Get Schooled

By Jeff

September 28, 2007 10:36 AM | Link to this

In a word, NO.

In a few more, somewhat famous, words: “Those who would trade freedom for security deserve neither. - Franklin, I believe.

The only way to prevent crime is for the individual to be aware of their surroundings at all times. Carry yourself like a predator rather than prey. Train yourself in self-defense, with no holds barred. If you can get trained in Krav Maga or MCMAP, even better.

For those that don’t want to go to those lengths, simply be aware constantly of your surroundings and carry a fully charged cellphone with one-button dial to both 911 and a trusted friend. Even better if all buttons are programmed to one-button dial SOMEBODY you know. That way, when you’re panicking, you simply grab the phone and hit a button.

By V for Vendetta

September 28, 2007 11:07 AM | Link to this

I think Jeff makes some good points here.

Living in fear is a silly waste of time. Anything can happen to anyone at any time anywhere. Beefing up campus security, especially to the extent that Adams is going to, is just ridiculous. It’s the Chicken Little response and it helps NO ONE.

I think the best thing Jeff mentions is AWARENESS. If you are aware of your surroundings, and carry yourself with confidence, many problems can be avoided. Can all problems be avoided? No, of course not, but they can not be planned for either.

Hopefully, Virgina Tech taught us that these terrible incidents can happen anywhere. Hopefully, Virginia Tech taught us that a seriously disturbed student, who has been identified by a highly educated faculty member, should be immediately removed from a higher-learning institution and evaluated extensively.

I could live the rest of my life in fear of car accidents — buy a SUV, racing harness, extra airbags, foam padding, etc.

Or I could just watch the road and drive defensively. Seems like an easy choice to me.

By Lee

September 28, 2007 11:08 AM | Link to this

No, crime will never be completely eliminated from our campuses (both college and high school).

The reason? School administrators would much rather acquiesce to the disease of politically correct doctrine rather than take a stand and make the hard decisions.

The Virginia Tech murderer had been on the radar scope for some time, but political correctness paralyzed the adminstration into inaction.

The main antagonist of the Jena 6 assault had been in trouble with the law numerous times before, but school administration chose to let this troublemaker roam the halls of the school unchecked.

How many more of these ticking time bombs are out there, just waiting to attack innocent victims?

Probably a lot more than most of us think.

By Jeff

September 28, 2007 11:20 AM | Link to this

V:

I don’t live in fear. My attitude towards life is more of “I’m gonna be prepared for anything, and whatever happens, happens.”

I DO say, however, that if you want a truly safe campus, you go one of two routes:

A) Set up an official Krav Maga or MCMAP class and require it of EVERYONE that attends. (Including faculty and staff, though obviously the Univ would pay for that - call it a “benefit”). Publicize this fact, along with the fact that Krav Maga is the martial art used by the IDF and Israeli Special Forces and MCMAP is the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. In other words, both are the martial arts of two of the world’s PREMIER fighting forces.

2) Go the Kennesaw route. REQUIRE everyone on campus to have a gun, even if this requirement is not enforced. DO NOT restrict guns on campus. Then, a perp never knows if his target is armed or not. Hey, it has worked in Kennesaw!

By jim d

September 28, 2007 12:20 PM | Link to this

Bottom line? NO

However, I’m confident that the powers to be (Government) will be spreading propaganda to lead one to believe that it has. Causing a false sense of security—only worsening the problem, while claiming great success and squandering even more tax dollars with closely held associates.

By KEITH

September 28, 2007 12:45 PM | Link to this

WHO CARE BOUT ALL DAT EZTRA SECURTY WHUT WE NEEDS IS LESS OB DE WITE MAN LAW AN BE GIT VICK BACK ON DE FEELD AN DE FALCOMS WINNIN SOME MO AN VICK GWAN BE GOT DAT RING NOE WHUT IM SAYIN

By RCC Director

September 28, 2007 1:35 PM | Link to this

I have to disagree with Jeff on one point: The only way to truly prevent crime is for the perpetrators to decide not to do it. All anyone else can do is reduce their risk of being a victim. I have been a rape crisis center director for nine years, and I firmly believe this.To believe any other way is to blame victims for the actions of another. I am all in favor of increased security measures and self-defense courses for risk reduction, however, and my center even sponsors these.

I worked on the campus of Georgia State University during the Rodney King unrest in the ’90s. One thing that really impressed me was what an island the campus really was. Most of the places where students congregated were at least one level above ground, and the buildings were packed close and easy to secure. Now that the campus spawls throughout Atlanta, I doubt if it’s such an island anymore.

