Current Release: April 28th, 2009 | Vol. XXX Iss. 10

Photo By Eric Zitz

Change on the horizon

By Jennifer Valentine

javalentine@vwc.edu

Students, faculty and staff assembled in the Convocation Center on Aug. 30 for a  town meeting in which Dean of Students David Buckingham announced new safety measures for the VWC campus.

After the murder of students at Virginia Tech and the unsolved murder of VWC Officer Wally Zakrzewski, VWC is responding with a task force and emergency response team, according to Buckingham.

Other measures include two new security vehicles with phone numbers on the exterior, round-the-clock bike patrol, improved lighting, pruned trees, more call boxes (totaling seven with Village IV) and new student identification cards, which will include contact phone numbers.

There will be a second officer at the gate house which, according to Buckingham, will improve efficiency and effectiveness. Administration, faculty, students and the Virginia Beach Police Department are partnering to form various teams to protect the campus community, including: The Risk Assessment Team, which will be formed of faculty and administration; CSI at VWC, which are student volunteers on campus safety; and campus safety partnership with the Virginia Beach Police Department, by which a member of the VBPD will patrol with a member of residence life and campus security.

Another new initiative: e2campus, where students will receive text messages in the case of an emergency on campus. In correlation, there will be a siren on campus which, when sounded, will alert students of emergency. This should be available in approximately 30 days.

If there is an emergency, dial 911. The authorities will, in turn, alert the campus, and the chain of events will unfold via text and so on to alert the entire campus community.

 Please, report anything suspicious, Buckingham said.  Please don t prop open doors. Call security. Please just be safe.