VaHigherEd.com

The Chancellor’s campus safety taskforce held its final public hearing last night at Virginia Western Community College.

Though the meeting had fewer attendees than the other meetings, the conversation was full of interesting thoughts and good suggestions on issues ranging from firearms on campus to the usage and limitations of technology to the physical campus environment.

A Radford man, whose daughter graduated from Virginia Tech last year and was on campus during the shootings last April, urged the panel to allow people to be armed on campus.  “It’s foolish to think a gun-free zone can protect anyone.  It only emboldens predators,” he said.

His sentiments were shared by another man from Bristol - a Virginia community college graduate and a law school candidate.  He also spoke about the limitations of technology.  “Few people understand how many points of failure exists in technology,” he said.  “Are you considering simple solutions, like adding more responders on campus?”

Dr. Cherly Thompson Stacy, the president of Eastern Shore Community College and a panel co-chair agreed.  “I lived through Hurricane Katrina, ” she said.  “We had no technology.  We had no power.  Things become basic quickly in that situation.”

Attendees and panel members also talked about preparedness training for faculty, staff and students.  They also talked about reviewing the physical characteristics of campus, like lighting and landscaping, to ensure safety.  And they touched on the federal requirements now in place to ensure that campus crime statistics are reported accurately.

The taskforce will continue to take comments through its dedicated email address:  myvoice@vccs.edu.

They are scheduled to present their report to the State Board in January 2008.

Posted by Jeff Kraus