Inside USD’s school shooting precautions
Recent school shooting causes students to question USD’s preparedness
Salena Chacon / Assistant News Editor / The USD Vista
Recently, school shootings are alarmingly present within the media. On Oct. 24, a school shooting at the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School killed two people and injured seven in St. Louis. A movie released in late September on Netflix, “The Luckiest Girl Alive,” featured a woman traumatized by a school shooting in her past.
The prevalence of these events in the media calls attention to USD’s preparedness in the case of an active shooter.
USD provides training for students in the event of a school shooting under Public Safety’s Emergency Preparedness website (https://www.sandiego.edu/emergency/ ). The “training” tab contains a video that outlines how students can best prepare for an active shooter on campus. The video focuses mainly on developing a “survival mindset” in which students should always be aware of their surroundings and prioritize their safety first.
There is also a written emergency procedure listed on the website, which lays out the three options students have in an active shooter emergency, which are to run, hide or fight. This training is not mandatory as sexual assault prevention and diversity and inclusion training are. Students interested in this information must seek it out themselves.
USD senior Hayden Nabers cannot recall any active shooter training.
“I don’t remember anything [USD] taught us about school shootings,” Nabers said. “I’m sure I could end up finding [the training] if I were to scroll through USD’s websites, but off the top of my head I couldn’t tell you what the regulations are.”
USD junior Kayla Wright echoed Nabers.
“I received training from my high school and possibly from my elementary school, but not at the college level,” Wright expressed.
Wright had a class in the Learning Commons during her first year, and mentioned feeling unsure of what she would do in a school shooting in a classroom with primarily glass walls.
“It is a little bit more difficult to hide in the Learning Commons, because they can see right into your classroom,” Wright said. “Even if you’re hiding or barricading the door, it’s really easy to be seen, and I don’t know how easy the glass is to break, but it could be pretty breakable.”
USD’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) suggested in an email interview that the same emergency procedure should be followed regardless of the type of classroom a student is in.
“Students in classrooms with glass walls should respond in the same way as they would in any other type of location. National training recommends to run, hide and then fight,” DPS explained.
Although classrooms made of glass seem unsafe to students such as Wright, DPS assured that the safety of USD students was considered when reviewing building design.
“Public Safety reviews building design in order to place cameras in our buildings for the protection of our campus community. The campus has been undergoing improvements to the entrances of all buildings on campus so if an emergency were to occur we are able to remotely and immediately lock access to buildings,” DPS said.
DPS also encourages students to take advantage of extra training provided.
“DPS provides safety related topics in the Torero Weekly and will be hosting scheduled Active Shooter/ Emergency Preparedness presentations on a regular basis that are available to students and the USD community,” DPS said.
Information sessions for this school year will be held almost every Wednesday from Nov. 2 – Dec. 14 in Maher Hall 205.
Specific details on this presentation are featured in the Torero Weekly, or on the USD News Center website.
An active shooting would be an alarming event for USD students, and to best prepare for this event, students are encouraged by DPS to watch the training video and read the emergency procedure provided.