At least we’ll feel safe

Professors being trained on what to do in gun crisis situations so they will know how to properly react if there was ever a gunman on campus.

Nate Binks, a sophomore, thinks back to the shooting that recently happened in Texas and believes that is enough of a reason to require college professors to take gun crisis training.

“Since we can’t do fire drills or other drills like we did in high school, someone needs to know how to handle these situations,” Binks said.

Cheyenne Shepherd, a freshman, agrees with Binks that it is smart for our professors to be trained for theses situations.

“Professors do need to be educated because they don’t know how to react in those situations,” Shepherd said.

Is there a possible down side to this particular training? Students do not think so.

Both Binks and Shepherd have not heard about this new training, but they both feel safer being on campus knowing that our professors are getting gun crisis education.

With this being her first semeste, freshman Paige Pavlicek said she felt safer in high school than she does in college because she knew the majority of people at her high school. Her unease of a new campus is eased knowing her professors are being trained on how to handle situations if ever a gunman was on campus.

“I think it is a good idea because [professors] will know exactly what do to,” Pavlicek said. “They will be prepared.”

Making gun-crisis training a requirement for campuses across the nation is a smart idea in Pavlicek’s opinion.

“There is no down side,” Pavlicek said.

Although other students agree that requiring professors to take this type of training is smart, they do not believe it is a fix to the problem. Yes, students may feel safer on campus knowing their professors have adequate gun crisis training, but according to Michael Bennett, “the source of the problem is still scary.”

Bennett compares his hometown of Greeley, CO to Orem, where he currently lives.

“Greeley,” he said, “is different than Orem, but regardless of how safe the city is that you’re living in, there is always the possibility of a school shooting.”

Bennett remembers the Columbine shooting that happened in 1999 as a day that changed his life.

“Greeley isn’t that close to Columbine, but it was still scary. I haven’t felt 100 percent safe on any school campus since then,” Bennett said. “So yeah, it’s a good idea to train teachers on what to do in those situations, but it still won’t fix the fact that anything can happen at any school”

Melissa Lindsey is a senior at Utah Valley University studying communication with an emphasis in journalism. Contact her at lindsey.mml@gmail.com