By Jeff

September 28, 2007 2:00 PM | Link to this

RCC:

I maintain that since evil exists in the world, and there will ALWAYS be people that decide to commit crime, the ONLY viable option is to be prepared for if and when it strikes close to home.

Ever counsel a rape victim who had a .45 and knew how to use it when she was attacked? I doubt it. At that point, someone else was probably counseling her attacker on why rape is wrong or her attacker’s family on why their relative was an idiot.

Hear of rape in Israel much? (Where even the women are required to spend a tour on duty with the IDF.) I’d go to bat as saying the rape rate in Israel is FAR less than that of the US….

By DB

September 28, 2007 2:50 PM | Link to this

Jeff, there’s a big difference between “rape rates” and “reported rapes”. Actually, Israel is experiencing a dramatic rise in rapes among its female soldiers:

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/816548.html

Truthfully, I don’t see a way to make campuses safer without impinging on the freedoms that make the college experience one of personal growth in the first place. My son’s campus has an interesting little program available on their cell phone plan: Key in when you are leaving an area and key in where you are going. The system calculates your expected arrival time. If you don’t deactivate it within a narrow time-window, the system calls you. If you don’t acknowledge with a pre-arranged “OK” signal, the police are sent immediately. And since your phone is GPS active, they can narrow you down pretty quickly.

Crazy people are everywhere, and trying to predict the actions of a crazy person is an exercise in futility. About the best we can do is plan for a strong defense, and try to keep the crazy people out of our way. My son, who is an imposing figure (wouldn’t want to meet him in an alley!) smugly assured me during a discussion of campus safety, that “no one was going to bother HIM!” To which I replied: “Honey, you’re good, but you’re not Superman — no one can outrun a bullet shot by a moron.” It shut him up and gave him food for thought, and hopefully prodded his situational awareness into high gear.

When my daughter was 12, she noticed that I was gripping my car keys between my fingers on the way out to the car at the mall one evening. She said, “Why are you holding the keys so funny?” I showed her that it was a basic self-defense move — almost like brass knuckles, so that if anyone every tried to grab me, they were going to get a face full of sharp keys. I noticed that, now that she’s 16, she carries her keys the same way, and has actually eschewed parking places in shadowed areas of a parking lot in favor of well-lit areas.

By SW

September 28, 2007 2:59 PM | Link to this

Jeff are RCC Director, you’re both correct in that one can only reduce their susceptibility to crime. Aside from that, there is nothing more that can be done because if someone wants to commit a crime/hurt you, they are going to do it.

I found the VaTech interesting and people scurried to play the blame game. The shooter’s roommates, the young lady who did not press charges, some professors, the University itself, and the police were all being assigned blame when in fact there was little to nothing they could have done to prevent it. Yes, they could have pooled their resources and but of course would be running serious risk of a lawsuit. The only person responsible was dead & ironically NBC gave him a tribute by posting his pictures and videos…go figure. Well, back to lawsuits, Universities hate them. Acts such as what UGA & other schools are undertaking, such as text-messaging, are designed to prevent lawsuits in the event that something does happen on campus. They can always point back and say “hey, we tried.” Lawsuits (& the look of incompetence) from an incident are more damaging to a school’s image (& finances) than the actual incident. Therefore, you find schools using fluff tactics to limit their liability when in actuality it’s open season to any terrorist, domestic or foreign born, with an ounce of thought. I’ll end there b/c I’ve got to get to a class….pray for me.

side note: USNews Rankings are fluff, too…..

By Jeff

September 28, 2007 3:04 PM | Link to this

DB:

Actually, those GPS units in phones are nowhere NEAR as good as they appear on TV. I think the current standard is 300’ - and not all carriers/ phones hit that.

300’ may be EASY to spot in an open, low cut field.

It AINT easy to spot in a dingy, crowded red light district in College Park.

By JustMe

September 28, 2007 3:24 PM | Link to this

I fully realize that I am beating the same drum here, but….

Much of this starts in the home. Parents must teach their children respect. That means respect for adults and respect for life and respect for authority. In addition, parents need to teach their children manners, etiquette, ethics, and morals.

It seems that too many of today’s parents either won’t teach their children what they need to know or don’t have the time to do so. The result is a new generation without those things - which means people with no respect for the law or for life (see M. Vick for example), etc.

Technology such as GPS and emails will not replace teaching our children these important life lessons, nor will it keep us safe from those uninformed and evil people.

By ron

September 28, 2007 3:29 PM | Link to this

Banning guns on campus seems to be the way to go.It’s almost working now.If they were banned just a little harder,the ones doing the shooting now would have to obey the ban.So far all the honest people are complying with the ban,now all it’s going to take is to get the crazies to agree.Perhaps a little more talking and wringing of the hands is all that’s needed.

