Teachers should take initiative against violence
Dear USC Faculty and Staff,
I received a text message Thursday at 11:19 p.m. It was from my brother, a first year student at MIT, who was working the front desk in his residence hall. The text message said “Shooter on campus. I’m fine. I’ll let you know when we get an all clear.”
Though I was half asleep, the fear was immediate and nauseating. In that moment, on a campus under a state of emergency, it wasn’t clear what my brother, as a student employee in a technically safe but still relatively exposed place, was supposed to do. Should he stay at the front desk? Should he go back to his room? What would he have done if the shooter had chosen a different path, a path that led to his residence hall?
We, as leaders on our campuses, have a unique responsibility in such moments of violence. I am about to graduate with a Master of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs from this wonderful institution. I wake up every day excited that I get a chance to work to make the college experience better for my students — the countless students who, like my brother at MIT, are smart, curious, hard-working and full of potential. I’m sure many of you have students like this in your classrooms, labs, residence halls and student organizations that you advise. In an emergency, these students are likely to look to us for direction and leadership. How we act in a crisis could influence the safety of the students who motivate us to come to work each day.
That said, I implore you to educate yourself on how an active shooter or other emergency would be handled in your department or office. If you don’t know how to find out, politely and respectfully ask your supervisor or trusted mentor. If they don’t know, reach out to your campus police or senior student affairs officer. If no one knows, work together to create a plan. It could make all the difference in both your safety and the safety of your students.
After you have educated yourself, educate your students. Make emergency procedures a part of your student staff trainings, write a blurb about it in your syllabi, put it on your websites or have conversations with the students you are responsible for. If you don’t feel comfortable talking about how to handle potential violent threats, reach out to a student affairs staff member, police officer or counselor on your campus. I can assure you they’d be happy to help.
We may not be able to predict or prevent violent acts, but we can be prepared to deal with them if they happen. If we live in fear, those who perpetrate these violent acts will win. However, if we educate and prepare ourselves and our students the best we can, we can begin to take a stand against violence on our campuses.
— Jamie Corcoran, Graduate Assistant for Outreach and Early Intervention