ISSUE: Campus security

OUR VIEW: Claflin testing important devices, yet humans remain the key

There's a measure of irony in Claflin University making news by testing enhanced security measures on the very morning before a gunman goes on a deadly rampage at Northern Illinois University.

The new efforts at Claflin and other universities came in the wake of last year's massacre at Virginia Tech, the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

At Claflin, two pilot programs are designed to coordinate local authorities faster, increase the efficiency of first-responders and keep them out of harm's way.

One of the programs with which Claflin is involved is the Emergency Management Operating System. It allows the university, the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office and the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety officials to coordinate their responses to a potential crisis on campus.

The system, which is being tested at Claflin with mock scenarios, ultimately would include n.jpgication of persons on campus via cell phone and computer alerts. Claflin is one of two campuses nationally where the system is being tested.

EMOS isn't the only security measure Claflin is testing. The university is also enrolled in another pilot program courtesy of the U.S. Department of the Navy that allows sending in robots instead of people to assess dangerous situations.

The Navy has sent specialists to the university to train the police department on how to use the laptop-controlled robots. The robots can climb stairs and provide video feedback, letting officials get a grasp of a situation without endangering any human lives.

"No campus is immune from incidents like the one that happened at Virginia Tech. We all must do something more to try and protect our campus," Claflin Police Chief Steve Pearson said just a day before the Illinois tragedy.

How right he is. And it seems that no matter what measures are taken, the best security forces can hope to do in many instances is mitigate the damage. At Northern Illinois, the response time by campus police was immediate and according to plan.

In the college atmosphere, oppressive security measures are not only impractical, they are undesirable. Where technology can help, it certainly is wanted.

Yet people have to do their part, taking note of persons and situations. It may read as judgmental to use the word "suspicious," but that is indeed what must be observed. When something seems out of synch and just not right in the world of a campus -- or anywhere for that matter -- casting aside concern and moving on is not the way to go. Someone must be willing to speak out -- and hope it's not too late even then.

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