Virginia Tech Shootings & Campus Security

Soon after I heard about the shootings at Virginia Tech, April 16, 2007, I switched to FoxNews. I watched and listened as each person talked to speculated on what happened. I watched as some they talked to professed righteous indignation at the "lack of security" at the college campus, and demanding to know why they didn't lock the whole campus down immediately following the first of today's incident, especially since they (VT) had a shooting incident at the beginning of the semester, and why it took them two hours to report it to the students. You ever notice how indignant many of the named individual show anchors get when they think they know it all? (And, remember... They DON'T... at least as the news is happening.)

Well, let's think about this. The first shooting occurred in a dormitory/residence hall, and apparently, a man and woman were arguing. An assistant at the hall began to intervene, and the man shot the woman and the RA, dead. He then, left the building, maybe (at least one report said) shooting his way out and wounding a number of other students in the process. While this was going on, 911 was called, the police showed up, shut down the hall, and began assessing the situation. I've heard reports that the dorm was closed, students ordered into their rooms, the injured removed, and the investigation begun, At this point, to me, and to them, it looked like a "domestic incident". (If this had happened in a regular apartment complex, I don't think anything different would have been done.) Logically, this makes sense. They had information it was an escalated argument, the victims were there, reports that the gunman had left the building, etc. The college gathered security forces, including local sheriff and police, and began a sweep of the campus when the second incident was reported.

In the second, an apparent student walked into a classroom and shot the professor dead. All of the students hit the floor. No command was given by the gunman, but they did it, anyway. He then began shooting students. When he left and heard screaming, moaning, and others trying to get 911, he re-entered and shot some more. (This reported by a student wounded in the arm, who apparently "played dead" after being shot.) After killing almost 30 there and wounding a couple of dozen, he killed himself. The shooter had chained the exit doors of the building from the inside, so no one could get in or out easily. Many students, apparently jumped from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floor windows, some breaking their ankles in landing. (A student they interviewed on the phone reported that they'd rather have their ankle broken than ...) As soon as it was reported, the campus sent out emails to all students, telling them to stay in the dorm rooms, and locked down the whole campus.

HOWEVER, think about THIS: About 9000 students live on campus, with 14000 commuting from OFF campus. These numbers do not include the 10,000 employees of the university, most of whom were "in transit" between the end of the first and second incident. Even in today's day and age, not everyone has cell phones. Not everyone listens to the radio. Even those who do could be taking a shower, listening to CDs with it turned up, etc. They reported that vehicles with loud speakers were driving around campus reporting the campus was closed and to stay in the rooms they were in, and many didn't hear it because of this. HOW are they to let EVERYONE involved know what's going on, stay in their rooms away from windows, and to stay away from campus?

While dorms are locked down to allow only students and employees entrance, one student reported all they had to do when they lost or forgot their key was to wait until someone left, and slip in behind them before the door closed. Besides the dorms, the main buildings cannot be locked down, easily, because there are people (grad students, TAs, maintenance people, etc.) who need full access to them. And even then, the same method could be used to get in and out.
So what are they to do? Almost any security measure can and probably WOULD be considered an invasion of privacy, especially something involving fingerprints and/or corneal scans (the databases could be sold to the government, after all...) It's hard enough to get students to use their student ids for discounts, let alone security. The "slip-in" method has to be addressed. What about older campuses with older buildings? They can't hire armed guards for every room or building. All of this is physical security. Add to that the computers, networks, cell phones, electric and water supplies, etc. You think the cost of secondary education is high now...

