Great Falls colleges respond to Tuesday shooting incident Play Video
Posted: Mar 10, 2010 6:32 PM
Updated: Mar 10, 2010 6:39 PM
The shooting incident at an apartment complex owned by the University of Great Falls is making the community more aware and campus safety measures are being heightened.
After an incident like Tuesday's shooting, it can leave many wondering how safe college campuses are. UGF has an active safety task force making sure safety is a priority.
Kristi Golik, UGF director of public relations, noted, "They're constantly implementing new safety measures to continually make it a better place, a safer place."
The best policies can be in place, but the true test is when safety is threatened.
Following the shooting at the Villa housing complex about a mile from campus, UGF took immediate action by moving the students to other university housing, and Golik added, "We also increased our security and patrols in the area to make sure that the students were safe."
She also says residence halls have someone checking students and their guests in and out of the dorms, along with keypads and alarms on exit doors.
UGF president Eugene McAllister said, "When you have an actual emergency it emphasizes how important these steps are and how important it is that we are very vigilantt about safety."
Over at MSU-Great Falls, there is also a safety team and also an emergency notification system.
Pam Parsons, MSU-GF executive director of college relations, explained, "We're able to send out an immediate notification message to all of our students and faculty and staff. That would let them know of a lockdown or some emergency on campus."
Administrators say incidents like the shooting are a reality-check, with Parsons noting, "Well, it always kind of brings you to reality, that these things do happen, and we're not always in a safe place so it reminds us to be extra careful."
And UGF's McAllister said, "Most of all, it reminds us how important it is, safety on our campus and protecting the students that are part of our community."
