4
FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 2008
State, UNC align on safety
BY REBECCA PUTTERMAN
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
RALEIGH When 32 students
and faculty were murdered at Va.
Tech last April, colleges nationwide
recognized how gaps in their cam
pus safety plans could yield tragic
results.
In North Carolina, state Attorney
General Roy Cooper mobilized a
task force in June to evaluate how
campuses could better prepare for
critical incidents, such as haring a
shooter on campus.
“In one context, these might be
viewed as simple things, but they
become very important in the con
text of crisis management" said Brad
Wilson, chairman of the state task
force and a member of the UNC sys
tem's Board of Governors, regarding
the reports 11 recommendations.
Cooper's recommendations
closely mirror the campus security
report released by the UNC svstem
in November, reflecting a high level
of collaboration between the state's
review and the UNC system’s inter
nal task force.
“(Cooper's) report supplements
(the UNC-system report) and com
plements the work that has already
been done," Wilson said.
The N.C. attorney general's 11 rec
ommendations for the improvement
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of campus safety were the result of
three months of research, conferenc
es and surveys, and were presented
to the public Thursday during a cer
emony at Peace College.
The recommendations are
meant for all 110 colleges in North
Carolina, including public, private
and community campuses.
The most actionable recommen
dation is to establish a Center for
Campus Safety as a hub of across
the-state safety coordination.
The idea for such a center encom
passes the main goal of the state task
force, as well as the UNC-system task
force, which completed its own cam
pus security report in November.
Both task forces focused on mak
ing improving security a continuous
effort rather than a knee-jerk reac
tion to tragedy.
Leslie Winner, former UNC-sys
tem rice president for legal affairs,
expressed that need for consistency
in November.
“We need to a way to lead this
effort on a continuous basis,' she
said. “We've responded to trage
dies, but in the past we have offered
inconsistent messages and incon
sistent help to campuses."
The state task force collected the
testimony of those involved with
Virginia's own task force and people
wrho witnessed the tragedy to fully
comprehend what kind of mistakes
could hare been prevented by way of
precautionary planning.
Many of the report 's recommen
dations are direct solutions to specif
ic preventable mistakes from the Va.
Tedi shootings, such as the incident
in which a professor reported the
shooter's bomb threat to the dean's
office instead of to the police.
In response to that and other
similar anecdotes, the report calls
for faculty, students and staff to be
trained in emergency response.
After re-evaluating what went
wrong in Virginia, members of the
N.C. task force focused heavily on
the role that serious mental illness
had to play in the shootings.
The report urges the N.C.
General Assembly to amend back
ground checks for gun purchasers
to include whether a person has
been involuntarily committed —a
similar regulation became federal
law Ttiesdav —as well as training
campus faculty in mental health
privacy laws.
Cooper was adamant that the rec
ommendations become actionable.
He said he would send the report to
the chiefs of campus security, as well
as to each campus president.
“I want to make certain that this
isn't a stack of papers that collects
dust."
Senior writer Eric Johnson
contributed reporting.
Contact the State t? National
Editor at stntdesk@ unc.edu.
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News
DON'T STOP THE MUSIC
M
P? w
DTH/DAVID ENARSON
NC Ballroom Dance Club Team members Jane Lee
and team captain Carissa Chambers perform the
samba in the Union Underground on Thursday. “I’ve
been dancing for three years,” Chris Chirdon said. “I started in
high school. I really do wish more guys would do it ”
CIO
FROM PAGE 3
inside the organization and really
cared about staff development and
giving people chances to advance
and to grow," she said. “After all, the
staff of ITS is a huge resource for
the University."
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
OWASA
FROM PAGE 3
Atmospheric Administration has
predicted that the county's drought
will persist or intensify- in the next
three months.
As of Tuesday, Orange County
was listed as in an exceptional
drought, the most severe category
of drought. More than 51 percent
of the state also is in exceptional
drought.
The National Weather Service
predicted a 70 percent chance of
precipitation for today.
Contact the City Editor
at citydesk@unc.edu.
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January 13, 2008
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A late night contemplative service
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Experience the mystery, holiness,
beauty, and transcendence of God
in the ancient words of the Church
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304 E. Franklin Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514
(Next to Morehead Planetarium)
919-929-2193
www. thechapdofthecross. org
info@thechapclofthctToss.org
Uhr Saiii} (Lor Hrri
CLIMB
FROM PAGE 3
Farb's training also has become
more difficult, but Decator said she
has continued with it.
“There’s a tremendous amount of
stress when you receive that cancer
diagnosis,' said Pam Baker, officer
support assistant for Lineberger’s
Patient and Family Resource
Center.
Farb is using her climb as a way
to solicit donations for the resource
center, which provides patients with
wigs, feel-better programs and self
image programs. Socks, slippers,
pillows and other comfort items
also are available. All of the services
at the center are free of charge.
Farb's original goal was to raise
SIO,OOO, but Baker said she already
has exceeded that goal.
“We depend a lot on donations,
such as Harriet raising money for
us," Baker said. “Harriet understands
the needs that we have here."
UNC’s center, along with oth
ers, serve the many breast cancer
patients and other cancer patients
across the country.
According to the American
Cancer Society, 178,480 women in
the United States were estimated
to have been diagnosed with breast
cancer in 2007.
Of those diagnosed, about 23
percent or 40,460 were
expected to die.
Farb, though, is making progress
with her recovery.
Asa nurse, she wanted to con
trol her treatments. Decator said.
“She was always positive about
what it w-as that was going to work
out for her," she said.
Her motivation throughout the
treatments has inspired patients at
the cancer center, Decator said “She's
going to climb that mountain."
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.