HOWEVER, a modicum of security could be handled by the student (and faculty/staff) ID cards. They should contain all the information on a driver's license (except the DL # replaced with an ID number specific to the school), and a unique mag-strip code replaced every time the ID is replaced and/or every year, required for each entry into each building, including parking structures, could be enforceable:

• Security logs any time the student's id is used to enter or leave a building. At class-change, a turnstile or something like it would have to be employed and EVERY student MUST run their card through... Going in AND going out.
• Any student allowing another person to enter a building UNESCORTED (only to the building security desk - They'd take over from there...) without their own access card would be reprimanded the first time, limited to class and their own dorms for a time the second time, and expelled the third time. Satellite security/police offices/kiosks around campus will allow students (after checking to be sure they are who they say they are) to get a temporary ID, used only for that day or a certain number of hours (times can be programmed). These MUST be turned in. This will also be the way for visitors to campus to gain access to certain buildings, especially on Parents' Day or others (temporary/visitor passes).
• All doors are locked unless the card is used, then only unlocked for a short time or until it closes again. No building doors or unsecured first-floor windows are to be left open under ANY circumstances.
• Security cameras should dot the campus (not pointed at ANY dorm windows - if anyone uses them for that, they should be fired and prosecuted).
• Each building should have a flashing light/loud-speaker system installed (think high-school). Each student should have a campus email account (if they don't already). They should have quick access to a page on the campus website that tells them 1) the weather, 2) Amber Alerts, 3) Campus Security Notifications (most of the page), and maybe a few other police, security and "comfort" bits of information. Some of them (except the security notifications) would/should be links. The alarm/loudspeaker should be triggered by campus security (a building, region of, or full campus alert at a time), with a message telling the students a summary of the security problem, and telling them to access the security page. (The flashing lights allow deaf students to see there's a problem, and a klaxon and the announcement allows the blind to hear.)
• Each student's cell phone/PDA # MUST be registered on campus, and be allowed to receive free text-messages from campus security. I'm sure the cell phone providers could be worked with for users' protection. (Especially after VT.) If not, this could be REQUIRED BY LAW.
• The local Emergency Management System could be employed on campus and the surrounding area. Many cable companies employ them, and, I'm sure, many campuses use their own cable system. This could break into radio/TV programming to inform anyone watching/listening of security situations on campus or the local area. (Cable companies need to be sure to sync analog and digital for this to work properly.)
• Maybe signs like they put along the highways now - the ones that flash Amber Alerts and warn of closures? - at each entrance to campus, used in much the same way, but also flashing security situations.
• All security alert systems should be checked at least once-a-month. (Heck... The tornado alarms in our town are tested once-a-week at a specific time.)
• Guess we can't forget about events on-campus for the public... Temp passes would work, but access to other areas of the campus would need to be restricted.

And, I'm sure there are other security measures that can be taken. Some are already in effect on many campuses, but maybe this can give them some ideas. Remember, though... Each and every idea costs money, which the college/university will pass on to students.

Did Virginia Tech make a mistake by not emailing the general campus population about the first incident - that there had been a shooting in a dorm - and the gunman was "on the loose"? Probably, but again, how would they let EVERYONE know? Even with all of the above suggestions, there will still be those who don't get the information until it's too late. And, what happens when it's a student (or two or...) with access to all buildings?

There's no way to make campuses as secure as many parents would like without virtually keeping all students sequestered on-campus and in their dorms throughout a complete semester... Think they'd allow the same type of frat or sorority parties in a prison like this? (Is that a BAD thing?)

Do you have any more security ideas or comments on the above?

Bill Sanders

Real ID - 2008? (Getting my Driver's License, 2007)

I just received the Snopes weekly newsletter which contains:

In a mixture of truth and falsehood, e-mail of the moment asserts that by 2008, licensed U.S. motorists will have to undergo recredentialing and have Federal ID numbers inserted into their hands.

The link for the story and debunking of the untrue parts of it is http://www.snopes.com/politics/traffic/realid.asp.

According to Snopes, "as of April, 2007, the DHS lists ... requirements for a Real-ID compliant driver's license, and lists them.

From http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/07-1009.htm

Minimum Driver's License or Identification Card Data Element Requirements

To meet the requirements of section 202(b) of the Act, a State is required to include, at a minimum, the following information and features on each driver's license and identification card:

1. Full legal name;
2. Date of birth;
3. Gender;
4. Driver's license or identification card number;
5. A digital color photograph;
6. Address of principal residence;
7. Signature;
8. Physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting, or duplication of the document for any fraudulent purpose;
9. A common MRT, with defined minimum data elements.

