Illustration by Jared Andrews

MUW will be taking further campus security measures in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shooting.

The federal government began pushing legislation after Virginia Tech in favor of increasing security at universities around the nation and has highly recommended that schools participate. The proposed program is currently referred to as the Incident Report Database, where administrators will track ‘troubled’ students on campus. Another safety measure, which is being executed at the local level, involved MUW Police signing an agreement with the Columbus City Police to develop security plans to be used in the event of an emergency. These programs follow last years’ Emergency Text Messaging System, instituted last October, which serves to alert students via cell phone if there is a campus emergency and what action to take.

A governmental focus group has been trying to identify a way to ‘link’ possibly dangerous behaviors in students and make administrators aware so they can take actions to help. “One of the issues identified after the tragedy at Virginia Tech had to do with the fact that “troubled” students may send out signals (cries for help) in various ways...but, because of the nature of university communities, often no one office or person “puts the pieces together” to step in with assistance that may prevent personal injury or injury to others,” said Sandra Jordan, Vice President of Academic Affairs/Provost.

At Virginia Tech, Seung-Hui Cho exhibited ‘dangerous’ behaviors that were observed by multiple people on campus. Cho's English teacher noticed disturbing thoughts displaying possible mental illness in his papers, his roommate was aware of his abnormal behavior, he had been reprimanded by the college for stalking women on campus, and the health center knew he was unstable and on medication. But the VT administration was not aware of all of these events together. This is the basis for the Database system. “Had [administration] been aware, a trained professional could have stepped-in to provided Cho with assistance...and possibly saved the 32 innocent lives that were killed on April 16th...as well as the life of the shooter,” said Jordan.

“Under federal guidelines, all universities have been asked to determine a way to ‘link’ the actions,” said Jordan. “Of course, we want to do all we can to make sure that our campus is safe and that we are stepping in where it may be needed to assist troubled students.”

What constitutes a ‘troubled’ student? According to Jordan, “The term ‘troubled’ is a term used by mental health professionals, and in the university setting is connected to students who may do harm to self or others. We brought a mental health professional, Dr. Duncan, to campus and she met with faculty, staff, deans, department chairs and directors on campus. She has been active in this area, work closely with schools such as Heath High School in Kentucky (you will remember that they were one of the first schools to suffer student on student shooting violence ...and the shooter was suffering from depression). She has been providing us with good guidelines for the identification of behaviors that might be “triggers” for violence.”

The incident reports that will be logged in an Excel spreadsheet are different from referrals to counseling. The system will gather reports submitted by students, faculty and staff. “Because reports may come from a variety of sources (police, housing, student life, faculty, etc.) we are working to make certain that we have a procedure to systematically view all information that is available,” said Dr. Homer ‘Bucky’ Wesley, Vice President of Student Services. “Incidents are evaluated and, if warranted, typically processed through standard student judicial channels…If a student was thought to be an immediate danger to themselves or others, we would quickly consult with individuals with appropriate expertise to decide on the proper course of action. Our goal is to ensure that we maintain a safe campus environment and to identify instances when students may need help. And, we would always work to protect the privacy of all students involved in reviews of this nature.” If a student is reported several times on more minor matters, they may be red flagged and referred to Dr. Wesley or sent for counseling. “The nature of the incident causes the action [taken in response],” said Wesley.
 
Students’ early responses to the program have been overwhelmingly negative. “This branding ‘troublemaker’ on someone must be thought about in a much more involved process than what I have been led to believe has occurred... Who gets to determine what makes a troublemaker a troublemaker? I would think that the possibilities for abuse by those empowered to judge others may be much worse,” said Robert Grahm, junior Communication major. “Will placing another cause for distance between individuals truly help, or will the opposite be true? One has to wonder where it will all end. Hypothetically speaking, if two students were ever to get upset with another student, say for asking a question in class when it is almost over and making the class late in exiting. They could easily claim that student was nothing but a troublemaker and the labeling begins. Even if no one ever said it again, the label would stick and could possibly be the spark that lights the fuse of a truly troubled individual. Most college students are under-qualified to make these types of determinations.”
Freshman Communication major, Catherine Craig agrees. “I think it seems like a good idea, but I can see the possible ineffectiveness of it. The flaws in the plan seem like they will outweigh the possible benefits.”

