Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Report outlines changes to Virginia Tech campus security
By Kevin Anderson
The Collegiate Times (Virginia Tech)
08/23/2007

(U-WIRE) BLACKSBURG, Va. — At a press conference in Holtzman-Alumni Center, President Charles Steger and the three chairs for the Virginia Tech campus internal investigation panel addressed many of the findings and recommendations discovered and made in the internal investigation of the Tech campus.

Among these include, improvements of the physical securities of the campus, and improvements in the information and communication systems for emergencies on campus, improvements for the Care Team.

Those present included James A. Hyatt, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Earving L. Blythe, vice president for information technology, and Jerry Niles, former dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

Hyatt, who chaired the security infrastructure group, discussed the new security measures the university will take to prevent another shooting incident. The recommendations of the group were sectioned into five groups: physical infrastructure, communication, emergency preparedness, protocols, and implementation.

Improvements to physical infrastructure include the installation of interior locks for general assignment classrooms, the installation of electronic key card access system for residence halls, and the installation of security cameras on campus.

Communication initiatives include a "people locator system" where students can post their status during an emergency to let family members know their conditions, in addition to electronic banner textual displays with alarms to alert students who do not have cellular devices with them.

Emergency preparedness will include classes and simulation for students and faculty to prepare them for emergencies.

Finally, implementation will include the funding for the other four groups through state support or a life/safety fee. The life safety fee, which does not have an amount assigned to it, is similar to the Blacksburg Transit fee, Steger said.

"Security planning must be an integral part of a campus' emergency preparedness plan," Hyatt said.

Blythe, who chaired the information and communication infrastructure committee, spoke about recommendations for improving how university contacts faculty and staff about an emergency.

One of the group's findings was that many of the local telephone and cell phone companies were flooded, resulting and blocked or canceled calls. Therefore, one of the recommendations stated was a new campus information architecture, which will include a new digital, Internet Protocol-based (IP) information architecture.

"This enhanced system will take advantage of the resilience inherent in IP-based networks to provide extremely high reliability and availability," Blythe said.

Niles, who headed the Internal Review Committee, spoke about the Care Team on campus and how its refinement would protect campus.

"The Care Team is a central structure in identifying and responding to students at risk as it incorporates members from all key student affairs units and other units of the university when appropriate," Niles said.

Niles suggested that the team become a "more formally recognized and visible structure in the university system." This would come from the creation of a new structure called a Threat Assessment Team, which would assist the Care Team for students who may pose a threat to others.

"The Team would be charged with conducting a comprehensive fact-based description of a distressed student and empowered with the authority to act in a timely manner, consistent with university policy and applicable law, if necessary," Niles said.

Niles also mentioned that the expansion of training administrators, faculty, and staff in violence prevention would lower the risk of emergencies on campus.

These new security precautions are expected to cost the university more than $8 million, funded through state contributions and the possible life safety fee.

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