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The assassination of Charlie Kirk has made clear that conservatives in the public square face real threats, even on college campuses.
Hillsdale’s security team is the perfect group to prepare campus for how to respond to potential threats, as many members are ex-military and ex-law enforcement. They are so well-trained that they are often recruited to train other law enforcement officers. In fact, they do offer training for students and faculty, but too few take advantage of it.
This is an indication that students don’t take their safety as seriously as they should. Security is not at fault for campus’ unpreparedness. It’s the fault of students who don’t utilize what security offers. This is why training, even if it’s just an hour-long lecture, should be mandatory.
On Tuesday last week, Joe Kellam, director of security and emergency management, sent an email acknowledging Kirk’s death and the concern of students and their parents. It advertised a 10-minute “Active Assailant Preparedness” video that would play in the Searle Center on three separate days. The video explains the “run, hide, fight” protocol and gives tips on how to respond to an active threat.
While the video is informative and encouraging, there is an unfortunate problem: Only six students showed up to the showing on the evening of Sept. 16. About 20 showed up on Sept. 17 and only 10 to the one on Sept. 18.
Students are often told that Hillsdale’s campus security team is more than prepared to handle active security threats on campus. While trust in security is strong on campus, many students and faculty don’t know how to react during an active assailant situation.
Personally, I feel safe on campus, yet no student should use security’s preparedness as an excuse to be flippant and unprepared. We must prepare ourselves for unexpected threats. Preparedness is like an insurance policy: It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
We need active shooter drills at least once a semester to complement the 10-minute video. If elementary school students must do regular drills, college students should as well. Only then can students and their parents have full confidence in their safety, since security can best do its job when students themselves are prepared for campus threats.
Some students have expressed reservations about lockdown or other emergency drills simply because they don’t want to do them. It’s annoying. They have better things to do. Yet a 45-minute, once-a-semester annoyance could save lives.
Security has put safety measures in place. Dorm and classroom doors have safety locks. The college’s emergency response guide, posted on bulletins around campus, lays out precautions for an active shooter situation; “Leave the area as quickly as possible” and “turn cellphone to vibrate” are among the instructions listed. The RAVE Guardian app is the primary communication tool used by security and allows the office to send out notifications, chat one-on-one with students, and respond to panic-button alerts.
Yet students don’t go through any sort of safety training, nor do they participate in any emergency drills, aside from the occasional dormitory fire drill. Many people who should know how to respond to emergency situations don’t know how to at all.
Additionally, some of the people for whom active threat training is most important — professors overseeing classrooms full of students — have confessed to not knowing what to do if an active shooter situation arises.
During resident assistant training the week before move-in, RAs are given two one-hour lectures from security on gun violence procedures. They are told, in an active-shooter situation, to use safety locks on doors and to ensure everyone shelters in place inside. They are instructed to follow the common “run, hide, fight” protocol in an active shooter situation. They get hands-on training, like using a fire extinguisher and a lesson on how to administer CPR.
The question that must be asked is: Why don’t regular students receive this as well?
While students and faculty have no doubt that the security team is, in fact, the best of the best, we can’t use it as an excuse to remain unprepared. Videos and written safety instructions can only go so far. The lack of training, even minimal training, is a serious problem. The best way to prepare students and faculty for dangerous situations is to run drills, regardless of the comparatively minimal inconvenience.
Charlie Kirk was a symbol for conservative youth. He died advocating for us. During his time on this earth, he made it a point to express that Hillsdale is the best place to forge American citizens.
We need student preparedness for active threat situations. Charlie would want that for us, too.
Jayden Jelso is a junior studying English.
