By Karlie Baker
IV Leader Editor, Feb. 21, 2008
IVCC stationed TV’s around campus Friday morning, Feb. 15 so students could watch breaking news reports about the Feb. 14 shootings at Northern Illinois University’s Cole Hall. Six people died, including gunman Stephen Kazmierczak.
The shootings are especially troubling on this community college campus where NIU ranks in the top two of student transfer destinations.
IV offered a number of services to students, including a viewing of the formal press conference on WGN News which released victim names and other details of the event.
However, many in the IVCC community found how close to home the shootings came.
Amanda Bigelow, IVCC professor of political science who currently teaches at NIU while on sabattical, had just arrived at the library across the visitor’s parking lot from Cole Hall when the shootings began.
Bigelow recalled two girls running into the building without coats, notifying everyone that somebody was shooting in Cole Hall.
Bigelow and others were put in lockdown and were not released from the library until an hour after the shooting. “At that point there were a ton of ambulances and we knew that something really terrible had happened,” she said. According to Bigelow, it was difficult to enter and exit campus due to the number of emergency vehicles.
“I feel bad for those who saw it and those who died, but also for those who now have a fear of watching the door in class … or needing to know where the exits are,” she said. IV Leader Associate Editor and part-time NIU student Greta Lieske was finishing class in Reavis Hall, behind Cole Hall, during the shooting.
She recalled students’ initial reactions to be thoughts of a false alarm, particularly after threats the school received in December that were considered harmless.
Lieske, her instructor and a group of 20 or so other students huddled into a classroom facing the Circle Drive and saw stretchers being carried in and out of Cole Hall. Some stretchers emerged with the wounded’s heads above the sheets, while the dead were completely covered. “I told my friend she should get her things and I would take her home back to Ottawa, but she said that if she went home, she would not ever want to go back,” Lieske said.
She also recalled that few of the students’ cell phones received service during the couple hours following the shooting, and leaving campus that evening was difficult.
Student reaction at IVCC
The events have prompted schools across Illinois to offer support to students
“Many of our former students are attending NIU and, we pray, none of them are directly involved,” interim president Dave Louis said in a statement.
Three information forums and discussions were scheduled Feb. 15 and Feb, 19 for students and staff. In addition, IVCC counselors were available for students who needed grief counseling or time to talk about the situation.
Not only were former IV students on the NIU campus during the ordeal, but many current students anxiously awaited news from friends and family members enrolled at the college. Communication became difficult due to the bulk of incoming and outgoing calls through cell phones after the incident.
Justin Witalka reported that it took several hours before his cousin answered a voice mail inquiring of his safety.
Kendra Carey said she received a message from former student Jimmy Einhaus the evening of Feb. 14. “When Jimmy called, I could hear all the sirens and people yelling in the background,” she said. “It made it seem more real.”
NIU personnel encouraged students to communicate through text messaging and other means of communication. Many NIU students notified friends of their safety through the use of Facebook. Sarah Witalka was unaware of the shooting when she received calls from both her mother and NIU student Baille Billhymer.
“I feel bad for everyone, but I’m glad to know that my friends are safe,” she said.
Quick response
Besides offering informational services to students, administrators made sure to outline IVCC’s
own safety plans during the discussion sessions. The school has projected
courses of action in the event of bomb threats, hostages, shootings, weapons,
hazardous material, biochemical weapons and weather and crisis threats.
The campus is outfitted with 70 cameras, according to Jerry Corcoran, vice president of business and finance. In the event of a threat, any door with a swipe card lock may be locked down at the push of a button. The fire alarm system may also be used to communicate during emergencies, Corcoran said.
IVCC officials can tailor the message to the situation to let faculty, staff and students throughout the campus get needed information.
Corcoran noted that previously the volume of these alarms was requested to be increased, and safety services assures that these problems have been addressed.
At any given time, two to three of the 11 safety services officers are on duty. While none of the security personnel carry weapons, Oglesby police are within a few minutes of campus.
IVCC administrators noted the quick response time of NIU campus police to Cole Hall and said Oglesby police have reacted to IVCC calls in a timely manner.
The school safety committee includes a member of the Oglesby police force, and past training efforts have included a walk-through so that police officers are familiar with the IVCC campus, Corcoran said.
Students who witness suspicious behavior are instructed to call 911 or make a report to safety services, the administration or any member of the faculty and staff. In the future, there is a possibility that faculty and staff members will undergo training to help prevent and to respond to emergency situations on campus under an initiative coordinated by counselor Jane Sack..