The
University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse doesn’t have security guards around the school
grounds or in classroom buildings. Last year on campus a student walked into
one of the classrooms with an empty rifle slung over his back. The teacher did
not even notice the student. The situation was taken care of and luckily no one
was injured.
There have
been at least 44 school shootings since the Newtown school shooting on December
14, 2012. 36 percent of the 44 shootings took place on college campuses and
universities.
K-12 schools
have safety perceptions put in place to try and protect the students. The school
doors are supposed to be locked at all times. In many cases, visitors must ring
a bell to be buzzed in to enter, and they have to show some form of photo ID,
and sign in. Sometimes visitors have to wait at the door and may not even go
back to the classrooms.
These safety
measures are put in place for k-12, but colleges and universities work a lot
different. At UWL the side doors to the dorms are locked and one can only gain
access with the correct student ID. But the front doors of the dorm halls are
unlocked until 10 at night. Anyone can walk in. The school also does not have
security guards standing at the major entrances checking IDs.
The
classroom buildings are open to the public. They are not locked. Very few
teachers keep their actual classroom doors locked as well. The teachers most likely do not have the keys
because the classroom buildings are used by many different teachers and staff.
If a threat were to enter the school, there wouldn’t be very many forces to
stop it. Campus police are one call away, but there isn’t any presence of
security.
People could
argue that UWL is a very safe school and that not a lot of crime happens here;
But it only takes one person who decides that they want to shoot up a school.
