Campus security: Cal State Fullerton
O.C. Register 4/29/07
[On July 12, 1976, a university custodian, Edward Allaway, shot and killed seven people in the campus library. A judge found him innocent by reason of insanity and he was sent to a state mental hospital, where he remains today].
Because our university community is not unacquainted with tragedy, CSUF has long placed extraordinary emphasis on emergency preparedness and response and the importance of having multiple channels to communicate quickly with all community members in an emergency situation.
We have in place a public address system with which we can blanket the entire campus with emergency information in real time.
Our campus network can blast simultaneous e-mail messages to all members of the university community, and an electronic calling system can blast emergency voice messages simultaneously to the office, cell and home telephone numbers of all faculty and staff. A similar system – installed first – allows us to contact students.
We are one of only two campuses in the CSU system with university police staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by sworn police officers who have received advanced training for active-shooter situations. We also have standing agreements with local police agencies to provide assistance as needed. University Police can be contacted by dialing 911 from any campus phone or the "Code Blue" phones located throughout the campus. In the event of a campus emergency, the university's Campus Operation and Emergency Closure Information Line (714-278-4444) keeps campus and community members updated as information is received.
CSUF's Emergency Preparedness Web site includes comprehensive information for faculty, staff and students on campus emergency preparedness policies and procedures. This fall, University Police will test our emergency response plan and communication systems by conducting a "shelter/secure in place" drill, in addition to the regularly scheduled tests that measure the university's ability to evacuate campus buildings speedily should the need arise.
The tragedy in Blacksburg offers a fresh demonstration that public universities are some of the most porous and open institutions in our nation today – an inevitable result of both their educational purposes and foundational mandates. Just as it has in the general population, the number of people in college with serious mental health issues has skyrocketed in the past 10 to 15 years. These two circumstances have combined to strain support services on campuses across the nation.
Here at Cal State Fullerton, we view these circumstances not as cause for alarm but as a powerful reminder of the interdependence essential to the health and safety of our university community. If individuals requiring assistance are to receive the help they need, it will take purposeful communication between University Police, counseling staff, the offices of Faculty Affairs and Student Affairs, and every responsible member of the university community.
It is this interdependence that makes university campuses seem like big families, as I told our students, staff and faculty at the candlelight vigil for Virginia Tech that was organized by our student-run Peer Health University Network.
We are committed to providing faculty, staff, administrators, students and visitors an accessible and safe campus in which to learn, study and work. Acts and threats of violence concern every member of our campus family, endangering as they do the well-being of the community and the open dialogue and free exchange of ideas essential to higher education.
As individuals and as family members, we all have a duty to be vigilant, act responsibly upon any concerns and help keep our campus safe.
Milton Gordon is President, Cal State University Fullerton