Active shooter training necessary for safety
In the wake of mass shootings throughout the country as well as certain college campuses, Brown and Martel Colleges’ recent initiative to provide active shooter training their for cabinet and college members should serve as a model for the rest of the Rice community. Events like the shooting at the University of California, Los Angeles, show that although the chance of experiencing a mass shooting may be low, preparedness is necessary not only to save lives but also to prevent a breakdown into chaos.
The most logical time for uniform training is during Orientation Week. While physical drills might be logistically impractical for O-Week and potentially upsetting to new students, some basic exposure to shooter safety protocol alongside other presentations should be mandatory. Rice University Police Department can coordinate with O-Week leaders to provide informational videos and training similar to what was recently offered to some students. In addition, chief justices at residential colleges should have unified talking points to clarify on-campus safety standards, ensuring that each new student receives similar information.
Furthermore, extensive training, including physical self defense components, should be broadly available throughout the year for interested students. Exposure to basic safety topics on active shooter scenarios is important at the beginning of the year and should be followed up with publicized opportunities for further, highly-recommended trainings. Within student leadership, such as at residential colleges, active shooter training should be mandatory.
Ideally, every student will undergo active shooter training. The best time to conduct such training is during O-Week, but we understand concerns about overwhelming students with excessive training on a sensitive issue, in addition to logistical problems with providing one-on-one combat practice. Thus, we suggest a middle-of-the-line solution, wherein RUPD provides an introduction during O-Week, supplemented with further opportunities for all students throughout the year.
Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher editorial staff. All other opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the piece’s author.
More from The Rice Thresher
Do more to make campus bird-friendly
April is the month of many things: Beer Bike, a solar eclipse, the last day of classes and, perhaps lesser known, Earth Month. As Rice launches a series of Earth Month events, I would like to address our potential as a campus community to be more environmentally conscious, particularly in an effort to make this campus more friendly to birds.
Take time for yourself during the summer
The academic year’s close means this issue will be our last until the fall semester, which gave us some time to reflect on what our editorial for our last issue should look like.
Student activism is working – and fear-mongering cannot hold us back
S.RES 02, titled “Student Association Boycott and Divestment from Corporations Complicit in the Ongoing Genocide in Gaza,” was presented to the Student Association on March 25. This resolution proposes the creation of an Ethical Spending Advisory Board designed to ensure that Blanket Tax funds are not dedicated to corporations that are complicit in Israeli colonial violence and apartheid based on guidelines created by the BDS movement.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.