[bigsmooth]

maybe this is too soon, but i am curious as to how everyone thinks about safety at LU. do you students feel safe? what do you think of our police dept??...(not emergency svcs) is their some type of campus warning system? what about dorm safety? how is the lock system? is their electronic entry?? im sure campuses across the country are looking at safety on campus more carefully now, but i am just wanting to know opinions.

[LUconn]

I was thinking about starting a similar thread. It's certainly not as safe as it used to be with the additions of East and North Campus. With only 2 ways on and off, it's about as secluded as you could get. But even with these additional entrances and exits, I still think it's better than your average college campus, which is normally built into a city-like flow. But not matter what, if somebody wants to shoot a bunch of people, it's not hard. You'd have to have the gaurd shack search everbody on their way in. So I'd put LU at above average simply because it's got an accredited police force, and it's not a very open campus.

[Libertine]

The fact is that at most college campuses around the country, Liberty included, if someone wanted to come onto campus and start something, they could and could very easily. The only exception I can think of is Bob Jones which has a fence topped with barbed wire surrounding the entire campus. I think that, in reality, any campus is only as safe as its students make it. That means paying attention to who's around, looking out for each other and, above all, not shooting each other (obviously). I suppose that's true of any environment, not just college.

[bigsmooth]

indeed most campuses anything could happen. certain safeguards and warning systems would help, and i am hoping the students will inform us if there are any.

[thepostman]

For the most part I think that LU is very safe...but all it takes is one crazy person to change this...all they would have to do is be around the Vines Center at around 11pm on MWF and they could get a lot of people...I know thats a scary thought, but its true....so yes, I feel safe...LUPD does what they can...but in the end if someone is crazy and smart enough they couldn't really be stopped

[bigsmooth]

what about dorm security??? locks?? electronic entry?? is their anything like that?

[Libertine]

what about dorm security??? locks?? electronic entry?? is their anything like that?

Why do you want to know, Smoothie? What's that in your back pocket?

[4everfsu]

I was wondering if LU should have its own swat team, etc. Again as Medic says, having EMS personnel on campus that would be good ideal.

[ATrain]

Well, to answer your question Smoothie, there is no electronic entry to any of the dorms that I am aware of. The female dorms on the hill have the exterior glass entrance locked in addition to the doors to the individual halls themselves. All dorms have exterior doors that are automatically locked, with East Campus also having a deadbolt that you can use.

As far as a warning system, I went back to my dorm after our tennis match got rained out in the fall on the sameday that umbrella case carrying man was walking around campus. I knew nothing about a lockdown or anything until hours after it happened.

[thepostman]

All the dorms are locked at all times, but only by keys and quite often those are left propped open, though RA's are constantly telling people not to do that...it seems to me girl dorms are a little more secure then the guys....which makes sense

so no, there are no electronic locks...and I do not know their procedure for a lock down...I do know when there was reports of a "gunmen" on campus it happened while everybody was in convo and they didn't let anybody leave until they realized it was some guy with a medal umbrella case...and i believe they quickly locked doors and did not allow people to leave any buildings...from what I could tell they went above and beyond...but the situation of course ended up being nothing....

As for the SWAT team question, there is a trained SWAT team because in order to be a licensed police department you must have one...when I worked for Building Services this past summer one of the officers was telling me about it....

[Schfourteenteen]

Fact is regardless of our security measures it can happen at anytime and it just takes one psycho for something to happen.

The umbrella man was on a Friday, CFAW. So going above and beyond makes complete sense in that case.

With that said....... My gf's ex told his probation officer in December if he "found out she was with another guy he'd kill him." Although nothings going to happen the whole story was really weird.

[BJWilliams]

I hate to say it but really if there is going to be any change anywhere, sometimes it takes a serious event to shed light on it. I mean anybody remember last semester when that girl was nearly kidnapped ON CAMPUS??? People travel more in groups now (with at least two guys in any mixed gender group expecially at night). Im not hoping something of that magnitude happens here, heaven forbid. Im just saying that sometimes it takes serious events to enact serious changes

[BrysOn_G]

being in the quads on the backside of the circle, things are a little different. the main door to the building has NEVER been locked to my knowledge. once you're inside the building, the doors to each individual quad (201A, 201B, etc.) are VERY RERELY locked. as for individual rooms, mine stays locked, but i do know of a few that are rarely locked. although only a little unsafe during the day, this is how things stay at night too! now that i think about it, any ole person could easily come as close as MY DOOR!

i'm not feeling good about that. however, i do see lupd driving through this area VERY often. still... i wouldn't want just anyone being able to walk right into my building, quad and possibly room!

