Classroom safety precautions presented

By Matt Hopf, DENnews.com

The one-year anniversary of the Northern Illinois University campus shooting is approaching.

The Northern shooting was one of 14 separate shootings on a college campus since 2000.

Remaining aware of the surrounding environment continues to be a theme in campus security and safety issues.

Dan Nadler, vice president for student affairs, said people should remain vigilant and aware of where they are and other alternate ways to exit a building.

Nadler presented faculty with ways to keep their classrooms safe during a faculty development session Thursday afternoon.

He gave an overview of what faculty should do in the event of an active shooter on campus.

Locking and barricading the door with a chair and a desk, and turning the lights off would help keep a shooter from entering the room.

Students should move to the back of the room, and phones should be put on silent so if the shooter does walk by, the classroom would look empty.

University Police Chief Adam Due said with an active shooter, little is known.

“If you secure the door, call and get the information to us,” Due said.

He said police would be entering the building and information would be helpful.

“You don’t know if they are after just one person or more,” Due said.

When exiting the building, students and faculty should be aware of police officers on the scene.

“If you are in a building and you are coming out, do what officers tell you,” Due said.

Nadler said active shooter incidents are usually short, with the shooter usually committing suicide.

“When people arrived at NIU, the damage had already been done,” he said.

Nadler also suggested closing and locking classroom doors when class is in session.

Besides an active shooter, Nadler informed faculty of other potential emergencies within the classroom, which could include a bomb threat, fire or explosion, hostage situation, earthquake, weather, suicide threat and suspicious package.

In the event of an emergency, Eastern can communicate with students, faculty and staff through a public address system installed in many of the residence halls, sirens from campus emergency sirens, an emergency e-mail and the emergency text message system, Alert EIU.

Nadler said the university could now stop traffic in the e-mail system to get the emergency messages out quicker.

The text message system would be used only at the highest emergency levels, such as an active shooter on campus, he said.

Nadler also presented warning signals students might exhibit if they are in distress.

Distressed students could become disruptive or threaten the safety of the classroom.

Anxiety, bursts of anger, alcohol and drug abuse, poor academic performance, attendance problems and a significant change in hygiene were mentioned.