Promoting a Safe Campus at Harper College

With each campus shooting, like the most recent at Umpqua Community College, we are reminded of the importance of maintaining a safe campus at Harper College. While campus law enforcement have protocols in place to respond to incidents, our goal is to prevent the incidents from happening in the first place. As details from mass shootings emerge, we learn that these incidents are preceded by warning signs. These warning signs, often present on social media, can include:

• Warning friends to stay away from campus
• Excessive discussion of guns, especially as a way to solve problems
• Drawings or writings about buildings and how to enter/exit
• Videos or photos threatening revenge

While not every instance is an indicator of an actual threat, you can be assured that all reports are taken seriously and reviewed. While it isn’t something we want to think about, every campus shooter is someone’s son/daughter, neighbor or friend. It is often a classmate. We want you to know about some things that you can do to prepare yourself for an incident as well as things you can do to report a concern and prevent something from happening:

• Prepare yourself. Review the campus emergency procedures and other resources from the Harper College Police Department. Learn multiple ways to exit buildings. Consider where you would go if you needed to shelter in place in each classroom, the cafeteria, and other spaces on campus.
• If you see something suspicious, say something. Harper College has a campus threat assessment and intervention team that is trained to evaluate possible threats and intervene before someone becomes violent. If someone does something that makes you worry or gives you a feeling like you wouldn’t be surprised if they did something violent, report that to the team so they can look into it. Any person can report a concern to the Harper Early Alert Team (HEAT), and you can even submit reports anonymously.

For more information, contact Laura Bennett, who chairs the Harper Early Alert Team.