In the wake of the school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School last week (which brings the count of school shootings in 2018 up to 18)*, I wanted to see how students and faculty felt about safety on Cecil College’s campus.

I asked Cecil student Jessica Morales- Torres how she feels about the current status of safety at Cecil since the recent Florida shooting.

 “I think we’re fine, although I did see this creepy guy walking on campus today and I got scared; I pulled out my pepper spray. I see security walking around a lot more now, so I think we’re gonna be okay if anything, but it is a big campus so, it’s kind of like where do you run to? Out of ten I’d give it like a five. Having security in more buildings [would raise the score] because we only have them in the TC building. I’ve never seen a security guard walking anywhere but the TC building because their office is in there.”

Professor Amy Shay talked to me about her feelings on schools being prepared in the case of an active shooter.

“I am somewhat frustrated about the situation with school shootings in general, thinking about secondary schools right now, because I do not feel that students and school personnel are adequately prepared to defend themselves in the event of an active shooter. Right now, many people are talking about gun control and having policy debates, and those issues are large issues and if change is going to come it will come slowly. My wish right now is that secondary schools in particular would take immediate action to prepare everyone in that building for an active shooter. I do not feel that many secondary schools are doing that.”

Matthew Dickerson, also a Cecil student, took a more hands-on approach to the topic of active shooters on campus.

“If someone were to come in here who was a threat, wielding guns, I would think ‘how would I put myself in a situation that would keep me alive and most importantly keep everyone else alive’. As far as the safety on campus, I feel like I am relatively safe.”

Cecil student Reagan England summed up everybody’s thoughts nicely, saying, “I feel like there’s nothing that can be changed, it’s just, we all have to stay mindful, and we all have to remember the ALICE training. We all just have to stay together.”

The Cecil College Public Safety office made a video detailing ALICE, a nationwide response protocol in case of a threat on campus.

“In our continued commitment to preparing our college community for an unforeseen situation, whether it be on our campus or wherever you are in your travels, I ask you to please take a few minutes to watch this important video.” —Dr. Mary Way Bolt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld7LwMGvp04

Cecil College Public Safety Contact Information:

4102871601 – The Public Safety Office at North East Campus

4102871602 – The Public Safety Office at Elkton Station

safety@cecil.edu

*This fact has been found to be incorrect and misleading, as it contains instances where firearms were discharged either after school hours, or did not harm anyone. The actual number of school shootings where people were purposefully harmed is closer to four.