If it seems to you that you’re hearing more about campus security these days, maybe you are – and by January you certainly will be. A heightened alert system and additional security measures are underway at ETSU, as well as other campuses nationwide.
On April 16, shootings at Virginia Tech changed security on college campuses around the nation. The Virginia Tech Review Panel conducted an extensive investigation of the policies and security measures taken on that day and colleges nationwide, including ETSU, have modified their own procedures based on those findings.
A text-messaging system will be available in two weeks that will enable students to click on a link on the ETSU Web site and add their cell phones numbers to a program that will alert them should an imminent situation occur on campus.
“The problem with that is that may only alert a few students,” said David Collins, vice president for finance and administration, whose office oversees campus security. “We wanted a more general system that we could rely on to reach everyone.” Beginning in January, two alarm systems will be constructed on campus, equipped with voice and siren to notify students of danger.
All 42 emergency phones on campus will be replaced with new ones and some will be relocated for convenience to students. Another police officer will be added to the five-member force in January, which will allow the return of bike patrols on campus.
“It was a really popular program,” said Collins. “We had it for about five years, but because of the budget, we had to cut it out.”
Other additions planned include security cameras in all buildings, increased night patrol and access control on all buildings during evening hours and in case of extreme emergencies.
“I feel comfortable during the day because there are so many people around,” said AnnMarie Nickels, a public relations major. “But at night I don’t feel safe.”
On Oct. 8. a student was assaulted near Lucille Clement Hall and on Monday, Oct. 29, an alert was posted on the ETSU homepage warning about two acts of arson that occurred in the same dormitory last week. The incidents have sparked heightened concerns by some students and led to reminders to make safe decisions when traveling around campus such as walking with a friend, staying on well-lit walkways and using the escort service.
Nickels said she felt people are justified in being afraid, especially given the school shootings. While the murder rate on college campuses has decreased, according to the U.S. Department of Education, the Census Bureau and the FBI, another shooting massacre remains a viable possibility on college campuses around the country.
“It’s in the back of my mind because I think it can happen anywhere,” said Lisa Richardson, a junior majoring in human services. “I watch people more cautiously as they’re passing me.”
Steve Brown, director of the ETSU Counseling Center for the past three years, said that the Virginia Tech Report also showed a lack in communication between mental health practitioners and university counseling centers. Both a judge and a psychiatrist ordered Seung-Hui Cho, the shooter at Virginia Tech, to receive mental health treatment. However, Cho did not seek out the treatment from the campus counseling center. Neither the judge nor the psychiatrist made their findings known to the campus counselors.
“Cho fell through the cracks in the system,” said Brown. “Because several systems did not follow through with him.”
Brown said he has proposed adding a new Counseling Center position with job responsibilities to track students for disciplinary results and mandated counseling.
“A 2004 American College Health Association study found that 45 percent of the students surveyed felt so depressed that it was difficult to function,” according to a report posted in the troubled students section on the Counseling Center Web site by Gary Pavela of the University of Maryland-College Park. “Nearly one in 10 students reported that such feelings occurred nine or more times in the past school year.”
Brown claims there are two key factors that contribute to such high depression in college students: inadequate preparation for college and increased pressures at college.
“Our society does not have a real rite of passage between high school and college,” he said. “We just say ‘do it.'”
Secondly, he notes, college is a “pressure cooker” of sorts that can magnify the inadequacies of students and heighten their fear of failure.
“At first you can get away with what you did in high school and blow things off,” said Brown. “Then midterms hit, anxiety goes up. Midterms are nothing compared to finals.”
The top three reasons students seek services are depression, anxiety and relationships, in that order.
The Counseling Center is conducting a new workshop for faculty titled “How to deal with disruptive or potentially violent students,” in which university policies and procedures are reviewed. The plan is to provide the workshop for every department.
“Once or twice a week, faculty members will come in to talk about a student they are concerned about,” said Brown. “That’s the kind of reaction we want to have.”
Brown also asserted that the most effective prevention is to maintain an increased faculty and staff awareness and more teacher-to-student referrals.
Increased vigilance seems to be the goal all around.
“We don’t just hope a tragedy like that doesn’t occur here,” said Collins about the Virginia Tech shootings. “We’re trying to identify the possibility of things that might be done and respond if it does.”
Part of that is more police training plus study and revision of campus emergency response procedures
“It’s a given,” said Jack Cotrel, assistant vice president for ETSU’s department of safety and security. “You cannot prevent everything that could possibly happen.” The department is making sure officers are prepared. There is an average of 2.7 officers on campus each day, Cotrel said. They have been training for active shooter scenarios with several local tactical units, and are capable of arriving on scene to an emergency within two minutes of the warning.
“Safety of our students, faculty and staff is always our highest concern,” said Collins. “And we’ll do everything we can to ensure that everyone here is taken care of.

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