Deans detail security plan
Caitlin Libby
Issue date: 5/2/07 Section: News
In response to the April 16 shooting at Virginia Tech that left 33 dead, the Senate held a hearing on April 24 to look into campus safety precautions.
Dean of Students Sue Alexander, Director of Public Safety Chuck Furgal, Community Relations Officer Paul Meade, and Associate Dean for Service, Spiritual, and Social Responsibility Vereene Parnell all stressed that students should feel confident about their safety on campus.
"It's quite natural that we all start thinking of our own safety after something like that happens," Dean Alexander said, in reference to Virginia Tech. "This college has a very complete plan."
Dean Alexander told the Senate that like all colleges, Wheaton is constantly reforming and refining its emergency plans, especially after events such as the shooting at Virginia Tech, the Sept. 11 attacks, and the potential outbreak of avian flu.
"My chief concern is that I want everyone to feel safe," said Furgal. "I feel personally responsible for your safety."
Furgal said that one of the student body's main concerns was about communication, specifically how people would be informed if such a disaster were to occur at Wheaton. Furgal assured the community that there were multiple means with which to get in touch with students if there were an immediate threat to the lives of students.
"I want you to feel 100 percent convinced that if something happened on this campus that you would hear about it," Furgal said. "We're probably going to sit down sometime and we're going to look at what happened at Virginia Tech to develop some type of framework for what we would do."
"This is going to affect every public safety at every campus across the nation," Meade added. "I don't think any of us can comprehend what affect this event is going to have on our lives yet."
Meade also told the Senate that due to the size of Wheaton, he could not foresee something like what happened at Virginia Tech happening at Wheaton.
Dean of Students Sue Alexander, Director of Public Safety Chuck Furgal, Community Relations Officer Paul Meade, and Associate Dean for Service, Spiritual, and Social Responsibility Vereene Parnell all stressed that students should feel confident about their safety on campus.
"It's quite natural that we all start thinking of our own safety after something like that happens," Dean Alexander said, in reference to Virginia Tech. "This college has a very complete plan."
Dean Alexander told the Senate that like all colleges, Wheaton is constantly reforming and refining its emergency plans, especially after events such as the shooting at Virginia Tech, the Sept. 11 attacks, and the potential outbreak of avian flu.
"My chief concern is that I want everyone to feel safe," said Furgal. "I feel personally responsible for your safety."
Furgal said that one of the student body's main concerns was about communication, specifically how people would be informed if such a disaster were to occur at Wheaton. Furgal assured the community that there were multiple means with which to get in touch with students if there were an immediate threat to the lives of students.
"I want you to feel 100 percent convinced that if something happened on this campus that you would hear about it," Furgal said. "We're probably going to sit down sometime and we're going to look at what happened at Virginia Tech to develop some type of framework for what we would do."
"This is going to affect every public safety at every campus across the nation," Meade added. "I don't think any of us can comprehend what affect this event is going to have on our lives yet."
Meade also told the Senate that due to the size of Wheaton, he could not foresee something like what happened at Virginia Tech happening at Wheaton.
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