ASU administrators and police officers are doing everything they can boost security measures at the University in light of the Virginia Tech shooting that occurred in April, officials said.
The University has worked on an emergency Web site that would comprise all safety information for students, parents and staff members, and officials have also looked into a text-messaging service that could spread any word of danger to students immediately, said ASU spokeswoman Leah Hardesty.
The Web site would contain information that is already available online at asu.edu, including evacuation plans and numbers where students can get help. Being on a central site, the information will now be more easily found, Hardesty said.
"It's a Web site for anything and everything related to safety on all the campuses," she said.
Administrators hope the Web site will be up and running before the fall 2007 semester begins, she added.
Administrators across all departments have also been participating in emergency operations training, Hardesty said.
This training teaches faculty and staff how to communicate with one another in the event of an emergency and also how to properly instruct students, she said.
ASU Police spokesman Cmdr. Jim Hardina said the police department has always offered this type of training to those interested, but they have gotten many more requests for it since the incidents at Virginia Tech.
"We're doing more training and more classes on what to do if there's an active shooting," he said. "Some people think you're supposed to hide; some people think you're supposed to run away.
"Each situation is different, but we tell people to run away."
Hardina said people shouldn't hide from a shooter because he has seen videos of shooters actively seeking people out who are hiding under desks.
But faculty and staff aren't the only ones getting emergency training — the police officers are, too.
On July 23, ASU police officers joined Tempe police officers in a training on what to do if there is an active shooter in the area, Hardina said.
The training took place at Manzanita Hall, which is vacant this summer.
Hardina said this type of training is important for both the police units because if a situation did occur in Tempe, both departments would be working together.
"It's good to know what each other are doing," he said. "We'll train together so we're sure we're on the same page."
Reach the reporter at: tara.brite@asu.edu.
