https://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWu3Y41hknc
Students and staff listened intently during a training session designed to improve preparedness in the event of an active assailant. Campus Safety officials, Lieutenant Ken McGuire and Sarah Powell, led a 90-minute discussion, highlighting the importance of being ready for an emergency.
“This active assailant training is really focused on personal preparedness, says Powell, Director of Emergency Management. “It’s about that window of time before the first response is on the scene.”
A window of time that Lt. McGuire thinks could make all the difference for first responders and victims. “They’re coming in with the heavy armor –– with the rifles and the shotgun –– but if all I’ve got is [my vest] and [my gun], that’s enough. That’s more than you’ve got.”
Campus Safety had previously organized smaller training sessions, but felt the need to broaden the program’s reach, following last month’s Parkland, Florida shooting.
“I wanted to give people the opportunity to have, just, that awareness at a moment when they were feeling especially, um, geared towards that message,” says Powell.
While some on-campus felt the university could do more to prepare, many students –– like Junior Matthew Diamond –– said they felt safe in and out of the classrooms. “I don’t think anything will ever happen on campus, and if it does, I think we have the appropriate resources to retaliate or respond to it.”
The next session in the TUReady Training Series will take place on March 28th. Register for the event here.
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