By RCC Director

September 28, 2007 3:37 PM | Link to this

Jeff, I still stand by my statement. It is a matter of who is to blame for an assault. If we say a victim can “prevent” it, then we are blaming the victim instead of the piece of garbage who actually committeed the act. You can only reduce your risk. Some types of risk reduction are more effective than others. The responsibility still rests with the perpetrator.

Also, rape is the most under-reported crime in the world. Never, ever, believe “rape rates” because they are most often merely “report rates.” Reporting depends on several factors, including local culture, social norms, law enforcement response, presence of victim service agencies, etc. I don’t know what the situation in Israel is, but if their reporting rate is low, that probably means a low percentage of actual assaults are actuallly getting reported. My goal, and the goal of all RCCs, is to INCREASE reports, so that more victims can pursue justice.

By cactus flower

September 28, 2007 3:41 PM | Link to this

I think it is too late to do anything but prevention now. The world is way out of hand.

These kids that are terrorizing schools needed a good boot in the a* and more parenting long ago.

By Jeff

September 28, 2007 3:55 PM | Link to this

RCC:

Instead of finding “victims” (the quote there is intentional), you SHOULD be working to see that none BECOME victims.

And THAT means teaching PREPAREDNESS. It isn’t about “blaming the victim”. It is about making sure you don’t become one in the first place.

Let’s put it this way: I aint Clark Kent. But I can GAURANTEE you that if you approach me looking for a fight, you WILL get one, and you WILL remember it, even if you win it.

And the sad fact is that I’m not even that great. I’ve just trained myself so that my responses are automatic, meaning EXTREMELY quick. Again: PREPAREDNESS.

By Ren

September 28, 2007 4:03 PM | Link to this

we should just illegalizw guns! everyone says we need more guns but we cant just arm everybody (THATS PROABLY EVEN MORE DANGEROUS!)SO IF NOONE HAS A GUN-NOONE CAN GET SHOT ITS ALOT SAFER HEY REDNECKS WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT TO YOU YOUR SAFETY OR YOUR GUNS?!

By Jeff

September 28, 2007 4:10 PM | Link to this

Ren:

Guns promote safety. Only a crazy goes after someone with a gun. If faculty and staff had been armed all along, we would never have heard of Columbine High, East Paducah High, Jonesboro High, or Virginia Tech. (Well, we would have heard about VT, but not because they had a shooting there.)

By Just More Paperwork

September 28, 2007 5:41 PM | Link to this

Schools won’t be safer, but lots of paperwork will be done to show that they “are.”

After 911, our elementary school principal (APS) had to write a huge ‘emergency plan’ - much bigger than the original. It had to contain things like who could do CPR, who would stay to direct traffic (our crook of a janitor - yeah right - he’d be the first one out).

Nobody knew their part in it. We were all assigned parts, but we didn’t know what they were. It was just an “assignment” for the principal from the central office.

MORE PAPERWORK! No more safe.

By jim d

September 28, 2007 5:51 PM | Link to this

JM,

not only the same drum but the same boring old tune.

Consider this - respect can’t be claimed, it can only be given. There is something real arrogant about insisting other people should respect you.

Respect is a word you should hope to hear others use about you, not one to use when referring to yourself. perhaps you need to have more modest aims. Maybe then you’ll earn the respect you seek and be able to begin the important task of teaching.

Respect must be earned. It is earned every day, every minute, with every word, action and interaction with every human being; not just those we think deserve it.

The classroom environment you create builds the respect that you will benefit from in difficult situations. Respect comes from showing other people you are reasonable - particularly when situations become difficult.

By Jeff

September 28, 2007 6:01 PM | Link to this

jim:

Fine. Don’t respect us. But you had BETTER obey us, and THAT is the larger problem.

Whn I was teaching (and even now, on those occassions when I happen to have authority in some area), I personally don’t care if you like me, fear me, hate me, or disrespect me.

HOWEVER: You WILL obey me, or I WILL make your life a living Hades.

By SET

September 28, 2007 6:16 PM | Link to this

The bulk of the Campus Crime will be drug and domestic violence related, with mental illness the 3rd reason for trouble.

Schools and colleges usually have no intention to screen out (staff and student) druggies and those with messy personal lives because the PC crowd deeply feels that maintaining standards is immoral and everybody gets to play in the sandbox as they wish. Deranged Killers are an anomaly and you won’t normally see one yourself in your lifetime. The mentally ill population are occluded by irrational application of HIPPA and other confidentiality policies even when higher Tarasoff Warning issues are clear (duty to warn & protect threatened people by Medical Staff of the patient).

