Local colleges on guard after shootings
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

As college faculty members and students everywhere struggled to comprehend last week's tragic shootings at Virginia Tech University, authorities at Cal State Channel Islands dealt with an April 19 Internet incident that hinted at similar danger on the Camarillo campus.

Alisha Salazar, a CSUCI freshman, had allegedly posted threatening remarks on Facebook.com, a social networking website. University officials said her profile included the statement: "Alisha Salazar is going on a . . . school shooting spree!"

A fellow student read the threatening comments and notified school officials, university spokesperson Cecilia Potts said.

Salazar was immediately arrested and questioned by university police. Booked at Ventura County Jail on a felony charge of making criminal threats, she was later released on bail.

While the county justice system considers the case, Salazar will not be allowed to return to class. "The campus judicial process will require that she will not be allowed back on campus until such time as a hearing has been scheduled," said university President Richard Rush.

If she does return to campus, she'll be accompanied by police officers until her case is settled, Rush said.

Classes were not interrupted when the Internet incident took place but the university's e-mail system immediately alerted students and faculty members to the situation, Potts said.

Prevention of campus violence has been the main topic of conversation at colleges and universities in Ventura County since the April 16 shootings that left 33 people dead at Virginia Tech.

CSUCI has about 3,200 students; 400 of them live on campus.

The Ventura County Community College District's three campuses- Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura- have much larger student populations. About 14,000 students attend classes at Moorpark. None of the community colleges have dorms.

"I have had several students in my career who I would consider potentially dangerous . . . I try to get them to seek help . . . few do," said Clint Harper, who has taught physics and astronomy at Moorpark College for about 30 years.

Harper recalled that death threats were made against a science teacher at the college last semester. "The student received counseling and was back in classes this semester," he said.

"We do need some process in place because you never know from where violence can emerge," said John Grzywacz-Gray, a Moorpark College photography professor.

Gray, who began teaching at the college in 1971, remembered when Charles Manson visited the campus in the early 1970s.

"He appeared on campus with a rifle and bullets strapped around his neck and was approached by the dean of students . . . who simply asked him to leave the campus as weapons were not allowed," Gray said.

College officials may prefer not to publicize negative events, attempting to avoid creating panic, but Gray said, "we need some sort of system to alert students and faculty when something happens."

He suggested the college put together a study group with students, faculty, administrators and staff to make recommendations about campus safety, and said a districtwide action plan should be developed in case of an incident.

Campuses would also benefit from an effective system to detect and monitor students with behavioral issues, he said.

Harper said the community college district needs a warning system to advise faculty and students if a dangerous event takes place on a campus. There are no intercoms or public address systems, just fire alarms, he said.

Protecting open campuses from random acts of violence is not an easy task, said James Botting, chief of police for the college district.

"When the situation is fluid, with a shooter moving around, it's difficult to stop," he said.

Efforts to develop and educate the college community on emergency procedures have been ongoing and will continue to evolve as needed and as technology improves, said Moorpark College President Eva Conrad.

The current emergency response system at Moorpark College proved effective during recent wildfires, but no institution can be totally prepared for events such as the massacre at Virginia Tech, Conrad said.

A new collegewide public address system will be installed this summer. "This system is not a reaction to the current situation," she said. Replacement of the college's public address system was included in remodeling and construction designs, Conrad said.

College officials also plan to conduct an emergency awareness education campaign this fall, Conrad said. "Emergency plans can always be improved," she said.

Officials at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks are also taking steps.

"Our Emergency Operations Committee met to discuss what measures we have in place," said Lynda Fulford, spokesperson for CLU, which regularly organizes a variety of drills on how to respond to natural and manmade emergencies.

The student counseling center is open to all 3,200 CLU enrollees, said Fulford, adding that about 1,000 undergrads live in dormitories on campus.

"We are fortunate that nothing like the mass shooting has happened at CLU," Fulford said, "but we all know that it could happen anywhere." She said she was especially saddened by the tragedy in Virginia because she, her father and everyone in his family graduated from Virginia Tech.