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CAMPUS REACTS TO SHOOTINGS Palomar evaluates
Students talk about East Coast 111assacre
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By John Scafetta
By John Scafetta
THE TELESCOPE
THE TELESCOPE
Two weeks have passed since the first shots were fired on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg. It was then that Seung-Hui Cho, an English major, murdered 27 students and five faculty members before taking his own life. "I was shocked by the whole situation and was surprised, because you would never suspect something like this to happen in Blacksburg," said Virginia Tech graduate student and packaging major Jimmy Bishaw. "It was like something from a horror movie." Bishaw, who was on campus during the shootings, said the aftermath has left the campus unraveled and in disarray, but said the Virginia Tech community will overcome it. "Everyone was walking around campus like zombies," Bishaw said. "It was a very surreal feeling. The scary part is it could have been me, because I have walked through Norris Hall many times." Following the tragedy, Palomar students have felt the effect of the college massacre. "My initial reaction was shock," said Curtis Bryant, a criminal justice major. "I go to college like these other students and you have your routine. You drive to school at a certain time and you think you have control over a lot of stuff, but you really don't." While most were in disbelief, some said they felt there were plenty of warning signs to merit suspicion upon Cho, including disturbing writings and a verbal threat to commit suicide. "It doesn't surprise me," said Sara Love, a criminal justice major. ''Yeah it's scary, but the fact that he threatened people before should have opened their eyes. A lot of times I don't think people take threats seriously." Bryant said the location of the shooting disturbed him. • SEE
ELLIOT DE LISSER I TIU TELESCOPE
Palomar English major Breelyn Burns writes a message on a memorial banner that will be sent from Palomar to Virginia Tech. The banner was the centerpiece of a memorial service held at the San Marcos Campus on April 23.
Memorial event held for victims By Shahrazad Encinias THE TELESCOPE
Palomar College paid its respects to the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy during a ceremony April 23. The ceremony was held one week after the tragedy, in front of the Student Center at noon. The Associated Student Government hosted the ceremony, which began with a moment of silence. The ASG also provided a banner for people to write messages and prayers for the Virginia Tech community. The banner will be sent to them. "It could occur at any college or university," said College President Robert Deegan, who spoke at the ceremony.
Thirty-two votive candles were lit to commemorate the 32 victims. Five of the victims were professors. Deegan told students, staff members and faculty members that the college is prepared to handle a similar situation. A counselor was also at the event to speak with students. During the ceremony, representatives from Health Services handed out a flier titled "Self-care tips for dealing with stress after a disaster or traumatic event." Jayne Conway, health services director said there are many programs on campus to help students. "We can help them," Conway said. "They don't even know the services we provide."
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MASSACRE, PACE 7
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• SEE VICTIMS, PACE 7
Following the aftermath of the deadliest shooting in United States history on the campus of Virginia Tech, Palomar College officials have said they are prepared to handle a similar crisis if it were to occur here. "If something like that happened, we're as prepared as you can be," College President Robert Deegan said. "It's much more important to do what we can ahead of time." Part of that preparation is moving the annual "Immediate Action and Rapid Deployment" class forward to May 24, Police Chief Tom Plotts said. "Every year, we have a scheduled training in the summertime when the students have gone," Plotts said. "It involves a scenario of an active shooter on campus. We were scheduled originally to have that June 15, but we are now partnering with Cal State San Marcos' police department and the sheriff's department that runs the course." The first-time partnership between Cal State San Marcos and Palomar is an eight-hour course for all sworn personnel on campus. The Palomar police department consists of six sworn officers and 12 community service officers. Sworn officers are equipped with firearms, handcuffs and pepper spray whereas community service officers on campus are unarmed and observe and report, Plotts said. He said he believes the college's emergency plan, which is reviewed and updated yearly, has his staff prepared for any type of emergency. "An educational institution should be a safe haven for our students and our employees," Plotts said. "For the campus community, we need to have resources that are available, not only to act as a deterrent, but also to respond to this type of situation." Plotts said the number of officers on campus will increase as Palomar expands its facilities over the next 10 to 15 years. "We're going to be moving in the direction of giving some input related to the design and construction of these buildings for areas like security cameras, automatic locking devices, intercom systems and voice over IP," Plotts said. "We would have
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