College leaders, officials urge lawmakers to fund tighter campus security

College leaders, officials urge lawmakers to fund tighter campus security

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Story Published: Jan 23, 2008 at 5:17 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jan 23, 2008 at 5:36 PM PDT

By Keith Eldridge

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OLYMPIA -- In the wake of the massacre at Virginia Tech and the deadly shooting at the University of Washington, student leaders and school officials on Wednesday asked the state Legislature to help them beef up campus security.

The leaders and officials are asking state lawmakers for up to $8 million in security enhancements, such as communications systems and campus mapping. They also want more and better mental health counseling to try and prevent tragedies.

"With the incident at Virginia Tech, it was very clear that the young man had some mental disturbances, and it was found upon closer examination that it was a breakdown in communication between the mental health counselors," said Western Washington University student leader Sarah Ishmael.

Officials at Pierce College in Lakewood are eager to put more security measures into place. The only warning system currently in place is a bell.

What Pierce and other campuses want to have is a text message system that would reach students and faculty members, as well as others who might be on campus.

The killing of 32 students at Virginia Tech last year caused every college campus to look at its own security measures.

Exactly two weeks before there was the deadly shooting on the University of Washington campus of Rebecca Griego.

"There was a lot of chaos and confusion because there was absolutely no way for us to figure out how or what had happened or where to go and what exactly had occurred," said UW student leader Bryce McKibbon.

Many of the colleges in our area admit they are not adequately prepared for just such an emergency, especially in the area of forewarning students and staff.

"We'd like the ability to text-message our students and our local community as well. Right now we don't have that ability," said Pierce College President Denise Yochum.

School officials and leaders want to increase security on college campuses while not hindering easy access, which is said to be vital to the success of higher learning.

"Remember that we want to make things safe, but we don't want to close our campuses either," said Pierce College Chancellor Dr. Michelle Johnson.

The K through 12 grades already have a jump on security with the ability to lock down schools, and they're all mapped for law enforcement officials to know where everything is.

But college campuses are wide open, not able to be locked down and not mapped. So they see communication and mental health prevention as keys.

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