[BrysOn_G]

I hate to say it but really if there is going to be any change anywhere, sometimes it takes a serious event to shed light on it. I mean anybody remember last semester when that girl was nearly kidnapped ON CAMPUS??? People travel more in groups now (with at least two guys in any mixed gender group expecially at night). Im not hoping something of that magnitude happens here, heaven forbid. Im just saying that sometimes it takes serious events to enact serious changes

in all honesty, i agree. i believe it would take some sort of terrible event, on our campus, to have changes made in the necessary direction. however, i would imagine this VT situation may cause some discussion about security around here.

[SuperJon]

There are 6 ways on campus, and 7 ways to get off. That's not counting how easy it would be to park somewhere and walk on campus (whether it be 460, Wal-Mart, or Hardee's).

The dorms are safe. You either have to have a key or have someone open the door for you to get into any dorm.

The thing that is the most unsafe part of our campus is how a large majority of our students are in the same place at the same time. We have convo where there are 8000-9000 people in one place, including administrators, etc. It'd be easy to just start picking people off there. Our academic setting is in one place. It's basically one big building because they're all connected. We don't have different buildings where there's a few classrooms here, a few there. If someone wanted to start something, they'd just have to start in DeMoss and they could do as much damage as they want. We also only have one dining hall, meaning at dinner time, all of our students are there. We don't have a second dining hall to split up the people. That's what is the scary part.

Most of our classrooms don't have windows, which is good in situations like that.

The only warning service we have would be the splash page or e-mail, which most people only check in their rooms.

[SumItUp]

The fact is that at most college campuses around the country, Liberty included, if someone wanted to come onto campus and start something, they could and could very easily.

Good point, Libertine. That is part of living in a free society. What happened yesterday on the campus could also happen just about anywhere in our country.

[thepostman]

Getting the word out will be the hardest thing to do...especially on a larger campus...LU is smaller the Tech, but it would be hard enough to make people realize we are in lock down mode...There are no easy solutions to this...and in reality as many have said including myself, if someone crazy enough and smart enough and is angry enough wants to kill somebody they will find a way....It wasn't that long ago when I heard about multiple stabbings at a University in Europe...I don't remember where off the top of my head...anyways....its a hard thing to do.....

I think the most dangerous thing aside from the whole convo thing is this sense of peace people feel on campus simply because its a Christian university...girls often do not take the same amount of precautions as they may have on any other college campus....people just think, "oh its Liberty, something like that could never happen here"....but all you have to do is look at the former liberty students that robbed the liquor store a couple years ago and in their apartment they found notebooks with drawings of how they wanted to blow banks up...if something like that can happen, it sure as heck can happen with someone angry at LU for getting kicked out or whatever

[RagingTireFire]

but all you have to do is look at the former liberty students that robbed the liquor store a couple years ago and in their apartment they found notebooks with drawings of how they wanted to blow banks up...if something like that can happen, it sure as heck can happen with someone angry at LU for getting kicked out or whatever

For the record, the kid who was planning to follow up the liquor store heist by blowing up banks (the other two had no idea about that as it turned out) was German. So suck on that, Europe!

[BrysOn_G]

i can't get the news in the sweet "cable-less" dorms, but according to mom, fox news says St. Edwards University in Texas is on lockdown for a bomb threat...

nothing online about it that i can see.

[Sly Fox]

St. Eds is a primarily international student campus in Austin. Cowboys fans remember it as the longtime training camp home of the 'Boys.

We have family who live just a couple of blocks from that campus.

[HenryGale]

Appears to be true...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Authorities evacuated buildings Tuesday at St. Edward's University after a threatening note was found, a school official said.

The bomb threat came a day after a Virginia Tech student killed at least 30 people locked inside a classroom building in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history.

Police officers had secured the perimeter of the campus and were searching the buildings, university spokeswoman Mischelle Amador.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/17/univer ... index.html

[BrysOn_G]

not to make light of a scary situation, but i wonder how often this happens and goes unreported. i am sure the St. Ed's incident is more apt to be televised because of the recent events at VT.

i'm sure fox, cnn, etc. are on the prowl for follow-up stories today. i know elementary and high school bomb threats sent us out to the football field on occassion, but how often does this happen on a college camous?!

[El Scorcho]

I currently work alone, at night, on campus. I can tell you that most nights I have to make at least one trip from Campus North to Main Campus. I have never made that trip without seeing at least two LUPD patrols. Never. I know those guys catch a lot of grief from students, but they patrol very aggressively.

As for electronic locks: We inherited a system from Ericsson when we purchased Campus North. That system will gradually replace the mechanical locks wherever it makes sense. It is, however, very cost prohibitive. That's about all I know about that.

I think that there are always improvements that could be made. That's true for just about any organization. In the end, when it comes to security, I'm definitely behind the idea that there's not much you can do to stop a determined unstable individual. If someone wants to do something bad, they'll probably be able to pull it off to some extent. I trust the folks who take care of our campus security, even when I'm walking around by myself at 4 in the morning.

[kel varson]

We will never be safe until every gun on earth is destroyed.

[Libertine]

We will never be safe.

Fixed it for ya.