As colleges and universities all over the country attempted to understand and cope with the tragic shooting deaths at Virginia Tech Monday, the University of Hartford community responded in many different ways.
Reaching Out
Many students, faculty, and staff sought to reach out to colleagues at Virginia Tech.
The Office of Student Centers and Activities is preparing a poster on which University of Hartford students, faculty, and staff will be able to write messages for those at Virginia Tech. The poster will be sent to the student union at Virginia Tech, said Joseph Comeau, director of Student Centers and Activities.
Any member of the University community may sign the poster beginning Thursday (April 19) at 9 a.m. in Suisman Lounge, Gengras Student Union. The poster will remain in Suisman Lounge until it has been filled with messages, Comeau said.
On Friday evening, resident assistants (RAs) at the University of Hartford will get together to sign a large card for the RAs at Virginia Tech, said Jason Borges, assistant director of Residential Life. One of the Virginia Tech shooting victims was an RA.
If you have other ideas about reaching out to the Virginia Tech community, feel free to discuss them with DeLois Lindsey, assistant vice president for student development, at 768.5123 or lindsey@hartford.edu, or visit her office in GSU 209.
Students who would like to talk to someone about the Virginia Tech tragedy should contact the Office of Student Affairs at 768.4260, or email Susan Fitzgerald, assistant vice president for student health and wellness and interim director of Counseling and Psychological Services, at fitzgeral@hartford.edu.
Planning for Campus Security
The University’s Situation Management Team (SMT), which is charged with responding to crises on campus, began reviewing the institution’s emergency management plans on Monday afternoon, and will continue that process as more is learned about the specific events at Virginia Tech.
“I believe everyone on every college and university campus feels less safe today than they did before the tragic events at Virginia Tech,” said President Walter Harrison, to whom the Situation Management Team reports. “The task before us is to use the new information from Virginia Tech to improve our own policies and procedures, and we expect to report further on that to the community in the days and weeks ahead.”
The Situation Management Team responds to emergency situations and meets regularly to review and update the University’s emergency management plans. The SMT includes representatives from a wide range of campus departments, including Public Safety, Facilities, Student Affairs, University Relations, Office of Communication, the President’s Office, and the Provost’s Office.
The SMT is also reviewing emergency communication procedures. In the past, the University has employed a wide variety of ways to communicate with students, faculty, and staff, including broadcast emails, broadcast voicemails, special alerts on the University’s website (www.hartford.edu) and on the UNotes Daily site (www.hartford.edu/daily), and a text crawl on STN Channel 2 and on TV monitors around campus. “Using both new and old technology, we need to improve those communication vehicles,” President Harrison said.
“This University has always responded in creative and compassionate ways to tragedy elsewhere and on our own campus,” President Harrison said. “As we remember those who died and were injured at Virginia Tech and plan for improving our own security measures, we will continue that tradition.”