BY TANAJA CAMPBELL
VN SPECIAL WRITER
The sound of an AK-47 letting off a flurry of rounds in the first-floor hallway of Briggs Building is a sound that no professor or student wants to hear.
But should it happen, the Department of Public Safety has a plan of action.
The department has issued its Emergency Preparations Report and Response Plan, which details important information pertaining to policies and procedures for emergency situations.
The report deals with crisis situations such as active shooters, bomb threats, chemical spills, elevator malfunctions and more.
When asked by The Varsity News what they would do in an active-shooter situation on campus, students offered a range a replies, including hiding, barricading classroom doors and exiting through windows.
Although most students haven’t read the public safety report, their actions for an active shooter crisis pretty much aligned with the written procedures in the university’s report.
The major concern when it comes to safety is a potential bombing or shooting attack.
“It’s always in the back of my mind that someone could enter campus and just start shooting,” said freshman Jorge Reyna, 18.
However, he said that he “feels safer on this campus since it is a gated community.”
The university provides a link to emergency preparedness on the college website.
Three steps are suggested to prepare for on-campus emergencies.
The first step is to review the response plan and learn different routes on campus, whether it be in specific buildings or to the parking lot.
Public Safety has created an “ABC” to help you prepare for emergencies.
The A stands for assessing the situation, determining whether to evacuate the building.
B means that before doing anything, you should visually note surroundings for hazards.
Lastly, C stands for calling public safety and reporting the incident.
Department officials also suggest that students use the RAVE alert system, which sends “immediate notification of imminent threats or serious danger involved as determined by the Public Safety and the Emergency Response team.”
The alert system texts your cell phone.
Emergency information can be seen at the Public Safety website.
