University Steps Up Preparation in Response to National Security Issues
Although University of San Francisco officials believe the campus is not a likely target of a terrorist attack, the University has taken several steps to further ensure the safety of faculty, staff, and students.
“I don’t think the University of San Francisco is a big political target,” said Ted Wight, director of public safety. “Still, we are more cognizant of people and actions that don’t belong here. We hope people will not hesitate to report suspicious actions to us. We’ve also stepped up the process of rewriting our disaster plan.”
Part of the disaster plan includes directions on how to handle bomb threats. In the event of such a threat, public safety officers gather information from the individual who received the threat and pass that information along to the president. The president makes the final decision on whether to evacuate.
There have been three bomb threats at USF since Sept. 11, compared to just one in the 2000-2001 academic year. The decision to evacuate after the first of the three threats, on Oct. 8, “tilted in the direction of caution, given the current mood of the nation,” USF President Stephen A. Privett, S.J. said in a campus-wide email. “We know that the University is prepared to deal with emergencies, that the community responds quickly and responsibly in such situations and that we will review and clarify current procedures and responsibilities in light of contemporary challenges.”
Once the campus was evacuated Oct. 8, public safety officers, along with plant services personnel, did a “thorough search of public areas,” including classrooms, hallways, and meeting spaces, Wight said. The search turned up nothing suspicious. The campus was not evacuated in response to the other two bomb threats, which were determined to be hoaxes because the caller seemed to be the same person responsible for the first threat, Wight said.
A week after the evacuation, the San Francisco Police Department’s bomb squad came to USF to conduct training. The practice benefited the bomb squad because it must regularly train its dogs in unfamiliar environments. The University welcomed the training, as it allowed the bomb squad to become familiar with the campus, Wight said.
USF has a close working relationship with SFPD, Wight said. The University requires its public safety officers to complete a full-time, seven-month SFPD training program. This requirement was adopted one year ago. Of the 14 officers working at USF, 11 have completed the training. The three remaining will complete the program in June 2002.
“Our officers have basically the same training as SFPD officers,” Wight said.
USF public safety officers also received bomb search training from the SFPD explosive ordinance disposal team in late October. The team came to campus to train the officers in what to look for and how to handle any suspicious items. The University has also contracted with SFPD’s airport bomb dog unit, Wight said, so that dogs may be brought in to help search the campus if a credible threat is received.
In the days after the Sept. 11 attack, the University also established a Crisis Response Task Force to develop and coordinate programs and services to support the campus community. The task force is led by John Savard, S.J., director of University Ministry.
“The task force will help us be prepared for any future events, and help us continue to respond to the needs and issues we hear from students,” Fr. Savard said. “The task force is a clearing house for different talks and activities that happen in response to Sept. 11. The task force also listens to students to see if there are concerns that the University needs to pay attention to. When bioterrorism and anthrax began to be an issue in Washington, D.C., we updated the University Web site with links to information on anthrax that I hope allay student and faculty fears of an attack here.”
|
