Sonoma State Star

Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: News

What would you do if you were sitting in class and someone came in with a gun and started shooting? Would you hide, leave or try to take the shooter out? Most students probably haven't even thought of what to do if a shooter came on campus. However, SSU's Emergency Management Program definitely has, as they have a position dedicated to protecting the campus community.

"Emergency management is on everyone's minds since the Sept. 11 attacks, and most recently with the Virginia Tech shooting," said Tyson Hill, Director of Emergency Services and Disaster Planning. "All agencies share information through conferences, networking and past events on what to do in a disaster and it was found that the best way to deal with a disaster is to educate people beforehand so they know what to do and don't freeze if an active shooter comes on campus."

The Emergency Management Program is part of Police Services. Its job is to create rules and guidelines and delegate tasks to make sure that the campus is under control if an emergency arises. It also launches emergency alerts and warnings and reports damage.

The program is trying to reach all of the campus community, to get everyone thinking about issues, such as an active shooter, so they are prepared. It is also attempting to give tools to the community, such as staying calm and silent, that could be used if ever face to face with an active shooter. Education about being prepared is important since the incident is usually over before law enforcement can respond.

All 23 CSU campuses received a video entitled, "Shots Fired: On Campus, When Lightning Strikes, Student Edition" to help teach the school what to do if an active shooter comes on campus. The video was put together by the Center for Personal Protection and Safety and was purchased for all CSU campuses through the Chancellor's Office.

The video starts out by saying "The chance of a shooter coming on campus is similar to the chances of being struck by lightning. However, this doesn't mean we don't need to be prepared."

The focus of the video is getting the viewer to ask themselves; what would I do in this situation? It enforces that each individual needs to take responsibility for themselves and have an attitude that they are going to survive, called a survival attitude.

This survival frame of mind includes awareness, preparation and rehearsal. Training in these three categories can help maximize the rate of survival.

Continued...

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