Area colleges ready to handle attacks
Higher education officials throughout the Upper Ohio Valley believe they are prepared to handle an emergency situation similar to the stabbing that resulted in multiple injuries at Ohio State University on Monday.
“Franciscan University of Steubenville is committed to providing the safest possible environment for our campus community,” said John Pizzuti, director of campus safety and compliance at the university.
“Our emergency preparedness plan includes procedures and responses to handle a wide range of emergency situations and natural disasters. We continually evaluate our security and emergency measures and update the plan as necessary,” he noted.
And officials with Eastern Gateway Community College explained there is a multi-component campus security plan in place on the campus in Steubenville.
“Primary to this plan is reiterating the concept of ‘See something, say something,'” said EGCC President Jimmie Bruce.
“If students and employees are trained to be vigilant in their observance of their surroundings and relationships with and between students and employees, then often we can identify problems early and intervene before the situation reaches a crisis stage. If the college finds itself at a crisis stage, employees have been trained in the concept of ‘Run, Hide, Fight,'” he noted.
“This concept helps employees and students understand that they need to always be aware of their surroundings, such as escape routes; if they cannot flee, then they need to identify in advance places where they can hide and items that can be used as barricades to add a layer of protection; and only if there is no other choice do employees or students plan to fight an offender — this requires identifying in advance items that can be used as a weapon. Only by running these scenarios through you head in advance can an employee or student create the muscle memory to act during a crisis,” he said.
He added that just as Ohio State has “Buckeye Alerts,” EGCC utilizes a system called “SNAP” to keep students and employees alerted as to threats on or around the campus.
Across the river, West Liberty University Police Chief Joseph Montemurro noted the campus police there are very experienced. “And we train for these type of incidents regularly. We are focused on safety, and our No. 1 concern will always be student well-being. We plan to continue our training with staff and students throughout the year,” he said.
Montemurro and university spokeswoman Maureen Zambito said the school uses the Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate training method, which Zambito said is similar to the U.S. Department of Education’s “Run, Hide, Fight” initiative, referenced in the response at Ohio State.
“West Liberty University prepares for disasters and possible incidents of all sorts throughout the year and its critical incident response team meets monthly to discuss and prepare for any possible problem that might occur on campus, from natural disasters to active shooter situations,” Zambito added.
Bethany College spokeswoman Rebecca Rose said the institution’s emergency management plan addresses numerous scenarios that could lead to problems.
“The college would utilize our emergency alert texting system, social media and the college website to provide emergency information to the Bethany community” in the event of an attack, she said. “Additionally, the college can broadcast verbal instructions to the campus via an emergency call box system that has recently been installed on our campus.”
College officials implemented the system when a man was reported entering the Sigma Nu fraternity house, not far from the Bethany campus, with a loaded 12-gauge shotgun on the morning of Aug. 16.
The uninvited visitor and another man left the house without saying much, according to a man and woman there at the time. The Brooke County Sheriff’s Department, called to the scene, found the shotgun but haven’t been able to identify the two.
Don Kaminski, director of human resources at Wheeling Jesuit University, said officials were dismayed by what took place in Columbus on Monday, but believed those at his institution are prepared to address such an emergency.
“We are stunned and saddened by the happenings at Ohio State. We pray that all the injured make a full recovery and hope the community is able to heal from this senseless act of violence,” he said.
“In the hope of preventing such an act on its own campus, Wheeling Jesuit holds mandatory, annual training for employees and students. The training is to educate them on what to do in the event of emergency situations on campus, including active shooter training, campus Security Director Steve Habursky added. “We work hand in hand with Wheeling police and fire, as well as the Ohio County sheriff, on training exercises for our employees. We held a comprehensive tabletop active shooter training last spring that included area law enforcement, fire, hospital and university personnel.”
Robert DeFrancis, spokesman for West Virginia Northern Community College, said the school can handle emergencies at its campuses in Wheeling, Weirton and New Martinsville.
“Information on how to access staff in case of emergencies is updated consistently and security drills are scheduled every year on all three campuses. Safety training exercises are undertaken on all campuses. In addition, the college has invested funds in a system for securing doors on campus buildings in which all students and employees are using an ID card system to enter buildings. There are security cameras on all campuses,” he said.
E.J. Schodzinski, director of external affairs for Ohio University Eastern, said there are shooter training sessions every year to prepare the college community for an emergency.
“We also realize that quick communication is of the utmost importance in emergency situations. As a result, the campus is prepared to text message our entire campus community pertinent information in a matter of seconds. We have also developed a very good working relationship with our first responders, which includes the Ohio State Highway Patrol and other local county agencies,” he said.
Paul F. Gasparro, president of Belmont College, said the institution’s proximity to the Belmont County Sheriff’s Department office provides it an advantage in terms of security.
“Each semester our safety and security procedures (are) distributed electronically to all students and employees, as well as a link to the Ohio State University’s ‘Run, Hide, Fight’ video about what to do during an active shooter incident,” he said. “Furthermore, Belmont uses a mass notification system called ‘BeAlert’ which is designed to notify all students and staff of campus emergencies and weather related closings.
“This system sends out texts, e-mails, and voice messages to keep the Belmont College community updated in the event of emergency situations. Through the BeConnected initiative, where every Belmont student receives an iPad, students are able to receive these messages directly through e-mail,” Gasparro continued.
(City Editor Jody Wisbith contributed to this story.)
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