Local institutions react to Michigan State shooting
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(ABC 6 News) – The tragedy in East Lansing, Mich. Monday has impacted many across our nation especially those who attend other colleges and universities. At Rochester Community and Technical College, school leaders say they make it a number one priority that students have a safe learning environment.
“We live in a very bad fractured world so it could happen anywhere,” said student Casey Trusty.
Students I spoke with at Rochester Community and Technical College say school shootings, like the one that happened at Michigan State University, hit close to home.
“I came from Iowa where last year there was a shooter on campus,” said student Terrance Campbell.
Safety is the reason Campbell transferred to RCTC this school year. And while he knows tragedy can happen anywhere, he says he generally feel safe at RCTC.
The tragedy in East Lansing, Mich. Monday has impacted many across our nation especially those who attend other colleges and universities.
“I feel like and I just feel that the police department just stays on top of everything,” said Campbell.
Just last week, school faculty took part in a seminar to talk about what they would do in the event of a shooting. RCTC President Jeffery Boyd says college leadership takes student and staff safety seriously.
“We are really trying to get people to think about if you hear something you have to make a decision then,” said Boyd.
President Boyd who also has a law enforcement background says being prepared and knowing your surroundings is key to staying safe.
Every citizen because if the society we live in kind of has to have that mind set and just prepare yourself… If lightning strikes, then what,” said Boyd.
The school is working with instructors to make sure each classroom is safe. They also work with campus security, Rochester police, and mental health professionals to teach students how to be prepared.
“We are going to go over and help assess that area and say here are some other things you need to think of as well,” said Boyd.
“They put things on their for us to learn. Like training videos, worst case scenario things so that we are ready and prepared if something like that were to happen at RCTC,” said Trusty.
President Boyd says the campus is full of security guards, cameras, and locks on all exterior doors that can be activated by a simple push of a button to help isolate a situation on campus and make sure it doesn’t spread to other buildings.