College Causes Stir With Gunman Drill

[carlson1]

http://www.wtkr.com/global/story.asp?s=7923804

Some Elizabeth State University students are upset after being almost scared to death by a recent safety drill on campus.

On Friday, an undercover campus officer barged into a history class in the Moore building and held the class hostage. According to students, he even held a gun to the professor's head! It was all part of an emergency alert system drill that the school was planning for months. Problem is...not everyone knew it was a drill.

Four days earlier, the school did begin sending out emails to students saying there would be some sort of emergency drill on Friday. It did not specify where or exactly what time the drill would occur. It also did not mention the nature of the drill.

Then, on Friday, a few minutes before it all went down, the school sent out an alert saying there would be an armed intruder in Moore building who would be detained by campus police. Again, it did not specify which classroom. However, only about half the campus has voluntarily signed up for the instant text alerts to their phones, so most people in that particular classroom, including the professor in that class, had no idea it was a drill.

By phone on Monday morning, Professor Jingbin Wang said he was shocked and did not know it was a drill. "Everyone was scared," he said. He said some students were prepared to jump out the window. Another colleague told him that her students were using tables and chairs to block the door of their classroom. "Her heart was racing," he said about his fellow teacher.

"I cannot believe a university would subject their own students to such a horrific event," one family member of a student in that classroom wrote us. " They were terrified! It is extremely poor judgement on the part of the administration at ECSU."

Effective training for students in the wake of the Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University shootings? Or a safety drill taken one step too far?

Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Anthony Brown took our questions Monday afternoon.

"If there are people who have concerns and they were surprised, it was not our intention to surprise or shock anybody and if that occurs we are there for them," said Brown. "I really offer our sincere apology, because that was not the intent of this."

Then we asked him point blank, "Don't you think a normal person would be shocked if the person coming at their professor with a gun was a campus officer?

"Well, we did send out emails five days in advance and continued it through with alerts," said Brown.

We then pointed out that those initial alerts did not mention a gunman!

"No," he said. "That alert occurred on the day, on the day of the event."

So then we pressed further, that isn't it true that the school was absolutely aware that not all students would get that alert because not all students are signed up for the alert.

"That's absolutely true," he said. "That's where we have to test out the system and our communication among each other. Because if your neighbor knows something and you don't that tests something, that tests the communication. We should look out for each other, so that's something we learned. Paper and text and emails are one thing, but word of mouth is perhaps most important."

Again, word of mouth obviously did not spread around in time for the students in this classroom to get the warning this was a drill.

One student we talked to requested a private meeting with administration regarding her terrifying experience during the drill.

For now, the school is standing by the drill, saying that the administration, campus police and students learned from the experience. More drills are planned.

If you would like to sign up for the school's alerts to come instantly to your cell or your email, head to http://www.ecsc.edu and look for the sparkly icon at the very top of the homepage called PIER Emergency Communications System.

[dukesean]

wow, that is a serious lapse in judgment. imagine if this was in Utah and a student was carrying concealed...

I can see the lawsuits appearing now, for all sorts of mental trauma etc.

[mgood]

They're lucky the guy didn't get "drilled" by a student who chose to ignore the no-guns policy due to recent events.

In any case, unarmed students thinking about the possiblity of a massacre might have chosen to throw chairs, desks, books, and themselves at even an armed gunman rather than sit by and see if they are going to be shot. The guy could have been buried under a pile of bodies, impaled by pens and beaten senseless by the time someone convinced the class it was a drill.
Oh wait, I forgot, we're talking about the sheep. They're taught that their best chance for survival is cooperation.

[flintknapper]

It is extremely poor judgement on the part of the administration at ECSU.

Boy, there is an understatement for you.

[carlson1]

I attended an Officer's Survival School outside of Malvern, Arkansas in the late 80's. We were all sitting in a large Boy Scott camp cafeteria filling out paper work. We had been commanded to leave all firearms in our vehicles. The Monitors (What the Marines would call a Drill Instructor) entered the cafeteria with Ar-15 and Blanks. The problem was all of Narcotic guys are rebels at heart and carried our back ups. It could have been bad, but goodness prevailed and no one was hurt. I was told by one of the Arkansas guys they never did this drill again.

[Snake Doctor]

They're lucky the guy didn't get "drilled" by a student who chose to ignore the no-guns policy due to recent events.

Understatement of the century...

[longtooth]

There may still be some lawusits over that one. Sometimes I cant believe the stupidity of some folks in the name education.

[dukalmighty]

I'm assuming this is the armed man on campus thing ,Are these people idiots,What if during their unannounced drill a real shooter was seen on campus and somebody yelled it's a woolof and the response would be no it's not a woolof until shots rang out.Also i'm wondering if the police were ever notified in advance of their intent,I'm pretty sure the educated genius thought this one up will be looking for new employment,also i'm surprised the guy put a gun to the professors head hasn't been arrested for aggravated assault,due to professor not being given notice in advance and he was in fear for his life.[quote][/qFor now, the school is standing by the drill, saying that the administration, campus police and students learned from the experience. More drills are planned.

uote]And these drills are going to teach them what,how not to soil yourself when somebody charges in with a gu

[MrsFosforos]

It succeeded in demonstrating how badly their communications failed.

[lrb111]

With the mentality of college age kids, and having been fooled once, they won't even look up at the next drill.
Which now leaves a grand opening for a real shooter. really stupid.

[gregthehand]

I think it would have been interesting if one of the students had been some kind of martial arts expert, taken the gun and then beat him.

[Will938]

I carry a 5" knife and pepper spray, I could see it now, "Wow, I'm so lucky that I stabbed him to death before he got a shot off."

[Liko81]

They're lucky the guy didn't get "drilled" by a student who chose to ignore the no-guns policy due to recent events.

Wouldn't that be all the Brady bunch needs: "College Student Murders Officer During Campus Drill". You will never have seen support for a political issue (in this case on-campus CC) drain so fast. The RATIONAL response is: "This is conclusive proof that on-campus CC works", but it's kind of hard to say that to the public without being mobbed.

[Hyunchback]

There may still be some lawusits over that one. Sometimes I cant believe the stupidity of some folks in the name education.

Considering that the head of Virginia Tech was PROUD that his students were herded into Disarmed Victim Zones both before Cho the Coward and AFTER then I am considering stupidity to be the main product of "education".

[KD5NRH]

In any case, unarmed students thinking about the possiblity of a massacre might have chosen to throw chairs, desks, books, and themselves at even an armed gunman rather than sit by and see if they are going to be shot. The guy could have been buried under a pile of bodies, impaled by pens and beaten senseless by the time someone convinced the class it was a drill.

Even though I leave the gun in the car when going into campus buildings, I still carry pepper spray. I also keep a Bic 4x4 marker on me all the time for marking things like my drink when the person next to me has the same sort of container. (I haven't had the problems the author of that article did, BTW.) If I had to deal with a gunman in a "we're gonna get shot anyway" situation, I'd try to spray as I moved into HTH range, and beat him mercilessly until he ceased to be a threat.

That's not a situation where I'd waste time trying to get to control pressure points; I'd be hammering the throat and temple with the marker and anything else near to hand. For those not familiar with kubotan targets, neither of those strikes is considered nonlethal by any stretch of the imagination.

Of course, it's entirely possible that my actual response would involve little more than incontinence and shortness of breath just like theirs, but I'd prefer to think the practice and mental excercises will do some good. Besides, the thought of sending a bill to the university for the cost of replacing the pepper spray and any of my clothing their UC officer had the audacity to bleed on is priceless.