Post by FIUBlue82 on Apr 20, 2007 7:44:31 GMT -5
Dr. Rosenberg, FIU's former Provost and the current Chancellor of Florida's S.U.S., is leading the effort to have the legislature allocate more funds to school security.
www.miamiherald.com/458/story/80453.html
Posted on Fri, Apr. 20, 2007
Colleges seek funds to upgrade safety measures
BY NOAH BIERMAN
Florida's public universities want an additional $3.5 million to hire 20 police officers and upgrade their emergency communications systems in response to this week's massacre at Virginia Tech University.
The request comes late in the annual legislative session, as lawmakers prepare to horse-trade the differences between House and Senate spending plans. But Chancellor Mark Rosenberg, who represents the 11 state schools, is hoping a relatively modest request and a sense of urgency will get him through the ''tight squeeze'' in the Legislature.
''I haven't [seen the request] but the timing couldn't be better,'' Gov. Charlie Crist said. ``Oh, I think [legislators] will do everything they can to find the money for it, and I would predict that they probably will.''
In an emergency phone conference Thursday, the state Board of Governors, which oversees the universities, agreed to press the Legislature for the security money. The board also agreed to study policies at each campus that address how to intervene with troubled students. Not all campuses have policies, and those that do differ in their approach, said Rosenberg, who has been conferring with administrators and student leaders for the past two days to assess the situation.
The emergency response systems are good but geared for natural disasters, rather than unpredictable violence, he said.
''It should be redundant,'' Rosenberg said. ``No single source notification system is sufficient.''
University presidents want to make sure they have cellphone text-messaging alerts, reverse 911 systems, sirens and other alerts available at all 11 schools. ''Nothing's more important than this issue,'' said Carolyn Roberts, chairwoman of the Board of Governors.
Anxiety and vigilance on campus have risen since Monday's shootings, if an incident at the University of Florida early Thursday morning is any indication. A female student called campus police when she saw a classmate with what appeared to be a handgun in a dormitory elevator, said Ed Poppell, UF's vice president for administration and finance.
The gun turned out to be an Airsoft Airgun, a gun that shoots plastic and is used for target practice and outdoor simulated-combat games. Police charged 19-year-old Travis Raymond Young with assault because the girl feared for her life, said UF spokesman Steve Orlando.
''It was a very intense couple of hours this morning,'' Poppell said.
Miami Herald staff writer Mary Ellen Klas contributed to this report.
www.miamiherald.com/458/story/80453.html
Posted on Fri, Apr. 20, 2007
Colleges seek funds to upgrade safety measures
BY NOAH BIERMAN
Florida's public universities want an additional $3.5 million to hire 20 police officers and upgrade their emergency communications systems in response to this week's massacre at Virginia Tech University.
The request comes late in the annual legislative session, as lawmakers prepare to horse-trade the differences between House and Senate spending plans. But Chancellor Mark Rosenberg, who represents the 11 state schools, is hoping a relatively modest request and a sense of urgency will get him through the ''tight squeeze'' in the Legislature.
''I haven't [seen the request] but the timing couldn't be better,'' Gov. Charlie Crist said. ``Oh, I think [legislators] will do everything they can to find the money for it, and I would predict that they probably will.''
In an emergency phone conference Thursday, the state Board of Governors, which oversees the universities, agreed to press the Legislature for the security money. The board also agreed to study policies at each campus that address how to intervene with troubled students. Not all campuses have policies, and those that do differ in their approach, said Rosenberg, who has been conferring with administrators and student leaders for the past two days to assess the situation.
The emergency response systems are good but geared for natural disasters, rather than unpredictable violence, he said.
''It should be redundant,'' Rosenberg said. ``No single source notification system is sufficient.''
University presidents want to make sure they have cellphone text-messaging alerts, reverse 911 systems, sirens and other alerts available at all 11 schools. ''Nothing's more important than this issue,'' said Carolyn Roberts, chairwoman of the Board of Governors.
Anxiety and vigilance on campus have risen since Monday's shootings, if an incident at the University of Florida early Thursday morning is any indication. A female student called campus police when she saw a classmate with what appeared to be a handgun in a dormitory elevator, said Ed Poppell, UF's vice president for administration and finance.
The gun turned out to be an Airsoft Airgun, a gun that shoots plastic and is used for target practice and outdoor simulated-combat games. Police charged 19-year-old Travis Raymond Young with assault because the girl feared for her life, said UF spokesman Steve Orlando.
''It was a very intense couple of hours this morning,'' Poppell said.
Miami Herald staff writer Mary Ellen Klas contributed to this report.