Why Universities will Continue to be Targets

This blog is dedicated to help you be as prepared as you can be for the world. One of the issues that drives people me insane is the fact that some will just choose to not listen when facts clearly present themselves. Case in point, consider what one professor did during the shooting event that occurred at UCLA on June 1st, 2016. The people at Campus Reform have the details, but here is a quick summary:

“A professor at the University of California, Los Angeles asked her students to leave cover during a lock down Wednesday and expose themselves to an active shooter situation in order to complete a final exam.

 Prof. Vivian Lew eventually cancelled the second section of the exam after students complained, but only after the first section was already over. Lew denies being aware of the lock down despite mentioning it in her original email.”

I am a supporter of a person’s fundamental right to protect themselves, this includes the use of guns if the situation warrants it, and as a Roman Catholic I can tell you there are strict guidelines on when and where that is applicable. Unfortunately, there is a small but vocal segment of the population who feel that guns are the ultimate evil in our society and that if they pretend they don’t exist and/or get rid of them all our problems will disappear. 

People like myself, who study the principle of emergency management focus on one thing, the saving of life. I personally do not care why lives are in danger, be it natural (hurricane, blizzard, tornado) or man-made (terrorist attack, shooting, car-bomb) all that concerns me is, when it happens, how to save everyone from danger. That is why stories like this give me such trepidation. 

Consider there are professors who let their students opt out of test for trivial reasons, one has to question what led this professor, who is obviously intelligent, to ignore a basic safety procedure? Are the lives of her students less important than her exam? Did she have a vacation that she needed to get to? 

People who live in ignorance always find change the most difficult. Being present in a gun free zone doesn’t make you immune to the threat of gun violence, not in the least.

I will continue to be a proponent of this, the only way to defeat the threat of gun violence is to embrace the fact, no matter what law there is, the threat is present. Now you can go all Australian buy back, but the only way to curb this threat is to embrace it and allow people the right to protect themselves. Should everyone carry a gun? Not at all (I will write a column on the foolishness of open carry here in Texas shortly) but if you hear there is a potential threat in your area, you should be allowed to Run, Hide, Fight.  (Of course, I will be writing a post on why this approach is rudimentary at best) 

 

Turning your back to the fire doesn’t mean the fire isn’t there, and ignoring a safety warning from your ems personal will lead to tragedies. This professor must say a thank you to God that her actions did not lead to avoidable deaths.

Good Luck and Good Hunting.