While Long Beach City College has implemented certain tools to maintain safety on campus, administration needs to continue addressing the valid concerns of faculty and students on campus.
A sense of security within United States schools has become foreign due to countless mass shootings throughout the years. It has opened many eyes and put into consideration whether administrations are doing the right things to make our country and schools safe.
The feeling of being safe looks different for everybody. When it comes to school, students should only come to class with one question: “What am I going to learn today?” not, “Will I make it home today?”
According to an article in EducationWeek.org, there have been about 19 school shootings this year alone, and even more years prior. There have been 163 school shootings in total from 2018-2023.
Every time those numbers go up, the fear of going to school rises. Long Beach City College has taken these numbers and real-life situations into consideration when implementing all of its regulations and tactics. From upgrading all safety devices around campus to providing training for staff and students.
LBCC vice president of business services Raymond West and all of LBCC is working on implementing regulations and tactics to make the college safer.
According to West, the school’s plans for safety include equipping the campus with security cameras, upgrading phone systems for emergencies, and ensuring that first aid kits and fire extinguishers are available around campus.
Even with all these tactics and regulations, the sense of feeling safe at the school you attend is still concerning for some. Students spend the majority of their days in school, whether it’s early in the morning or late at night.
When coming to college, just like every other public environment, people all just go about their days but do they ever stop to wonder about their safety? If so, is the college prepared with the knowledge and resources?
There are some people that only need certain regulations such as police patrols around campus to feel safe, but that varies for someone else.
To ensure that the college is prioritizing the safety of the students and staff here at LBCC there has to be an extreme level of security being demonstrated.
Establish resources such as clubs where students can share their opinions on what makes them feel safe.
Have anonymous tip reporting tools, where anyone can report anything they believe is threatening the safety in the college.
Have mandatory training sessions to be completed by students and staff at the college in order to better know how to navigate through any sort of violence, exposure to weapons, bullying, threats and more.
Training sessions should also be scheduled at more widely accessible times that fit within professors’ schedules.
Students are not the only ones that have safety concerns, professors do as well, raising concerns over the design of classroom exits, as most rooms only have them in the front of the room, leaving only one path of escape in the case of emergencies.
Inoperable windows, classrooms with only one entrance and an open campus can make it much harder for students to escape when in close proximity to an active threat.
College administration needs to establish that they are listening to student and faculty concerns. Establishing trust between all members of the campus is the first step in creating a sense of safety.