In the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre, the academic institutions that generally pride themselves on providing all the answers to its students have been left in a cloud of ambiguity. Universities across the nation have been left looking for answers as to how a Virginia Tech student was able to shoot and kill 32 students and professors in the worst mass killing in U.S. history, a massacre many have argued that could have been avoided.
Actively preparing for the unimaginable at Boston College, University officials have begun reviewing their emergency preparedness plans, considering new technologies to reach students and faculty members in case of a crisis.
"An event like the Virginia Tech tragedy causes you to look at everything. It will cause us to re-evaluate how normally we would respond, and how we should respond now," said BC Police Department Chief Robert Morse.
These preparations are nothing new to BC officials who, since Sept. 11, boast an emergency preparedness team and a highly regarded police force versed in emergency response.
Morse claimed that the BCPD is more than prepared to respond to a Columbine-like tragedy, as it has become a leader in the field. "After the shootings, we worked with BCPD to see if we needed more patrols and concluded we didn't need it. BCPD is very visible; it's meant to be a deterrent.
"Unlike most universities, BCPD is trained at the same level as state police. Our officers are trained at the municipal level, which is the highest level of commitment. It produces the best officers," explained Morse.
The shooting at Columbine in 1999 transformed the way in which university police departments responded to mass shootings, which previously was dominated by a "surround and contain" strategy in which local security officials waited for more heavily armored SWAT teams. This strategy was criticized and dropped after Columbine, however, due to the massive loss of life that occurred between the initial shootings and SWAT's arrival.
Today, the BCPD leads the way in an "active shooter" strategy, in which police officers rush to take down the target to minimalize the loss of life. Over the past years, the BCPD has been actively training the Newton Police Department and surrounding universities in this new strategy.
As Chief Morse pointed out, the suicidal nature of shooters like Cho Seung-Hui at Virginia Tech makes it difficult to fully prevent a tragedy of this type. "People who want to die want to take a lot of people with them," explained Morse. "This young man made a decision to die that day. He crossed that line which most reasonable people cannot cross. His aim was to take as many as he can."
University Spokesman Jack Dunn agreed. "We have faith in our students and in the BC community as a whole, but the reality is that no place is invulnerable to life's difficulties. The best we can hope to do is to be prepared," said Dunn.
Along with security measures, University administrators are actively seeking to improve communication methods in the wake of what Virginia Tech has been criticized as a communication failure that could have potentially prevented the second wave of deaths. "What this tragedy at Virginia Tech will do is cause us to look at other communication vehicles. We are meeting this week and next to explore those other vehicles," said Dunn. New methods may include automatic text messages and phone calls.
Issues such as these have been addressed by BC's Emergency Preparedness Team; a committee of administrators who have meet regularly since Sept. 11, 2001. "We prepare for any potential threats, ranging from a flu pandemic outbreak to a tornado to a hostage situation," explained Dunn. "But the issue at Virginia Tech has created a scenario that was previously unimaginable. It will force us to revisit our plans to ensure that we are doing all we can to be adequately prepared." n
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