Securing the future
Tragedy at Virginia Tech sparks re-evaluation of campus security
Matthew Finger & Jeff McMurray
Staff Writers
On Monday, April 16, Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old English major at Virginia Tech, walked into Norris Hall on campus and killed 32 people and then himself. Seung-Hui used two handguns, one of which was tested by ballistics labs and was confirmed to be used in the shooting of two other people earlier that morning.
As Virginia Tech and the nation grieves, a voice of hope speaks out. “We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears, through all this sadness,” proclaimed distinguished professor of English at Virginia Tech, Nikki Giovanni, at a memorial service held in the school’s basketball arena.
The tragic and unexpected nature of Monday’s attacks has begun to raise questions about safety precautions around college campuses nationwide.
Xavier is among the concerned educational institutions that have begun to reflect on-campus safety. The Emergency Response Team met Wednesday morning for three hours not only to discuss the events at Virginia Tech, but also to discuss Xavier’s emergency plans and preparedness.
The Emergency Response Team (ERT), established two years ago, is a team consisting of 25 members drawn from every major internal division at Xavier. This body includes, but is not limited to, representatives from Residence Life, Campus Police, Campus Ministry and the Physical Plant, said Kelly Leon, Xavier’s Director of Public Relations and member of the ERT.
Sylvia Bessegato, the Chair of the ERT and Associate Vice President of Emergency Management and Business Continuity, explained that the role of the ERT is to assess emergency preparedness with an obvious concentration on student and faculty safety. The ERT meets once every two weeks as well as in special circumstances, such as this week’s events at Virginia Tech.
While the ERT is a body designed to prevent and respond to emergencies on campus, it is also considered a first response organization and would assume a reactionary role in case an emergency should occur.
Should such an incident transpire, the ERT would, along with other groups such as Campus Police and Residence Life, assume the role of communicating with the campus, thus informing both the students and faculty of the situation. The ERT also chooses a response plan to efficiency handle emergencies.
“Communication is one of the most critical things you need to manage a crisis,” emphasized Bessegato. Media such as the Xavier portal, cell phones, emails and personal contact are all tools for communication both between administrators and students, and within the ERT itself.
While it is comforting to have, the Emergency Response Team’s presence is not reflected in the day-to-day affairs of Xavier’s campus. It is groups such as Campus Police that assure the safety of the university.
The Xavier Univesity Campus Police force consists of 18 officers, all of which are certified Ohio State Peace Officers. To put this in perspective, the officers of the Norwood and the Cincinnati police departments are also certified as Ohio State Peace Officers. There are officers as well as a campus police dispatcher on duty 24 hours a day.
Besides our own campus police, Xavier has a mutual aid agreement with emergency response teams in the surrounding community, such as the Norwood and Cincinnati Police Departments and Fire Departments.
Xavier is also a National Incident Management System (NIMS) compliant university, a requirement that will be demanded of all universities by 2008. This, along with the implementation of the ERT and the mutual aid agreement, makes Xavier, as Dr. Luther Smith, the Dean of Students, said, “ahead of the curve” in safety.
Yet despite the precautionary measures taken by Xavier, it is still difficult to predict incidents such as the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Planning for, much less preventing, emergencies is a very complex and ultimately an ongoing process. “All crises are different,” noted Ms. Bessegato.
With that in mind, it is important to realize that despite the terrible results of Monday’s shooting, there have been important questions raised and lessons learned. “These types of things do happen,” said Smith, who also emphasized the responsibility that everyone has for their own safety. Smith believes that education, not just for Xavier but on a national scale, is the key to safety.
Kelly Leon stresses that students are the eyes and ears of Xavier’s campus. Feedback from students is essential in the maintenance and further improvement of the campus, and she encourages student input for the ERT. Responsibility does not lie solely with organizations such as the ERT or Campus Police; the students must take responsibility for their well-being as well.
Xavier student acquitted of rape charges
Rachel Peters
Senior News Editor
Former Xavier University senior Michael “Yates” Walker was acquitted on three counts of sexual battery and two counts of rape in a Hamilton County court on Thursday, April 5.
Walker was accused of raping two Xavier University freshmen girls on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006. According to Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Seth Tieger, Walker allegedly served alcohol to the minors until they lost consciousness.
One of the women reported waking up naked the next morning, unable to recall the previous night. The second woman suspected nothing and accompanied Walker on a date the following evening in which Walker allegedly attacked her again.
The two women reportedly discussed their similar situations and suspicions together and, after realizing what had transpired, reported the incidents to the police.
A warrant was issued for Walker’s arrest on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006 and he was arrested four days later. Walker was released on a $250,000 bond on Tuesday, Nov. 14.
Throughout the following months subpoenas were issued to several Xavier University students, two medical records custodians, the McGrath Health and Counseling center, Xavier University Residence Life, Norwood Police Department, the Facebook Inc. and Xavier University Dean of Students.
Walker, a 27-year-old Norwood resident, returned from the army to finish his undergraduate degree at Xavier.
Walker was defended by Raymond Faller. Initial pleas, trial settings and hearings were arranged by Judge Fred Nelson, while Judge Fred Cartolano oversaw the three day trial.
Walker declined to comment on his recent acquittals.
Rock for Darfur
The rock concert heard ‘round the world
Kelly Shaw
Campus News Editor
AM Elevator is one of the bands headlining “Rock for Darfur.”
The Xavier Marketing Club hopes to launch a new event using the familiar Xavier ideal of social justice. The first annual Xavier music festival, named “Rock for Darfur,” will take place from 5:30-8:30 p.m. next Monday, April 23, on the greenspace. As the name suggests, all donations will benefit those affected by the tragedy in Darfur, Sudan.
The idea for this project evolved out of another marketing project that involved AM Elevator and Landen Falls, two of the bands that will be playing at the concert. Now the Marketing Club is trying to make the event annual, and hopes to eventually showcase up-and-coming student bands.
“At the beginning of this year, the Marketing Club revamped our mission statement to include more hands on experience in the community,” said vice president of the Marketing Club, Mike Vulanich. “This event will develop the marketing program, and it’s a wonderful cause.”
Sudan has long been plagued by near-constant civil war due to various regional conflicts, but recently the conflict has escalated to disastrous heights that raised humanitarian concerns worldwide.
In July 2003, a Sudanese militia called the Janjaweed began campaigning to ethnically cleanse the western region of Darfur, which the government believes to be a rebel outpost. Prior to the Janjaweed retaliation, various military headquarters were attacked by guerilla forces, calling themselves the Darfur Liberation Front. The Janjaweed has since razed Darfur farming villages while kidnapping, raping and murdering masses of noncombatant civilians in the process.
While the Marketing Club has planned most of the event, the aspect of social justice came from another group on campus called STANDxu (Students for Taking Action Now: Darfur). These students have been raising money and distributing information about Darfur for a number of weeks. STANDxu will also be taking care of the donations, and making sure they get to Darfur.
“It’s surprising how little people know the extent of the problem in Darfur,” said Vulanich. “This will be a great opportunity to learn and give at the same time.”
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John LaFollette
Editor-in-Chief
Rachel Peters
Ann Tassone
Darren LaCour
Senior News Editors
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