Are Universities at Risk?

We have all heard about the incident that occurred on Thursday, February 14th. Another school shooting resulted in the deaths of five students. The killer shot himself as well. I just can’t stop wondering what has happened to the campus security at our schools.

It seems like campus shootings are happening more frequently as time goes by. Last year, there was a shooting at Virginia Tech. Now, it is Northern Illinois University. It is stated that the gunman was a graduate from NIU and had recent classes in the spring of 2007. Till now, the police didn’t know what the motive was. There was no suicide note found to date. From what I understand, the gunman actually hid the guns in a guitar case.

What has happened to America? Why do the campus shootings keep happening? Are students at risk on school campuses? I hope there is a risk management strategy for campus security.

Personally, I don’t think any campus security measures currently in place can secure our schools. There is nobody checking the students before they enter the schools. Anyone can bring a gun into a school. I think all schools should put metal detectors at the school entrance of every school campus. Or, another way to do it is to let students use their campus ID to enter the public facilities on campus. I know we are already doing so in our libraries. However, it is not enough. We need to provide better security for students and faculty against school shootings in the future. People who are not enrolled at a school, or people who have already graduated, should not be able to have the access to the school campus.

I don’t know what else campus security can do to make us feel safer besides installing metal detectors at the entrances of schools. Bottom line, any type of weapon should not be brought to a school campus. Whatever we can do to secure our school campuses should be a top priority.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/niu_shooting

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=6460498&ch=4226713&src=news