In addition, DHS has determined that States must also include issue date and expiration date on each driver's license or identification card.

What this means is you will need to be able to prove you are who you say you are, and all of the information above, using Primary Sources (Birth Certificates, Passports, etc.) You may also need to prove other things (address, etc.), so be sure to see the link above and/or your own state's BMV site for the documenation you will need.

--

I just got my driver's license renewed. I forgot that it expired on my BD (3/21), and, when I remembered (second week of April, 2007), I was "out and about", and thought I'd just stop in for a few minutes, and get it renewed. Nope.

I don't remember ANY publicity or notificiation (or reminders) that the above was happening NOW. Here's what happened.

I walked in, and within about five (5) minutes was seated with the lady verifying my information from my old license for my new license. She asked if everything was still correct, and then sat without asking questions for a few moments. She said that it was connecting "with downtown" (Lebanon or Indy?) and verifying my info... That if it hadn't responded within 20 minutes, she was to call "downtown". About 10 minutes later, she apparently got notification that she was to call, so she did. (The phone was at a desk out of my seated sight.)

About 10 minutes later, she returned, and asked if I had any other ID. I didn't (I had CCs, my voter's registration, and others, but nothing was good enough.) I asked why? She said that someone with my exact name (William D. Sanders) had had their license suspended in another state, and I had to prove that I was me. (Now, I need to say that my license had been updated at the same branch last year, after I'd tested with hand-controls. It had to be marked with that restriction - so I can ONLY use hand-controls, now.) I said, holding up my license with my picture on it, "And THIS isn't good enough?" Nope. I looked through my wallet, again, and found that even if I'd still had my draft registration card from 1973 in my wallet, it was obviously expired, so wouldn't have worked. I could only use a certified birth certificate, passport (which I've never had occassion to get), or something else.

Knowing that I had my BC at home, I started to leave as she said we could call Zanesville Ohio for it. I don't know if they could FAX a "certified copy" or not, but, if not, I knew it would take a few days to get here, and I wanted to get the license NOW, especially since it was expired, and now SOME people in the government knew it! So I drove the 1/2 mile home and started looking through all my genealogical data (which is one of the reasons I had gotten my BC, and I KNEW it was there, somewhere.)

After going through it all twice, I finally found it, and returned to the branch. Since I'd been there before, I got right back to where I was before, but had to wait for a couple of ladies to get theirs. The same girl came and took my BC and license, and went to the phone. It took about 15 minutes before I heard her say my name over the phone. My middle name is not spelled the way many are, and I said, "You're going to have to spell it"... She said, "I am spelling it," and spelled it and my last name over the phone. She then went to the copier, within my seated sight, and photocopied my BC. I said, "Heck, if I'd have known a photocopy would do, I'd have just printed the scanned version." (It wouldn't have worked... The Certification process adds ink and indents of the state seal in the special paper.)

I had to sign that I was who I said I was and that the paper I'd provided was me. (Guess they could get me for perjury, too, if it weren't.) I went to the cashier and paid $26 (for 6 years), and back to the camera. She took my picture, and waited a few minutes while the machine processed my license.

While we were waiting, I pointed out that they weren't called ME a liar, but THIS BRANCH ITSELF, since they provided me with the license I was renewing just last year. Also, I'd complained that I'd not heard or seen anything about the "proof" requirement (primary sources), and the girl's supervisor found a sheet of paper with the items needed on it. (I have since tossed it, I believe. If I find it, I will attach a link to it here. But remember, it may only be good for Indiana.)

To add insult to injury, while we were waiting, the branch closed, the door was locked, and everyone else filed to the back. When she handed me my license, I tried to leave, but the door was locked. She came and let me out, and I went home.

