2008 Woodie Awards
President Kustra's response to tragedy at Virginia Tech
Issue date: 4/16/07 Section: News
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On behalf of the Boise State community, I want to express our deep sorrow and sympathy to our colleagues and students at Virginia Tech. A tragedy of this proportion on a college campus is almost unthinkable and creates pause for the rest of us who also live, work and study on a college campus.
These events have certainly focused my awareness on how prepared our campus is, and I want to offer some reminders about safety and security at Boise State.
· Boise State is actively patrolled by campus security officers, law enforcement officers and parking services personnel. The Boise Police Department is physically located on campus with a dispatch center that monitors alarms and then sends security and police officers to incidents on campus.
We are assigned six police officers plus one lieutenant exclusively. There are 38 emergency blue light phones on campus that have a direct line to the Boise police substation.
We are assigned six police officers plus one lieutenant exclusively. There are 38 emergency blue light phones on campus that have a direct line to the Boise police substation.
· In the residence halls, there are on-site professional staff members 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There are two security officers assigned exclusively to the residence halls. All doors require electronic card access to open.
· Boise State operates a department of public safety. Campus security is very active in crime prevention. For example, Boise State offers an emergency cell phone program, online crime reporting services and an Ask-A-Cop program among other safety initiatives.
· In light of these events, we will be reviewing our safety measures and do plan to have campus security meet with each college to review emergency policies and procedures.
For those of you touched by this horrific incident, the Boise State University counseling center is open and can provide services to anyone in the campus community who is in need.
On one level, you can never prepare for such a random and senseless act. On another level, Boise State is focused daily on providing a safe and secure living and learning environment for its students, faculty, staff and visitors. However, I do think it is important to remind our campus community that we live in a world where we can no longer ignore unusual behavior no matter how harmless we think it may be at the moment. Each of us individually is in some regard responsible for our collective safety and security. If you encounter someone who is acting outside of the bounds of normal behavior and may pose a risk to themselves or others, it is important that you contact campus security or law enforcement and report them.
To the extent that our students who read this message may be concerned about family and friends checking on their safety and well-being, I encourage you to forward this message to your family and friends. Let this serve as reassurance that Boise State takes the safety and welfare of our campus community very seriously and we intend to take every precaution to keep the Boise State campus a safe and secure place to live, learn and work.
Robert W. Kustra, President
Boise State University
1910 University Drive
Boise, ID 83725-1000
208-426-1491 - tel
208-426-3779 - FAX
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 5
J
posted 4/17/07 @ 6:57 PM MST
All the cops make me more nervous than some idiot with a gun.
Duke of Hazard
posted 4/17/07 @ 7:56 PM MST
It is interesting to note that prior to the attack both the University President and Student Body President at VA Tech strongly opposed legislation that would have allowed students with concealed weapons permits to carry their weapons on campus (the bill was defeated). (Continued…)
J
posted 4/18/07 @ 7:45 PM MST
Yeah, that's just what we need. LOTS of idiots with guns...
lauran
posted 4/19/07 @ 9:23 AM MST
Although I am a hard-core supporter of the second ammendment, I don't believe that any university would allow concealed weapons and carry permits for the ENTIRE student body. (Continued…)
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