2008 Woodie Awards
The Virginia Tech tragedy aftermath
Over a week since the massacre, has the university done enough?
Britany Price and Brittany Raine
Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: News
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It has been called the deadliest civilian shooting in the United States. What started as just an ordinary day suddenly became a horrific massacre.
After the Virginia Tech shootings, SHU took action.
A global email was sent to the university community by Dr. Anthony Cernera. Though emergency policy changes and revisions have been discussed, Cernera has not been available to comment on the situation at Sacred Heart and across the nation since the horrendous events last Monday.
But Jack Fernandez, director of Public Safety, is one individual who has addressed emergency plans with school officials.
"We have reviewed the emergency policy and are still in the reviewing process," said Fernandez. "We have formed a committee comprised of Residential Life, Buildings and Grounds, Public Relations, university administration, and Public Safety. More committee members will be added as time goes on."
When asked if there were any problems found with the old security policy, Fernandez said that the university community needed to find other ways to "communicate."
"No changes have been made yet [in the current policy] since the Virginia Tech shootings," said Fernandez.
The current emergency policy consists of several procedures, including fire and emergency evacuations, along with hostage negotiations.
Fernandez has yet to meet with Cernera directly about the emergency policy. "We have not met yet. We do plan to. He has met with my superiors," said Fernandez. "I have yet to obtain student feedback on the shootings; the only feedback received is the 'shock' of this tragedy."
As word of the Virginia Tech shootings spread throughout campus early last week, many students, like Jim Daly, student body president, senior, Hazlet, N.J., had concerns as to whether or not the Virginia Tech administration did enough.
"Obviously it is hard to say whether Virginia Tech did enough. Nobody ever thinks that something to this magnitude could ever happen to them," said Daly. "Nobody was ready for it.
"People have approached me about the shootings and what SHU is doing. Sacred Heart is reevaluating its safety procedures at this time. Sacred Heart is much smaller than Virginia Tech, so it would be easier to control if a situation ever broke out here."
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