Campus Crisis Management: Planning only goes so far…

After the tragedy at Virginia Tech in April 2007, the institution and the administration were sharply criticized in the general public and in the media for their response and crisis-action plan. The New York Times published an article in August of 2007 (Virginia Tech Criticized for Actions in Shootings) that focused on a state panel’s recommendation that the university did not act quick enough to alert the public (students and community) of the hostile situation on campus. The panel claims that by doing so, the university failed at a preventing the deaths within the campus community. In the article, the university falls in a dang-if-you-do-dang-if-you-don’t situation. While the panel felt that the university did respond properly to something as simple as a double-homicide on campus, it was chastised for not locking down the campus after premature police findings. After the tragedy at Virginia Tech, colleges across the nation critiqued and strengthened their policies concerning campus crises.

Universities have gone above and beyond in terms of creating precise campus crisis response plans. For example, many institutions have implemented quick alert systems such as the Red Alert system at The University of Mississippi. To add to the technology, official university websites now feature “emergency information” as a topic on their main page as well as the implementation of social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter. As mentioned in a February 2008 article in The Chronicle (Colleges Must Create 'Culture of Preparedness,' Campus-Safety Experts Say), one expert went as far to say that it would not be surprising to see colleges implement a campus emergency response plan video at freshman orientation sessions. The article also mentions creating a “culture of preparedness” with the community. The main idea behind this culture is to communicate to the students. The state panel in Virginia found that this culture was absent on the campus of Virginia Tech. Regina Lawson, chief of police at Wake Forest University, even goes as far as saying that it is imperative that institutions not only implement emergency-response plans, but they practice them as well.

With all of this being said, planning can only carry an administration so far. John Buck of Webster University in Missouri mentions in the Chronicle (During a Campus Crisis, There Is No Substitute for Experience) that experience matters most when incidents arise. At an annual conference for the Association of College & University Housing Officers-International, only two of twelve officials responded that they relied on response plans and protocol to make decisions in times of crisis. The other ten officials said that their decisions were driven by previous experience and similar incidents. Unfortunately, experience is something that cannot be taught. It is suggested by Buck that younger staff members be brought in during times of crisis to observe how the situation is handled and what takes place. How will younger generations of staff members be able to respond in the future without experience from the past?