In the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, the Binghamton University community has come together to mourn and express sympathy, and to discuss the campus’ own security procedures were a similar event to occur here.
Several professors and students have friends and family at Virginia Tech, where the lives of 32 were claimed Monday, and Liz Droz, director of the University Counseling Center, said a handful of students have sought out counseling.
‘My friend goes there and he was supposed to be in that building [Norris Hall],’ said Meridith Mcwilliams, a sophomore human development and psychology major. ‘But he skipped class that day, luckily. I kept calling him and he didn’t call me back for a while, so I was freaking out.’
A vigil was followed by a security forum on Wednesday night to honor the victims and address student concerns about campus safety.
Approximately 100 people attended the vigil, lighting candles and writing messages of support on a banner to be sent to Virginia Tech.
‘I think it needed to be done,’ said Rebecca Surash, a senior double majoring in philosophy, politics and law, and English. ‘But I think more people should have been here.’
Students observed a moment of silence while Student Association Executive Vice President David Belsky read the names of the known victims to John Lennon’s ‘Imagine.’
University President Lois DeFleur did not attend the vigil because she was attending a ceremony to honor outgoing Vice President for Student Affairs Rodger Summers, but Dean Lloyd Howe read a statement from her expressing her disgust for the massacre.
‘I think it’s in extremely bad taste that DeFleur wasn’t here,’ Surash said. ‘Maybe she’s traveling but I think this is the time to say ‘You know what? I have to take care of something on my campus first.’ It’s her primary duty.’
Following the vigil, a panel of five administrators discussed possible improvements to campus security with approximately 30 students and professors in attendance.
Investigator Matthew C. Rossie, of Binghamton’s New York State University Police, said that police training will probably change after the situation at Virginia Tech is carefully analyzed, but it will remain difficult to secure campuses.
‘It’s not like a high school where we could have people disperse and lock all our doors and no one could get into our building,’ Rossie said. ‘[BU] is like a small town and it is difficult ‘ if not impossible ‘ to lock down a small town.’
A common complaint among attendees was the University’s need to develop a rapid notification system ‘ a concern spurred by growing anxiety over whether the Virginia Tech shootings could be replicated at other college campuses like BU.
Virginia Tech has drawn criticism for not locking down the campus after the first two students were killed in a dormitory building. The e-mail, alerting students of a loose gunman on campus, went out two hours after the first shooting and many BU students fear a similar situation.
Students said they would prefer something more immediate than an e-mail, like an alarm or an emergency text message going out to their cell phones.
‘With a siren you have to be able to identify what that siren means,’ Rossie said. ‘Is it going to be one siren for staying where you are, two sirens to evacuate? It could be a very, very difficult situation.’
Rossie said there is no time line for the changes, so it’s not clear how soon or what kind of changes can be expected
‘My guess is this [VT tragedy] will speed things up,’ Howe said.
Most students said they feel safe on campus, but several expressed concerns over the difficulty of preparing for such a tragedy.
‘I don’t think there’s anything they can do to prepare for something like that,’ said Michelle Swany, a senior history major. ‘It’s something that just happens and when it does it’s kind of a shock, [so] all those plans go out of the window.’