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An Incident Can Happen On Any Campus

July 26, 2016

As you read this you can't deny that emotions are high around the country. Protests, shootings, mudslinging, anger and fear have invaded our country and our campuses. There could be no greater reminder than the recent shooting in Dallas, TX.

An incident can happen on any campus.

I know that's a scary statement to read. As a Representative for the Campus Safety and Violence Prevention Knowledge Community, it's a scary statement to write. The Knowledge Community and countless Student Affairs Professionals have crunched the numbers. We've studied past tragedies. We've increased our technological capabilities. Unfortunately, the answer is the same:

An incident can happen on any campus.

When we meet with prospective students and parents, our message is hopeful. When they log onto our websites and see our statistics, they see our honesty. We don't hide things. We do honestly wish that tragedies never happen. We ask students to take precautions. We ask them to be vigilant. We ask them to look out for each other. We build community. We invite prospective students to our campuses so they can see how seriously we take our jobs, our students, our mission statements, our academia, our infrastructure. And yet, we fail to remember just how many variables are out of our control.

An incident can happen on any campus.

It hurts. We try to imagine what it must be like to call a parent/guardian with most unfortunate news. We ask ourselves, "How would I make that call?" It's a thought that could keep us up at night. We empathize with our colleagues who have made those calls. We gather the information they provide. We listen to their lectures and debriefings. We ask ourselves, "what prevention methods are in place on our campuses?" Now we've moved to a new stage. We've accepted it. We know it. It's a fact.

An incident can happen on any campus.

So we dig deeper. We ask tough questions to our staff, or colleagues who have lived through tragedies, or the presenters who have compiled the statistics. We've connected with different departments on our campuses to ensure the best measures to combat the unthinkable. We won't avoid it. We know that our RAs are being trained on exit strategies and emergency evacuations. We know that our campus police departments have trained their officers to use discernment and never forsake their vow to protect life. We've found a way to reach students where they are: our alerts go to their phones in the form of emails, texts, tweets, and notifications. We've done emergency management training with our faculty and essential staff. We've assessed and re-assessed our roles. We know what we are doing. We have a plan. We've been honest with our students. They know that when tragedy strikes, there are people on campus who are willing to go as far as it takes to protect them. They know that alerts happen as soon as possible and they also know that "as soon as possible" is never fast enough. But today's student is so honest. So savvy. And best yet: so understanding.

An incident can happen on any campus.

And although we sincerely hurt for those who have been struck by tragedy, we trust that they will recover. We trust that provisions will be made and shared. We trust our leadership, our training and our pragmatism. We realize that anything can happen anywhere and anytime. And we know that we can count on each other.

Allan Ford is the Region IV-West representative for the Campus Safety and Violance Prevention Knowledge Community.  For more information about the Knowledge Community please contact Allan - [email protected]