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Killings Focus Attention on Security at Colleges
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The GMU students who want gun restrictions eased contend that fewer people might have died at Virginia Tech if those with permits to carry guns had been allowed to enter university facilities while armed.
"What is the point of telling somebody that their life is so unimportant that they should not be allowed to defend it?" asked Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League and a supporter of the students' request. "Where does the university come off defending such a policy?"
The GMU Board of Visitors voted yesterday to adopt a new policy prohibiting guns on campus, because of concern that the ban might be susceptible to legal challenge. The new policy has been deemed legally acceptable by the university's attorneys and by the office of the Virginia attorney general, GMU spokesman Dan Walsch said. "That's not to say there won't still be a legal challenge," he said.
Other security initiatives have been implemented at GMU. Campus buildings will be locked after hours, and key cards will be required to enter dormitories.
On many campuses, students and faculty members will have access to new text-messaging emergency notification systems. Some, including Catholic University in the District, allow parents to receive alerts.
Georgia Tech's emergency alert system went into effect this month. More than 4,200 students have signed up for text and voice mail notifications, and the number is growing by about 100 or more a day, officials there said.
UDC's public address system is not so high-tech, though it can sound warnings across the campus. Kram said such systems do not convey precise information. For example, one beep might mean "shelter in place," and two might mean get off campus as fast as possible.
"You have to do some education with these systems," she said.
