After 33 people died at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University on Monday the school is fielding questions about why it happened, and Ball State University officials are also examining campus safety and communication.
President Jo Ann Gora assured students in a campus-wide e-mail that procedures, response teams and communication protocols were in place in case a similar event happened at Ball State.
Gora also said in her e-mail that if there were an emergency, Ball State's outdoor emergency warning sirens would be used. For additional information, Gora said Muncie radio and television stations would be used as well as e-mail, word-of-mouth and campus telephones.
University Web Coordinator Nancy Prater said University Communications began research on sending Ball State information to cell phones through text or voice messages after the 2005 ice storm. She said that research and work will be implemented in the fall. Incidences like the Virginia Tech shootings show why Ball State needs to be able to contact students immediately in an emergency, she said.
"It certainly brought home why we need it because in a crisis, it's critical not just for a piece of mind, but for safety," Prater said. "It certainly brought home why it's important."
Students have organized a vigil as a way to come together and show support and acknowledgment of the shootings. It is a way, June Payne, director of counseling and health services, said, to recognize the situation at Virginia Tech.
"It gives us a chance to grieve, express our empathy, sympathy and condolences toward people," she said. "It can serve different purposes for everyone but signifies something significant has happened and people either want to show support or give them a collective way to express their concerns and express their grief."
Payne said the Counseling Center was available for students who might need professional services to help with vicarious trauma. Vicarious trauma is when a student is not directly affected by a situation but will react with a similar response as if he was involved in the situation.
Alan Hargrave, associate dean of student affairs director of housing and residence life, said the housing office is continuously looking for ways to improve its services. Students are provided information during move-in about safety issues, and he said he felt good about the safety procedures in place.
"For safety reasons we urge students to not allow piggy-backing at the card access doors, use their peep holes, keep their doors locked when they are asleep or not in their room." Hargrave said. "We would also use university communication services to notify students if there was a problem around campus."
Hargrave has been at Ball State for 21 years and during that time, weapons have been found in residence halls, he said. He said, however, he is not familiar with a situation that could have escalated into a problem like what happened at Virginia Tech. At this point and time, Hargrave said, there are no plans to schedule meetings to discuss the possibility of situations such as the lock downs.
"If students are worried for their safety or know of somebody who has a weapon, they should contact their residence hall director or university police," he said. "We want people to be aware and concerned, but we don't want students to be hysterical about the issue. We certainly take student safety very seriously and if there are additional measures we need to take then they will be given full consideration."
Director of Public Safety Gene Burton said the police force already had a heightened sense of awareness and increased its campus patrol because of the attempted abduction on Thursday.
The University, Muncie, Delaware County and State police departments, have had joint practice scenarios involving active deployment and live shooter trainings, he said.
If a situation such as that at Virginia Tech happened at Ball State, Burton said police departments would work together to stop it. The university and police would also collaborate to warn students faculty, staff and others and make sure people are safe and information is made public in a timely and accurate manner.
NotificationPresident Jo Ann Gora said in an e-mail Tuesday that if there were an emergency students would be notified via:
Ball State's outdoor emergency warning sirensMuncie radio and television stationsE-mailWord-of-mouthCampus telephones
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