On Jan. 25, Liliana Rodriguez, vice chancellor for campus life and inclusive excellence sent an email to the DU community regarding a new training the Department of Campus Safety (DCS) is offering in relation to active shooters.
“An active shooter on campus is among the worst emergencies that can happen. Tragically, we’ve seen the devastation from such events in Colorado, across the country and throughout the world,” Rodriguez stated in the email. “We are not isolated from these events, and we must keep our campus safe by preparing for the worst.”
According to the email, DCS already has a strong emergency preparedness program, but they hope the new training will prove even more useful.
“They [DCS] have developed a new active shooter training program to help you know what to do should you ever be in harm’s way,” stated Rodriguez in the email. “We are asking all DU students to watch this training video; as a society, we’ve learned from tragedy that lives are saved when people are aware and prepared to take action for their own safety.”
The active shooter training can be found on Canvas. According to the email, students should receive an email invitation on Jan. 25 with a link to the course.
Rodriguez reminded students in the email of the counseling services offered on campus because such events are very tragic, and the training itself can be upsetting.
“This is not easy to think about, and the video, done by Homeland Security, can be upsetting to watch. It’s so important that we would like to require every one of us to take 10 minutes to learn how to survive an attack, yet we are mindful that watching it could cause emotional trauma for some of our students,” stated Rodriguez in the email. “If you have any concerns about your reaction to watching a realistic active shooter simulation, please consider accessing counseling services available to you through the Health and Counseling Center.”
Community members are urged to sign up for DU’s emergency notification system, DU Alert so they will be notified during any campus emergency.
