2008 Woodie Awards
Montreal shootings spark concern at SHU
Courtney Kohloff
Issue date: 9/21/06 Section: News
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Last Wednesday terror struck Dawson College in Montreal. The private Catholic institution popular for its vocational studies became the scene for one of the most disturbing and horrific school shootings in Canadian history.
The young male shooter allegedly parked his car at Dawson where he armed himself with numerous weapons and proceeded into the college atrium, firing at will.
The campus became a warzone and everyone was a target.
Open fire in the cafeteria brought students and faculty to their knees, praying and begging for their life. With one dead and 19 injured, eight in critical condition, the shooter continued to fire until he was killed by police forces.
Hundreds of miles away, the tragedy at Dawson College hits close to home and raises some important questions about university security.
A sense of protection and security among the student body is a feeling Sacred Heart is willing to go the extra mile to uphold. The precautions that the University takes are to prevent any type of violence or incident to ensure the SHU community that they are protected. Many questions have been raised since the shooting in Montreal about how efficient campus security across the country and world really is.
Why was the male shooter able to unload guns in the parking lot of Dawson? Who gave him permission to be on campus? Where was security?
The type of situation that happened on the campus of Dawson College might have been prevented or delayed if live feed from cameras were present on the part of campus where the shooter unloaded his weapons.
"I think that the violent tragedy at Dawson is a threat and you can never be too careful or take life for granted," said Sarah Myers, sophomore, Southbury. "I think that the campus security is somewhat efficient, but I feel like a violent situation would be a result of someone coming here from off campus. Students just need to be more aware of what is going on around them and should report anything suspicious."
At Sacred Heart, security is not just limited to Public Safety officers but encompasses an efficient camera system that is networked across campus. Cameras are present in academic buildings, dorms and parking lots to prevent any situation that could turn into a campus-wide threat or scare.
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