By Faye Kenajian
Staff Reporter
On Feb. 28 Stephanie Trelli, Coordinator of Safety and Security Programs at Sacred Heart University, presented to Professor Joanne Kabak’s News Writing and Reporting class what to do on campus in case of the emergency of an active shooter.
Trelli showed the class a video made by Public Safety on how to respond to this
emergency situation.
“I think it’s great that time was designated in class to go over these safety skills,” said junior Julia Pencek. “In high school, we used to go over safety skills all the time but since I have been in college, there has not been that many safety procedures seminars or practices. I think it would be a great idea to implicate this seminar in all classes.”
This video included the three steps of what students should do: run, hide, then fight.
“The Department of Public Safety is entrusted with fostering and maintaining a safe and secure environment for the university community to pursue their academic, professional and personal ambitions. Dedicated to supporting the educational mission of the university, we value experiential learning and emphasize conflict resolution in all our interactions with students,” said Sacred Heart University’s website.
The video also shared where students would get up to date information about the situation. According to it they would send out information to students, have a lock down, and later call off the lockdown when it was all determined to be safe again.
Police officers from surrounding cities and towns would be called to campus, seek out the shooter, and give instructions to people in the area in order to keep them safe.
“Seminars like these really make students feel safe and prepared on campus if
something were to happen and it makes me proud to be a part of Sacred Heart to see the community doing such a great job of informing students,” said junior Caroline Deorio.
Currently, there is a Fairfield Police Officer on campus at all times in case a situation was to need immediate attention.
“Because of unfortunate situations that have recently been happening around our
country, the first step in the right direction would include being educated and informed in order to have a safer community as a whole,” said junior Marissa Gurtler.
For further information on what to do in an active shooter situation, contact Stephanie Trelli or watch the videos online at http://www.sacredheart.edu/officesservices/publicsafety/emergencymanagement/
