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MCTC officials discuss security
Tuesday, April 17, 2007 7:58 PM EDT
The reality, however, is that what happened Monday at the university when 32 people were killed, could happen anywhere.
"We know that there are dangers out there, and yet we never think it'll happen to us," said Augusta Julian, president of Maysville Community and Technical College. "I think we are complacent."
Tuesday afternoon, Julian discussed some of the security procedures in place, should an emergency similar to the Virginia Tech massacre occur at MCTC. Julian said the emergency response plans have been under review for the past year.
In most situations, the plans are not preventive, but responsive, to minimize damage should something occur.
"Unfortunately with a public, open building, there are a lot of possible things you may have to deal with," Julian said, discussing the wide range of emergencies that could occur in addition to a shooting.
Many of the college's procedures are responsive, such as when a person on campus last year died of a heart attack. Now, defibrillators have been installed on campus.
Julian sent out an e-mail following the attack at Virginia Tech to address some security options. One, Julian noted as a possibility, was the installation of an intercom system, which would make communication much quicker. A second was training for staff members to make sure they knew the procedures in place for emergencies.
Tim McLendon, a teacher at MCTC, said he cannot imagine a tragedy such as the VT tragedy could be prevented. He said he previously worked at another community college which had security guards on staff, but the guards mostly checked to make sure those parking in faculty parking had the proper sticker displayed on their vehicle.
McLendon, like Julian, said it would be difficult to implement security measures without making the environment more restrictive, and less welcoming. Options that could be implemented would include limited entrances, and metal detectors, neither of which are likely to happen at MCTC.
McLendon said he does like the idea of an intercom, mostly for personal emergencies, such as if a student was needed.
Student and worker Eric Havens, said he attended a high school which he labelled as a "prison," because of the extreme security measures in place. Students were not permitted to wear backpacks. Havens said if that ever happened at the college level, he would be disappointed. He said as a 22-year-old man, he has earned the right to have a bit of freedom, though he recognizes the limitations could provide more security.
Havens said the event at VT was "shocking," but a sign of the times.
"It's 2007," he said. "People do not care anymore."
Student Teresa Wren said when she heard the news of the shooting, she "didn't know what to think." Now, as she goes about her business on campus, she said she does not feel any less secure, though the thought that something could happen in Maysville still lingers in the back of her mind.
Contact Misty Maynard at 606-564-9091, ext. 274.
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