Enough is Enough: A Student Affairs Perspective on Preparedness and Response to a Campus Shooting (review)

Few events have rocked college and university administration like the shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in April 2007 and Northern Illinois University in February 2008. As introduced in the first chapter, these events challenged the ideal of the “university as a safe haven” (p. 1). Though the majority of contributors are from a single institution, Northern Illinois University, the breadth, depth, clarity, and authenticity of topics covered address the full range of risk and crisis management issues from prevention to recovery in a style that is applicable to any campus.

The first chapter, “Violence in the Shadow of the Ivory Tower” (Ferraro & McHugh), provides an excellent and complex analysis of homicides and murder suicides over the past 50 years. The authors start with Clery Act data, but acknowledge the limitations of the narrow circumference for Clery reporting. They then report an analysis of 262 events from an Internet search starting in the year 2000, offering six tables of different variable analyses. They then reach back to events post 1965 and explore comparative aspects of three mass murders which include the University of Texas Bell Tower incident in 1966; the nexus between homicide and suicide; and the heterogeneity in murder cases involving university students. The chapter details the errors of jumping to quick comparative conclusions and easy answers like “lockdowns.” To quote the authors:

The best chance for safety . . . does not rest on following a precise set of violence—prevention steps like a recipe in a cookbook, but in using one’s coolness, courage, prudence and analytical skill to make the best decisions under only partially known conditions.

(p. 28)

We must remember that in the moment it is nearly always partially known conditions. A number of self-styled experts have applied detailed analysis with 20/20 hindsight. Though we can learn from that kind of analysis, we must remember that we all make decisions in the moment.

Chapter 3, “Managing the Whirlwind” (LaBanc, Krepel, Johnson, & Herrmann), provides a helpful description of campus emergency planning and management and crisis response post–September 11, 2001. Detailing the emergency alphabet of NIMS, NIMS compliance, EOP, ICP/IC, and CRT alone is worth the price of this book. The language barrier between risk management administrators and student affairs personnel can inhibit immediate nimble and coordinated responses to crisis events. The lists of tasks identified may be a bit too prescriptive for all campuses and should be tailored to local context. Discussion of the institutional insurance policy, including the death benefits, ongoing health benefits and other elements is excellent, as is the communication discussion which ends this chapter.

Chapters 2, “The Emotional Health and Violence Connection (Knowles & Dungy), 4, “Counseling During a Campus-Wide Crisis” (Sharma, Bershad, & LaBanc), and 5, “Essential Student Affairs Services in a Campus Crisis” (Brunson, Stang, & Dreessen), offer concise primers for our staff. Chapter 4 reviews immediate response using a population exposure model, day 2 response, preparing faculty, staff and students to return to class, long term implications, ethical and legal implications and self care for the providers. The discussion of psychological first aid and use of psychoeducation to normalize the recovery process and promote healing is one of the best concise descriptions I have read. Chapter 5 starts with detailing the need to define and develop a policy for essential services and discusses specific elements for housing and dining, student activities and international students.

The next three chapters focus on “Healing Your Community” (Wesener, Peska, & Trevino) from the perspectives of different university administrators. Chapter 6 speaks from the student affairs perspective and emphasizes the journey from grieving to healing, some of the potential tensions in that process, and the long-term needs of the community. Chapter 7, “Campus–Wide Needs and Perspectives From the Provost’s Perspective” (Alden & Kafer), details the roles for senior management including the President in external relations, dealing...