Shootings force second look at safety plans
By Kassie Kallner
IV Leader Staff, May 3, 2007
In response to the Virginia Tech shootings, many schools,
including IVCC are looking over their safety plans.
During the week following the incident at Virginia Tech, La
Salle County Sheriff Tom Templeton and the Oglesby Police Department evaluated
IVCC’s emergency safety plans. “We didn’t see anything that should be changed,”
Templeton said. “We have a viable workable plan. It has to be flexible and this
plan is.”
Although safety plans were made a while ago, they are
frequently updated. In 1999, a bomb threat was called into IVCC and some errors
were made such as leaving book bags in classrooms and a lengthy evacuation.
“1999 prompted issues,” Templeton said. “Problems were addressed and new tactics
were added.”
According to Ken Sangston, director of safety services, IVCC
has plans for bombs, hostages, shootings, weapons, hazardous material,
biochemical weapons, weather and crisis threats. Immediate communication with
the Oglesby Police Department is the first step in any circumstance, said
President Larry Huffman.
Both Huffman and Templeton believe that Oglesby police could
arrive at IVCC in 3 minutes from the time they are contacted. The alert speaker
system can then be used to instruct faculty and students what to do. During the
most recent tornado drill, some students and faculty expressed concern because
they had a hard time hearing the alert system. “We did have glitches in that
drill,” Sangston said. “We are in the process of redoing the software.”
He added that the alert system in updated every year.
According to Sangston, if a gunman were to be loose on campus, faculty would be
instructed to lock the doors and keep students in classrooms. At that point,
there are many different exits people could take out of the building.
In the case of a fire or a bomb threat, the campus would be
evacuated as quickly as possible, Huffman said. Evacuation for a fire would be
directed to the softball diamond, but Sangston is in the process of changing
that. “It’s near a wooded area and someone could take a lot of people out (by
shooting them),” he said. “We shouldn’t always go to the same place. “No policy
is set in stone.”
“There is no perfect plan to protect this school—or a
factory, or even a community for that matter,” Templeton said. Huffman agreed,
“This campus is as safe as any place can be.” Besides emergency plans, there
other day to day measures taken to ensure safety.
There are 74 cameras that monitor various areas on campus.
Also, safety services employs 11 officers. There are usually two to three
officers that are on campus during school hours and at least one officer on
campus at all times.
Renee Prine, counselor, contributes a safer campus to a
vigilant and watchful faculty. “IVCC staff is very alert, very on top of things
such as student behavior.” Huffman and Sangston advise anyone who sees
suspicious behavior to call 911, or report it to safety services, an
administrator or a faculty member. “Just because this is Illinois Valley
Community College, don’t think that something can’t happen here,” Sangston said.
“Report it to me; I don’t take any nonsense.”
The counselors can also handle students who have personal
problems or are dealing with fear or sorrow as a result of the Virginia Tech
tragedy. Although IVCC has many safety measures to prevent a tragedy, Huffman
said, “We will do what is reasonable and sensible, but more may not guarantee
safety.” “Unfortunately, theses tragedies seem to periodically happen.”