TCH News

Issue date: 4/15/08 Section: News

"When it comes to safety, you should never be confident," said Harry Damato, Senior Vice President of Student Services at Sussex County Community College. After events such as the Virginia Tech shooting, Damato discussed how important campus security has become.

"In the past year and a half, it has become a main priority; it's on everyone's agenda at every board meeting," Damato said. Due to the rise in campus problems across the nation, steps are being taken to assure safety for SCCC students.

As of now, every classroom has an emergency guide book which contains different plans for certain situations.

Currently, a text messaging system that alerts students of problems around the campus is being designed as well as a PA system that will alert students in the college itself. Damato added that drills will take place during class hours. These plans will take place in the upcoming fall semester.

Under discussion is the addition of blue phones on the campus. Blue phones are often seen on the campuses of many universities and provide a direct link to the police.

As far as what the students can do to help campus security, Damato said to, "Be alert. If you see anything out of the ordinary let someone know."

"The biggest problem is complacency. We think problems don't happen here because we've always been safe. We must respond to even the smallest issues. We must learn from the experiences of others." said Damato about how looking into the shootings at other colleges can prevent similar events from taking place here at SCCC.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools