BU safeguards welfare of campus community

Within 15 minutes of the shooting at Northern Illinois University on Thursday, Feb. 14, NIU had taken steps to notify members of the campus community and the news media about what was occurring. Bloomsburg University has many of the same emergency processes in place, hoping they will never be needed.

Communication is a constantly evolving part of any emergency plan. At BU, the Web site www.bloomu.edu/today remains the main communications tool, building on the message recorded on the BeSAFe Hotline, (570) 389-2723, and placed on these local radio and TV stations: WNEP-TV (16), WBRE-TV (28), WYOU-TV (22), WFYY-FM (106.5), WHLM-AM (930) and WKOK-AM (1070). To supplement the Web, BU is introducing a text messaging system this semester, complete with siren notification, to be used in the case of extreme emergency.

BU has taken action to enhance safety, as well. After the incident at Virginia Tech in spring 2007, locks on classroom and lab doors were upgraded so they could be locked from inside to prevent entrance by intruders while still opening freely from inside the room. Safety also has been emphasized for students who live on campus. Card access is required to enter residence halls, where doors are locked at all times and cameras record activity in the lobbies.

Training activities sharpen the campus' ability to quickly react to an incident. For example, the university's 17-member professional police force has undergone "active shooter" training since 2003, including on-campus drills with local police departments. And, during the past year, faculty and staff attended similar training conducted by a retired Pennsylvania State Police lieutenant to learn how to keep themselves and students safe if a shooting occurs on campus.

These and other measures, such as the use of metal detectors at campus events and registration of off-campus guests, are part of Bloomsburg University's ongoing efforts designed to enhance the safety of everyone in the campus community.