After the school has had enough, they will usually tighten up on the DV and addict population. CA has mandatory arrest protocols now for DV that are astounding to watch in action. Arresting the “victim” also when indicated usually produces desired change. I support this because usually telling these people to knock it off just annoys them and keeps the games going. They won’t even listen to their lawyers until it’s not fun anymore.

The addicts normally are always on probation, searchable, and usually have outstanding warrants anyway. If they become apparent, you just serve everything on them and they go away. CA Stalker Law is fierce if the cops are ever trained in using it. Our stalkers face possible lifetime registration as sex offenders (they really don’t like this).

It all goes back to the problem with running a school in the first place. If you mean business about maintaining control over the school you target problems and get rid of them. There is always a way to do it, especially if you are creative and motivated and smarter then the problem child. But you have to give a damn. Only certain schools and administrators really care to run a tight operation - and thrive on staged confrontation when somebody becomes a problem. Many schools avoid promoting those type personalities - maybe they don’t think they are that desperate yet.

Our local schools all have their own Police Department. The Jr College not only arrests students who give them any reason to do so, but then they administratively suspend them - they are served with the orders by the time they arrive at the jail (before they are even OR’ed). If they set foot on campus while on suspension they are arrested again. To get out of suspension they have to make an appointment and go through hoops (to even try to get back) which many of the problem children won’t do. In any event they have usually lost the semester or year anyway.

The Jr College has a nice physical plant and well paid staff to protect so they are real tough. Every classroom has a direct line to Armed and Taser carrying campus police. That school doesn’t tolerate insubordination or raised voices. They do have a significant parolee and sex offender attendance - these people must register with the Campus Police and are known by the faculty. Any problems and they are out. They may face limits on when and where they may go on campus (Examples, stay away from day care center, observe curfew hours). The entire campus grounds and it’s parking lots are under 24 hr CCTV surveilance and recording. Any problems and Police can review what happened and follow the players backwards to their cars. So far the classrooms and stairwells are not on camera, but they have alarm buttons and phones.

The local High Schools have poor physical plants and not so well paid staff so they are light on the protection. So you’d best not work in a public high school. The schools are a reflection of the social status of the people who work and attend there.

When Schools want an exterminator they are in the yellow pages. Everybody knows where to find one. Might as well hire one with a law degree also. (No, I’m not available. I think.)

We don’t have a Public 4 year University here so I haven’t seen what they are doing. I think the same standards apply. Security is a reflection of what the staff and students want, and their social status. If they are of high status and know they want security, they get it.

I do believe that an armed society is a polite society. I have guns. So do friends and family.

By HS Teacher Too

September 28, 2007 6:28 PM | Link to this

DB, If you don’t mind sharing, what is the college or university that your son attends? I am fascinated by the system they have in place and would like to learn more about it.

Jim D, We’ve been down this road so many times — there are different kinds of respect. Deferential respect (“I may not like what you have to say, but you are an adult with my best interests in mind … you are my boss … etc., and I know how to behave and speak with you given those roles … “) and respect that is earned. I venture a guess that JustMe earns respect well enough but laments that the deferential respect is often lacking. I can’t count how many times I have counseled students who, frustrated with one teacher, vented to me and I reminded them of the old adage, “You catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar.” It’s human nature. Run to a teacher, throw a paper in their face, and say “You graded this wrong” will get an entirely different response than “Mr. So-and-so, can you take a look at this question, I think you missed something?”

Maybe that’s a poor example because you might think it’s more about kissing up. Try this: you want to use a coupon in a store and the coupon expired last night, though you didn’t realize it. Do you demand they accept it, or do you ask if they would possibly be able to?

You get the gist. My point is I think you and JustMe belabor the respect issue when you’re comparing apples and oranges.

As to today’s issue I agree with the early post that said the efforts we are seeing across the country today are more to prevent litigation than they are expected to many any meaningful differences. But pity the university that takes no steps … because in today’s age it is almost a given that they will be considered negligent if something ever happens.

By RCC director

October 1, 2007 8:20 AM | Link to this

Jeff, I am so tired of you not listening. We do teach preparedness. It is a plank in the platform of every RCC. Sometimes you can be quite prepared and a sleazebag will still find a way to harm you. When that happens it is still not the vicitm’s fault. Repsonsiblilty rests with the perpetrator- ALWAYS. I think you and I might agree on several points if you would quit being so confrontational and just read more carefully. You are just hearing what you want to hear. Nuff said. Bye!

By Jeff

October 1, 2007 8:55 AM | Link to this

RCC:

Who’s “blaming the victim”?