So, the "10 minutes" it would normally and used to have taken (in 04/2007 - thought this requirement was for something like 05/2007?) took about a half-hour at the branch, a drive home, a frantic search for a single envelope with my birth certificate in it, a return to the branch about an hour later, another half-hour or so, and another drive home. The reason? Besides the "Real ID", it was because some a-hole with MY NAME IN ANOTHER STATE got his license suspended.

I recommend you search your state's BMV for required documentation, so you only have to make one trip to get your new driver's license!

Bill

Imus, Words and Questions

Don Imus has been fired by MSNBC and CBS Radio. Are Sharpton and Jackson happy? I doubt it. Jackson has said, "Imus is on 1,040 hours a [year] and yet they have virtually no black show hosts. That is true for other networks as well, We must raise the ethical standard for all of them." (Hosts or networks, Jesse?)

Because of two words, neither of which is the "N-BOMB", and words that are used in black artists' songs (rap and otherwise), Imus has been labeled as racist and sexist. He's 67, so he may be ready to retire, but I have questions (and my, admittedly, PERCEIVED answers to some, to the public AND to the networks involved.)

Question: Does this mean that the majority of rap music out there is sexist and racist? Oh, HELL NO! See, because they are of the race being insulted, "it's ok". Why isn't there such a storm over every one of those songs that use the terms? Instead, they fly to #1 on the charts. Why is it that races and nationalities can call others in their own race/nationality by words and "insulting terms", but if a white man or other race does, it's bad? Doesn't the use of the terms just mean that people are trying to be current? ... Hip? ... That the race/nationality and their music/movies/tv shows are making "inroads" in the public's consciousness? (I'm not the only one to think this way... See http://mensnewsdaily.com/2007/04/12/don-imus-fired-now-lets-go-after-the-black-rappers/)

Question: Don Imus said a couple of other things that weren't "right", but the controversy was sparked over two words, one of which was initially said by the show's executive producer, Bernard McGuirk. And even more insults were heaped on the Rutgers team by former Imus sports announcer Sid Rosenberg, filling in for [regular] sportscaster Chris Carlin. Why weren't THEY fired?

(If you want to read a transcript of what was said, that section of the show can be found at http://mediamatters.org/items/200704040011. Find "Imus".)

Question: Why is it that other celebs who've said "bad things" (and a lot stronger and harsher than Imus' two words), are allowed to go to "rehab", then "all is forgiven"?

Question: With the proliferation of rap music, and the HUGE use of at least one of the terms Imus uttered in it, is it any wonder that people don't know what they CAN and CAN'T say without fearing the Sharptons, the Jacksons and many other publicity hounds of the world won't jump down their throats? (Why aren't they all over the news denouncing rap music for its racist, sexist and violent lyrics? Why don't they protest all the violence in music and video games? Why can Snoop Dogg say these things without backlash, but when ANY white guy does, there're demands of termination?)

Please don't misunderstand. I don't like the words, myself. I can't see ANY case where I, personally, would use the words. These terms and the promotion of violence are the main reasons I don't like a lot of rap music. (OK... Add to that the incescent BOOM BOOM BOOMs from many cars, driven by all races.) And rap-writers: Don't tell me that that's what you grew up with... That type of rap ain't THAT old!

Does anyone remember George Carlin's "Seven Words You Can't Say On Television"? Last time I saw him do it, the list had grown to about an 11-foot scroll. Guess if he hasn't, already, he's got to add a BUNCH of other terms, huh? Then again, if he says them, even reading from the list of words you can't say, he'll probably be attacked as racist, sexist, etc.

Should Imus have been fired? I don't know. (I never listened to him, so have no clue if Jackson's claim of "a pattern" is correct.) Should he have been punished? I'd say, "yes". Originally, he was to be suspended. (Was that with or without pay?) That would have been time he could have gone to rehab with Jesse. Instead, Sharpton and Jackson saw "a pattern" (in Imus, or America?), and demanded termination; Sponsors threatened to or did pull their support; And Imus was canned. Over two words used in numerous #1 songs.

If certain words aren't allowed to be used by mainstream America, why are they allowed by anyone, anywhere?

Bill Sanders