University approach to emergencies in step with national security procedures

10 things students can do to promote their own safety:

• Review safety protocols at bsu.edu/prepared.
• Sign up for emergency text messaging at bsu.edu/emergencytext.
• Follow Ball State alerts on Twitter @ballstate_alert.
• Avoid sharing photos and videos on social media from inside a secured perimeter. Assailants can track such information and use it to gain an advantage over safety personnel. Also avoid – spreading unverified rumors. The official source for vetted and reliable information is bsu.edu.
• Follow the directions of safety personnel on the site of an emergency situation.
• In the event of an emergency on campus, call your family to let them know you are safe.
• Do not walk alone at night. Travel in groups. Avoid distractions like listening to music on headphones.
• Use Charlie’s Charter, which provides free transportation on a first come, first serve basis on university owned or controlled property. The service is available 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday during the fall and spring semesters.
• Be cautious about meet ups to sell or trade goods with strangers that you meet online.
• Report suspicious activity to UPD at 765-285-1111.
SOURCE: Tony Proudfoot, university spokesperson

While many students may remember lockdown drills at schools before Ball State, a full lockdown isn’t feasible on a college campus, officials from multiple universities said.

Instead, going on “high alert” following a report of a gun on campus is the most realistic option for universities.

Jack Dowling, president and principal consultant at JD Security Consultants, LLC, said there are generally two different approaches to respond to a potential gunman or active shooter: a lockdown or shelter-in-place.

A lockdown is typically isolated to a building that contains a perceived threat, Dowling said. A shelter-in-place is standard when a threat is not in a single building, but is moving between buildings.

Lockdowns are effective for a few buildings as opposed to an entire campus, and a shelter-in-place is good for buildings that are not involved, keeping everyone safe and inside, Dowling said.

Dowling said that the method used depends on a lot of factors for each building. These two approaches are used in different capacities by almost every school in the country, including Virginia Tech, IUPUI and Ball State, who have recently used these procedures for possible or actual reports of a gunman on campus.

Ball State

During the Nov. 15 gunman threat, at least six different police forces, including Indiana State Police and Homeland Security, spent three hours searching the Student Recreation and Wellness Center following the reports of someone shouting “gun” in the Health and Physical Activity Building.

No suspect was found, but students were locked in the facility and evacuated in police-escorted groups. During the search for the suspect, residence halls were secured.

Tony Proudfoot, a university spokesperson, said in a press conference Friday that the university doesn’t use the term “lockdown,” because Ball State includes more than 100 buildings.

“It is a misconception to think of us like a school,” Proudfoot said via email. “It makes more sense to think of us like a city. In many cases there can be a threat contained to a specific part of the city that does not affect other areas, which can continue to operate.”

Proudfoot noted that Ball State’s population and more than 700 acres of land make the school about the size of New Castle or Seymour, Ind.

By Dowling’s definitions, Ball State implemented both security approaches. The rec center and Health and Physical Activity Building were placed on lockdown, while the surrounding buildings were on what is colloquially called a “soft lockdown” or “partial lockdown.”

Dowling said there isn’t a “one size fits all” for what a university should do to respond to a potential gunman; however, Ball State followed the guidelines that have been established in the past by other events.

“Each situation is different,” Dowling said. “There are these general guidelines that people want to do. There isn’t a one size fits all. It’s too fluid a situation to give an exact or specific instruction, but there are approaches to help guide [the administration] in these situations.”

He said spreading information is one of the most important aspects of dealing with a tragedy.

“Ever since the Virginia Tech incident in 2007, [colleges and universities] have tried to improve the mass communication process,” Dowling said.

VIRGINIA TECH

Mark Owczarski, Virginia Tech assistant vice president of university relations, said he agrees that a traditional lockdown isn’t feasible on a college campus because many of them include roads and multiple buildings.

“To suggest that you can lockdown a college campus would suggest an erroneous sense of safety,” Owczarski said.

In 2007, a gunman on the Virginia Tech campus, Seung-Hui Cho, shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others before dying by suicide.

Police arrived within three minutes of receiving an emergency call and took about five minutes to enter the barricaded building, according to the Associated Press.

The university informed students of what was going on two hours after the first shooting through an email.

Since then, Owczarski said they have reviewed their shutdown policy, but largely haven’t changed it.

“We don’t really have a way to lock down our campus,” he said. “There just isn’t a logical way to lock down the entire campus. When you think of a traditional lockdown, it applies to elementary, middle and high schools where you lock the front door and that’s about it.”

Virginia Tech has more than 130 buildings and about 30,000 students.

Virginia Tech’s approach breaks potential danger into two categories of student action. Either a student takes shelter and stays out of the way of potential danger or they secure themselves by locking themselves in a room until police or university officials give the all clear. This is similar to Ball State’s response to the Nov. 15 situation.

Owczarski said the safety of students is primarily in the student’s control in potentially dangerous situations.

“In an event where there is the potential danger of a gunman, the first step is to be aware there is danger,” Owczarski said. “Signing up for a messaging system, being aware of a situation — those are things you can do to protect yourself.”

Proudfoot echoed Owczarski’s suggestion at a press conference following the announcement of an “all clear,” providing a list of ways students can take charge of their own safety, including reviewing safety protocols at bsu.edu/prepared, signing up for emergency text messaging at bsu.edu/emergencytext, and avoiding spreading rumors and unverified information in emergency situations.

IUPUI

In March, IUPUI’s campus was under “high alert” for about four hours following reports of a man with a gun on campus, according to the AP.

No suspect or threat was found, and the campus was not put on official lockdown.

During the high alert, students were not stopped from entering or leaving campus.

More than 100 police officers from university, local, state and federal departments were involved in the search, said Bill Abston, IU Police Indianapolis captain.

The police never ordered any buildings to lock down, but some university staff took it upon themselves to secure them instead.

“We can’t lock our campus down,” Abston said. “Due to the geographic nature with as many buildings as we have, with the major four-lane roads going through our campus, we can lock some buildings down. But the campus lockdown, we didn’t do.”

IUPUI’s campus includes 66 buildings and more than 30,000 students.

Abston said they are still reviewing safety procedures and are thinking of switching to a system similar to Virginia Tech.

He said one of the largest challenges is communicating with students.

“A lot of the time, people want us to give them absolute answers, and we just can’t do that,” Abston said. “We want to try and give you options and educate you on your options. Know your environment.”

Moving forward, Abston and the IU Police in Indianapolis will rely more on frequent social media posts. Getting information out is nearly as important as securing a campus, Dowling said.

Moving forward

Ball State’s new Twitter alert account, @ballstate_alert, posted its first alert in relation to the possible armed assailant incident at 4:40 p.m. Nov. 15, about 10 minutes after police first arrived at the rec center.

Proudfoot said during the incident, the university tweeted and sent email and text notifications every five to eight minutes at the beginning of the situation. The account then slowed down to update every 10-15 minutes while police continued the search.

The now 3-week-old Twitter account jumped from fewer than 10 followers to more than 4,900.

“Establishing a Twitter account takes moments,” Proudfoot said on Nov. 15. “The challenge is establishing the staffing and protocols for how it is going to be used.”

Emma Kate Fittes contributed to this story.