Daily Skiff

Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Jason Arthurs / MCT Police offiers stand outside of Virginia Tech's Norris Hall where 32 people were killed and more were injured Monday.

In the wake of a mass slaying at Virginia Tech on Monday morning, administrators said TCU crisis management policies were re-evaluated and will remain the same.

TCU is constantly looking for the best emergency strategic plan in the country by re-evaluating policies annually, said Don Mills, vice chancellor for student affairs.

"We have a pretty good setup here," Mills said.

Mills said campus security won't change because the incident seems to be isolated to Virginia Tech.

The incident is "really unbelievable," Mills said.

Aside from TCU Police officers receiving annual crisis management training, the university has an emergency response team in place, Mills said.

The response team is made up of high-level administrators and can be deployed within 15 minutes, Mills said.

In the event of an emergency, the response team will meet in a preidentified location to assess information and begin campus recovery, said Tracy Syler-Jones, assistant vice chancellor for marketing and communication.

Alerting the campus community is the first priority of the response team, Syler-Jones said.

The TCU community is most often alerted to important information through mass e-mail and changes to the TCU home page, Syler-Jones said.

The campus community was alerted of the slaying at Virginia Tech through an e-mail sent by Mills on Monday afternoon.

A "dark page" is in place to immediately upload vital facts and replace the TCU home page if a crisis should occur, Syler-Jones said.

An incident such as the Virginia Tech shooting can be "unsettling on a variety of different levels," Syler-Jones said.

It's important for TCU to report as factually as possible and keep the campus community updated, she said.

Should a shooting occur on campus it's important to be aware of your surroundings, said TCU Police Lt. Ramiro Abad.

"Every situation is going to be different," Abad said.

In a similar instance, Fort Worth police and the SWAT team would respond with TCU Police personnel, Abad said.

TCU has "a good, strong connection with the Fort Worth police," Mills said.

The official student handbook states that weapons, including firearms, aren't allowed on campus.

If a student possesses a license to carry a firearm, they must keep their firearms at the TCU Police station, Abad said.

Many students are sport or target shooters and keep their firearms at the station to be checked out as needed, Abad said.

Students must leave campus after checking out their firearm and return it upon their return, Abad said.

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