University Safety - A Universal Concern

April 16, 2007, 32 people were killed and many others were hurt inside the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The Virginia Tech tragedy was considered to be the deadliest massacre in the United States that resulted when a lone gunman was able to run amok inside the university campus. February 14, 2008, a graduate student of Northern Illinois University opened fire in a classroom killing five students and wounding 17 more.

School violence is not the sole problem of the United States Universities. Violent school associated deaths have also happened in other parts of the world. Of course it would be noted that other school violence is not on the same scale as the two mentioned above but these terrible tragedies have certainly made us view the safety of our students with a greater degree of need after these events.

How can student safety inside the university be insured? Can these crimes be stopped? Is it necessary to increase the security personnel? Aside from student IDs, magnetic key cards and entrance passes should other safety devices be used by school administrators to ensure against these types of situations at their school?

Student IDs and entrance passes would deter unauthorized people from entering the school grounds but in most cases violence perpetrators are students themselves. Most university administrators have reacted to these situations by enhancing the existing security measures. Guards on duty were increased, guests were required to wear a visitor's pass and more metal detectors were installed. Security employees were educated on how to react to dangerous circumstances such as handling an armed student or intruder.

Another consideration to ensure the safety of the students is to allow them to carry some types of weapons like pepper sprays and stun guns. Guns though are not an option as being armed with a gun makes it easier for a person to face someone he or she doesn't like.

No doubt these measures may be useful but increasing killing in the school environment is an ongoing worldwide concern. Therefore it is imperative that the educators, the school personnel, the social service organizations, the parents and most especially the students be well informed about the issues that are discerned to be the causes of school violence. Students' safety in the university would largely depend on finding the solutions to these problems.

Understanding school violence is pretty hard as there is no "one size fits all" yardstick that would indicate if a person is on the verge of violence. One common thought as to why this violence occurs is discrimination and school bullying. People who are bullied and discriminated would reach their limit and desire revenge. These people who feel that they are not accepted by the society would like to strike back.

University administrators wise to this fact have implemented programs that would help staff and faculty to deal with this problem to better help the students in order to prevent a violent occurrence. These programs would show the telltale signs of a person on the verge of violence.

Criminal activity on campus no matter how terrible and tragic is not commonplace. Being inside the campus is considered fairly safe. The majority of the students would not have this traumatic experience. These incidents should not hamper a student's chance to an education that will prepare him/her for life.

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