April 27, 2023
Editor: Maria Odenbaugh | opinions.viewpointsonline@gmail.com
Editorial
7
STAFF LIST EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jennipher Vasquez viewpointseic@gmail.com MANAGING EDITOR Hayden Kulick viewpoints.managing@gmail.com
Viewpoints’ editorials represent the majority opinion of and are written by the Viewpoints’ student editorial board.
DESIGN DIRECTOR Elaina Kleven ADVERTISING MANAGER John Michael Guerrero advertising.viewpointsonline@gmail.com NEWS EDITORS Alondra Montes-Martinez Elaina Kleven news.viewpointsonline@gmail.com LIFE EDITOR Angie Escalante life.viewpointsonline@gmail.com ASSISTANT LIFE EDITOR Jazmyn De Jesus OPINIONS EDITOR Maria Odenbaugh opinions.viewpointsonline@gmail.com ASSISTANT OPINIONS EDITOR Julia Goldman SPORTS EDITOR Peter Gibbs sports.viewpointsonline@gmail.com STEPHEN DAY | VIEWPOINTS
Students were locked into classrooms, and children in the day care were under a “code black” meaning they had to sit in the dark for several hours, but campus police allowed people to freely roam about the campus, including this man with a gopro on his helmet who rode right up to the scene without interference during the campus lockdown on April 18 at Riverside City College.
Officals poorly handles crisis be reported to students, according
to a story previously published by Viewpoints. The shooter initially got away on foot and White Park is one mile away from RCC. Like the most recent incident, rumors flew on social media. Not much has changed in seven years. This time, the campus announced the “all clear” at 12:22 p.m. and students were released from their classrooms and allowed to leave. In those three hours students and staff could have been communicated with and protected better. The man who presented a danger to the RCC community was secured in the northwest corner of the campus. While that was happening there
was no extra police or security communicating on actual campus what was going on. If there was an incident on the campus that required students to be locked into their classrooms for several hours, then why wasn’t there any police presence on campus to enforce the shelter-in-place orders, or to actually lockdown the campus? It is unconfirmed if all students are properly signed up for these resources. Members of our staff received text and phone call alerts from three different numbers. The system that potentially could be the only communication with what’s going on outside a lockdown, is disorganized and leaves students out of the loop. It’s clear campus officials are being reactive instead of proactive.
PHOTO EDITOR Stephen Day photography.viewpointsonline@gmail.com
ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Mathew Acosta
Students, staff left in the dark SAFETY from page 1
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Jair Ramirez
MULTIMEDIA EDITOR John Michael Guerrero
The Viewpoints editorial board feels the RCC administration needs to take a serious look at its current policies regarding threats and safety incidents on campus. Releasing information in a timely manner would quell rumors easily spread via social media and alleviate the mental trauma associated with being in a lockdown situation. There have been 172 mass shootings in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. It’s not even May. The handling of the college’s recent lockdown proved that if we did experience an active shooter situation we would be unprepared and in danger. RCC needs to make the safety of its students first priority.
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