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Editorial: Administration needs to adopt protocol for active shootings

By Editorial Board

Nov. 20, 2019 10:42 p.m.

UCLA boasts top tier academics, research and prestige.

But add the fear of mass shootings to the curriculum and a more accurate description of public education comes into view.

The attack on Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, was the 44th school shooting in the United States this year. Of the 369 mass shootings that have occurred in the country this year as of Sunday, 45 have taken place in schools.

And while that may be the grim reality of 2019, even more demoralizing is the fact that lawmakers won’t be solving gun violence in America anytime soon. So when policy fails, UCLA needs to step up to protect its own.

But as of now, they’re not doing so.

Three years after a murder-suicide shooting on UCLA’s own campus, the university has yet to implement a solid protocol for dealing with active shootings or adequately prepare students for such emergencies. And UCLA cannot afford to lag behind other schools in keeping students protected from deadly firearms – because lackluster organization could easily lead to the worst-case scenario. As the number of mass shootings climbs in the nation, the university must institute a student-specific, easily accessible plan for campus protocol in the case of an emergency.

Because what they have now barely constitutes a training.

The university has attempted to inform students of proper procedure by offering resources such as a 15-minute presentation at New Student Orientation and a basic Department of Homeland Security pamphlet online.

But not only is the document obscure and hard to find, the instructions provided in the pamphlet don’t even apply to students – the DHS procedures reference vague possibilities and situations, with no specifics for campuses. Disappointing, but not exactly surprising, considering UCLA can’t be bothered to make its own pamphlet.

As the nation becomes increasingly riddled with gun violence, the university’s protocols have failed to modernize. And while that is a terrible reality, it’s one UCLA can’t afford to ignore.

Distributing extensive plans for a lockdown should be a basic necessity on a campus of 45,000. Active physical and mental preparation is now more crucial than ever, especially when many shooters have begun targeting areas outside classrooms in order to circumvent standard protective measures.

But that doesn’t give the university the right to throw its hands up in defeat.

A recent Los Angeles Times story even highlighted the trauma and stress that running active-shooter drills can inflict on students, which has led some to question whether these drills are worth it. And while realistic enactments of active shootings or lockdowns are understandably disturbing, real shootings are even more so – especially when students and faculty are left without a plan of action.

After the murder-suicide in Engineering Building IV in 2016, Gene Block promised to create a task force that would enforce “an active-shooter training program for student, faculty and staff leaders.”

It’s been three years since, and UCLA still doesn’t have a campus-specific plan to deal with that situation.

So instead of sending thoughts and prayers like members of Congress, UCLA’s administration has a chance to take action and keep its community prepared – should something ever happen.

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