I have a long-standing thing I tell any female I’m close to:

Feel free to tell me about anything. If you need a shoulder for any reason, mine are pretty dang big. The only caveat is that if you were a victim of a sexual assault, NEVER tell me the animal’s name. Because I WILL hunt him down like the animal he is, and I WILL make him regret ever being BORN.

Let’s put it this way: I’m sure you’ve heard the song “Alyssa Lies”, about a child who is sexually abused by her father. She tries to tell people at school, but no one believes her. One weekend, her father kills her.

I was with T, my fiancee, the first time I heard that song. I could barely listen to it because my rage was building so much. I was sitting there with a clenched fist DARING someone to do something that would allow me to beat them senseless. I can honestly say that I haven’t felt in YEARS the levels of rage that song builds in me.

And I’m not normally a violent guy! (Caveat: I’m not a violent guy, but I don’t mind using violence if it is the only option left.)

By RCC director

October 1, 2007 9:49 AM | Link to this

Told ya we’d see eye-to-eye on a lot. If you would, please get the word out that there are sources of help out there for rape survivors. Let people know about the national rape crisis hotline: 800-656-HOPE, and joint the fight by supporting your local rape crisis center.

By SET

October 1, 2007 10:14 AM | Link to this

Jeff: You are heading for a world of trouble if you allow any female who wants to to manipulate you into violence against any male she targets. As we’ve seen in the Durham case and also see all the time around here, deceitful, mentally ill, drug using, promiscuous women will lie in an instant and if you get violent because of something they said, don’t think they will ever take any responsibility for what they goad you to do either. By then the’d have a “new” friend.

Here in CA we have these women all about. They go through life wrecking the lives of any they brush against. Their children, their neighbors, any fool enough to employ them, their co-workers, parents - the list of victims goes on. What distinguishes them from their male counterparts is that the women are more into “relationship” craziness where the men more often attack strangers.

Such a woman would see you coming, and be whatever you wanted her to be just long enough to use you like a dishrag.

You would end up needing a lawyer - and a therapist. We lawyers around here call your attitude - “Sir-Save-A-Ho”.

By Jeff

October 1, 2007 10:25 AM | Link to this

SET:

It takes more than just a charge. I DO do my own investigation. And before I even do the investigation into the guy, the girl in question has to meet two key criteria: A) Does she mean enough to me that I would risk my own death? B) Do I trust her?

FEW women in my life have ever met both criteria. (T, my mom, a couple of aunts, and some others in my life at various points. I could probably name every single woman that fits both criteria on both hands - MAYBE have to use all my digits.)

Most others, I simply stand guard for them when they are in my presence. Most people come to find REAL quick that I do not condone unprovoked violence in my presence, and even when it IS provoked I often act in defense of the one taking the worse end of the fight. (I may wind up beating the hades out of the person I am defending once the fight is over and the facts are gathered, but I act to stop fights FIRST, then get facts. This feature of my psyche is the reason that I primarily employ restraints and the such when breaking up a fight, yet strive for massive devastation as fast as possible when using force of my own volition.)

By DB

October 1, 2007 10:59 AM | Link to this

HS Teacher Too, I’d rather not advertise his school, if you don’t mind — he deserves his privacy. However, here is a link to the system that his school uses:

http://www.ravewireless.com/guardian.shtml

Fascinating stuff!

By RCC Director

October 1, 2007 11:17 AM | Link to this

The documented incidence of false reports is approximately 2%. The Duke has just made life harder for the real victims.

By SET

October 1, 2007 4:42 PM | Link to this

Jeff: Well put. My concerns exclude men reacting when a close family member is the victim. That we need more of.

By SET

October 1, 2007 4:53 PM | Link to this

RCC Director: I see no reliable data of “documented” false reports of crime by either males or females. I believe from my experience that a whole lot of reports are falsified or exaggerated nowadays, not “2%”. This is particularly true when the complaint is contradicted by the physical evidence.

Attempts by State Legislatures to unconstitutionally shield “victims” from reasonable cross examination about their past complicates the matter. The Kobe Bryant case was silly on it’s face - look how that fell apart when Atty Pamela Mackey came on the scene to destroy the “victim” on discovery & cross exam.

The Duke University “victim” was as transparent as Twana Brawley and only got as far as she did because all the people exposed to her acted politically correct instead of realistic.

I don’t think these are isolated cases. They do happen and are great examples of how decent defense lawyers are important to maintain the integrity of our justice system. It would help if anyone could trust the government, but as we see, all large organizations eventually drift away from what was supposed to be the mission, into self perpetuating games where truth no longer is the point. It’s human nature.