“Overall, I think the system will be (or should be) welcomed by the faculty, staff, and students… I definitely think the school has the students’ best interest in mind,” said Nicole Dilg, Sr. Psychology major and Student Government Association Student Body president.
Dr. Patricia Donat, Professor of Psychology and Acting Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences is in favor of the new system. “Although we have a referral process in place, an enhanced system will better assist us in supporting student success. It is important to have this type of safety net for students who may be away from home for the first time and away from their usual support system. Confidentiality in this type of system, as I understand it, is maintained after the referral. However, by centralizing referrals, we can have greater confidence that students are getting any help that may be needed and that interventions, if needed to support the safety and security of the individual and the campus community, can be made.”

In response to privacy verses security concerns, Jordan said. “I assure you that we are giving this much thought before we implement. The process will not be intrusive, nor invade the privacy standards of our campus. Of course...in any community, there are times when we have to weigh the good of the individual against the good of the whole...and this is one of those times.”

The W has also made an agreement between the campus police and the Columbus Police Department. This joint effort will provide training for a Virginia-Tech-style incident at the W. Both campus police officers and Columbus police officers will run drills on campus, which are constructed to create certain scenarios. Emphasis will be placed on safe evacuation of students, isolation and neutralization of threat, and the swift return of a sense of safety. “We want more than anything for students, faculty, and parents to feel safe at the W and to feel safe sending their children to the W,” says Chief Calvin Sellers, campus police chief. Columbus Police Department Chief Joseph E. St. John said, “We want to do everything in our power to assist the campus police in ensuring the safety of every individual on the MUW campus. We are happy to be working with campus police, and we are happy to be doing these drills to ensure a greater sense of safety for students, faculty, and staff at the W.”
Drills will include evacuation scenarios taking place in certain buildings on campus. Drills will include such scenarios as single and multiple shooter situations as well as safe evacuations in bomb-threat situations. Campus and Columbus police are also attempting to build an agreement with the Columbus Fire Department to create an evacuation plan for mass fire incidents on the W campus.

“The W is becoming an increasingly important place on the map of colleges and universities,” said Perry Sansing, University Lawyer and Assistant to the President. “That gives us a responsibility to provide for the safety of everyone on this campus in any way that we possibly can.”

This agreement between city and campus police has been in development for some time. The plan was proposed by Columbus Police Department about a year and a half ago, but the idea was rejected due to a lack of funding and an abundance of liability issues. According to Chief St. John, “The idea resurfaced a few times over the course of a few months, but was never really taken anywhere.”

“A couple of months ago, there was a meeting between Dr. Limbert, Chief St. John, Chief Sellers, and myself on the subject of this deal,” says Sansing. “We decided that, in light of the Virginia Tech incident, this deal was in the best interest of not only the students but the staff as well as the name of the Mississippi University for Women.”

The agreement may soon come to include the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department as well. Max Spenser, Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office public relations manager said, “What is happening on at the W now is monumental. This is the first time that such an agreement has been made with campus police and Columbus police, and [the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department] wants in on it. We too are dedicated to preserving safety, and we are trying to work out an agreement to serve as backup in an emergency situation. However, things are moving slowly because of a conflict of jurisdiction.” Spenser is hopeful that arrangements will be made soon to allow the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department be included as well.
Limbert added. “Our agreement says, in essence, that if we had an active shooter incident here on campus, we would immediately call the Columbus Police Department and they would dispatch their Emergency Response Team that is trained to deal with such incidents. Our own academy-trained police force would assist them. [This] means that no valuable moments will be lost in responding to such an emergency.