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By Erin O'Connor Staff Writer WESTFIELD - "We are trying to understand what is happening at Westfield State College (WSC) in relation to the incidents at Virginia Tech," Interim President Barry Maloney said to an audience of students, media and faculty on April 18 in the College's Banquet Hall. Maloney and members of the staff at WSC organized a brief and open meeting for the campus to discuss the College's Emergency Management Plan (EMP) and current climate on campus after the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech. "The purpose is to listen from my stand point more than to talk, and to carry this discussion forward in days to come," Maloney said. "It has been a crazy week. These are certainly not the days you want to be a college president and certainly not an interim college president." Maloney said that Tuesday morning after Seung-Hui Cho, student gunman, took the lives of 32 victims and his own at the Virginia Tech campus in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, he and members of his cabinet organized to discuss what they are doing to respond. Maloney pointed out members of WSC's Emergency Response Team (ERT) during his talk and explained that an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) has been in place at the college for many years. "We do the assessment and implementation part of the plan very well," he said. "But we recognize that what we need to work on is the communication." Maloney said that 20 percent of the college is connected to voice-mail and 40 percent of the college has e-mail. "It doesn't equal 100 percent," he said. "Given the circumstances at Virginia Tech on Monday these [numbers] need to be improved." Maloney said one idea is to use air sirens that were in existence in the 1950's. "We are looking at that," he said. "We have to at this time. No idea is too far fetched. Changes may not be all that comfortable but changes will keep security at the forefront." Maloney said other areas that the EMT is working on include what to do in residency halls if there is an emergency and how to let neighbors know what is going on, such as the elementary school next door. "There are a lot of things that we are working on," he said. "I don't have all the answers folks. I was sitting there Monday night just as you all were, scratching my head and saying, 'what a terrible tragedy'." Maloney told audience members that now was not the time to give "what if?" scenarios but rather to support one another. Dr. Arthur Jackson, Westfield State vice president of student affairs, asked audience members to observe a moment of silence for the people of Virginia Tech. He said there have been calls all day long to his office from concerned parents of students at WSC. "The students and faculty will have the emergency response plan through e-mail so everyone will know what to do," Jackson said. Jackson said that the college, in conjunction with the Westfield Police Department and the Westfield State Police, would perform a drill over the summer at one of the dormitories to act out an incident that resembles the scenario at Virginia Tech. "There will be a full drill of the campus," he said. "We were already planning this but now we will do a Columbine-type scenario." Jackson said that WSC is looking at what schools like the University of Texas do for their communication. "The last thing is, all of us, our partners, and if you see any suspicious behavior dial 9-1-1 or 562-5262," Jackson said. "If you see someone who looks suspicious but you don't know if they are, definitely a threat call public safety. Everyone should be assured we take this extremely seriously. It is paramount on our minds that we take every measure we need to regardless of cost to make sure the students and the staff are safe." "Look at the one young man [Cho] and you can see so many issues," Chief of Public Safety Paul Scannell said. "I'm not sure if the school could help him. He was an isolationist and a very angry person. These are the things that we like to hear about." "The key thing that we need is referrals," Jackson said. "Experts will help them [referrals] in what ever way that they need. We follow up on every situation." Dr. Tammy Bringaze, Director of the WSC Counseling Center, spoke at the meeting: "The important thing is getting people together," she said. "Even though we do not have a direct impact it impacts us and there are people on campus who you can utilize." Bringaze listed the faculty, staff, and the counseling center and residence advisers who were available for support. Bringaze said that if people find themselves struggling in the aftermath of the events, they might find helpful the American Psychological Association's article, "Tips for College and University Students: Managing Your Distress in the Aftermath of the Virginia Tech Shootings," which can be found at http://helping.apa.org/articles/article.php?id=151 Some tips that were listed on the American Psychological Association (ASA) web site include talking to people, striving for balance, turning news off and taking a break, honoring your feelings, taking care of yourself, helping others or doing something productive, and to remember that grief is a long process and to give yourself time. "It is important that we recognize the Asian American students and it is important that we support those students," Bringaze said. Student Body President Michael Mazeika said that he is available for students to converse with and that they (student government) are working on something to send to the student body at Virginia Tech. "After 9-11 the country began to swing in a certain direction and colleges have to be very mindful to protect students rights, but at the same time strike a balance," Maloney said. | ||||||
