By Nicholas Gallo, Staff Writer
St. Bonaventure University will have its first active shooter drill on Wednesday, April 18 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The campus community is advised to follow the university action plan and find a place they can safely remain during the drill.
The drill follows a panel discussion on active shooter preparedness hosted Thursday. The panel included law enforcement officials from the federal, state, county and local levels.
In an email to the campus community, Gary Segrue, director of Safety and Security, strongly encouraged the campus community to attend the panel discussion.
Segrue began the panel discussion Thursday with a focus on building awareness.
“I want the whole campus to be aware that we do have an emergency plan,” Segrue said. “People should be aware, should know how to act, especially since the recent active shooters on college campuses around the county.”
New York State Police Emergency Management Supervisor Thomas Kelly said emergency preparedness is essential, along with the ability to recognize warning signs that can be presented to law enforcement to aid investigation.
“It takes a community, it takes counseling all throughout campus, and we need information brought to us, so we are able to a complete investigation and help prevent these things,” said Kelly.
Michael Baker, a junior sociology major, said he believes that having an active shooter drill is a beneficial method of practice for this situation.
Baker said he remembers having “dangerous individual” drills in middle and high school.
He said having these protocols will be effective and efficient to keeping students and the faculty safe.
“There are always going to be harmful and hurtful people in the world and that is something that we can’t change,” Baker said. “What we can do is help each other out, both every day and the day a violent event happens.”
Josh Little, a sophomore chemistry and Spanish double-major and resident assistant, said he has spoken with his residents about this issue.
“I’ve told them that this is preparation and that people need to know how to respond if it were real and they need to be aware of their surroundings,” Little said.
School shootings are a serious issue this country faces and Little hopes everyone will take the drill seriously.
“It’s highly unlikely that this kind of situation would occur on this small campus,” Little said, “but that doesn’t mean the issue should be ignored.”
Little said it’s important for everyone on campus to accept their role in a drill like this, in order to be prepared for a worst case scenario.
“I believe everyone will participate and do their part,” Little said. “Being an RA during this type of drill puts expectations on my back.”
As the campus community prepares for the drill, Little said they should have confidence in the emergency action plan and local law enforcement.
“In case this situation becomes real, law enforcement officials receive specific training, and would respond quickly,” Little said. “Everyone should be confident that this campus would be ready for any event like this.”
