergency education. The report suggested more education about emergency programs should be included in orientation or year-long programs. It was suggested that professors add emergency plans to syllabi in case an emergency happens within the class. The report suggested that campuses find some way to alert students and faculty in case of emergency.

The report also suggested constant mental health care be available for all students in order to prevent a situation such as Virginia Tech.

The final report agrees that all recommendations cannot be instated equally at every school because different schools have different needs.

But for another large state school like MU, events like those at Virginia Tech hit close to home.

"Due to the size and complexity of the university, which resembles a small city, it is vital that we have the proper procedures and training in place in the event of an emergency," MU Chancellor Brady Deaton said in a news release accompanying the report.

MU Police Chief Jack Watring was not available for comment on how situations will change to adapt to the recommendations, but Deaton said he was "pleased to note that we have already incorporated many of the Task Force's recommendations in our emergency plans."