School shootings leave students in state of fear, B1
Career fair offers internship, job opportunities, C1
The Thought Lot to welcome open mic performers, D1
SU Raiders’ postseason run ends, E1
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@ShipUSlate
Tuesday March 20, 2018
TheSlate @ShipUSlate 60 years strong
Volume 61 No. 19
theslateonline.com
Reporting truth. Serving our community.
SU responds to gun violence
Change in gun culture could be cause of mass shootings Shannon Long News Editor
Hannah Pollock/The Slate
Active shooter training prepares students, police Hannah Pollock Asst. News Editor With the recent tragic events in schools across the nation, The Slate is taking a look at the emergency preparedness of Shippensburg University. Seeing events like the Parkland school shooting on the news has students everywhere thinking about the “What if...” situations. “What if something like that were to happen here? What would I do? How would our campus react?” SU student Gunnar Miller said he is confident in the SU police department. “Generally speaking, I do feel pretty safe on campus and I’m sure the police could handle anything that comes up,” Miller said. Fellow SU student Steph Barnett has concerns about the availability of information during an emergency. “I feel like if there were any actual emergencies on campus, I would probably be the last to know and would end up walking straight into it. I would not feel prepared,” Barnett said. While she does not feel completely prepared right now, Barnett offered some ideas on how to become more prepared. “We could go online to a map of campus and see
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which emergency routes to take, depending on where we’re located and a description of when to stay put and when to move quickly would probably help.” The SU police department is constantly working to be as prepared as possible for any emergency situation. While students were away from campus on spring break, the SU police department held active shooter training in McLean Hall. “The police officers participate in ongoing training designed to prepare them for an effective active shooter response. They participate in joint training with local police, fire and EMS,” SU Police Chief Cytha Grissom said. “They also must complete mandatory update training in many topics annually. There are drills conducted on and off campus as well as tabletop exercises.” The university is prepared to inform the student body during a time of emergency, according to Grissom. “The university has several methods of notifying the campus community during a crisis situation, including: emergency text messaging system, emails, changes to the website to reflect information, outdoor and indoor public address systems, emergency broadcast system on campus radio and TV sta-
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tions, computer screen pop up system, and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter,” Grissom said. However, campus safety is not only the job of the police. Students can play a major role in preventing these types of situations, according to Grissom. “If they see something, say something. Anything out of the ordinary such as social media posts, statements made or suspicious/concerning behavior should be reported to the police department immediately,” Grissom said. “We cannot respond or investigate situations unless we are aware they are occurring. Students must play an active role in keeping themselves safe.” The SU police department offers active shooter training to campus residents via the residence life staff, as well as training to commuters at the beginning of the semester. There is also a video on the SU police website that encourages students to follow the “Run, Hide, Fight” strategies to survive an active shooter event. If you want more education on what to do in an active shooter situation, contact SU Crime Prevention Specialist Julie Clark, or ask a police officer on campus. For more information, visit www.ship.edu/police.
Weather Forecast
The increased amount of gun violence and mass shootings in the United States over the past decades could have been caused by a change in violent gun culture and the normalization of guns, according to Pamela Monaghan-Geernaert, an SU sociology professor. She said the rise in mass shootings is because of the normalization of guns in today’s media. She said there used to be more restrictions on what was shown on TV because of the production code, but now we see gun violence everywhere. “Because of this production code, we didn’t see violence, we didn’t see sex, we didn’t see a lot of it and now we see it everywhere,” Monaghan-Geernaert said. Gun violence is also normalized in our society as a whole. Gun culture has always existed, but now there is a violent side to gun culture. Because of the large number of mass shootings, people have gotten used to it, and people know what others are capable of and know they are able to pull off a similar act, she said. Monaghan-Geernaert also attributed this increase in gun violence to America’s individualistic society. Mental
illness is either normalized or stigmatized. People are more likely to be open about their depression or anxiety whereas schizophrenia or bipolar disorder is more likely to be stigmatized by others. Getting help for mental illnesses is very difficult and not free. “The mental health illnesses that we stigmatize, we stigmatize in a way that getting help or admitting issues is very very difficult to do in our society,” Monaghan-Geernaert said. People also can feel ostracized or isolated anywhere whether it is online or in person. Often, people want to find like-minded people who they can talk to
and relate with. However, some use social media to find like-minded people and can find themselves in dangerous situations when there is no one there to diffuse the conversation, according to Monaghan-Geernaert. She said people naturally need socialization, and encourages her students to step out of their comfort zones by having conversations with the people who sit next to them before her classes. “We’re, by nature, social. So even if you are an introvert, you still want to feel connected to something,” Monaghan-Geernaert said. See “VIOLENCE,” A2
Shannon Long/The Slate
Students are encouraged to use the Ship CARES referral system at ship.edu/shipcares, but emergency situations should be reported to campus police.
PA SAFE Caucus advocates for more gun safety laws Shannon Long News Editor The PA SAFE Caucus members discussed their legislative goals for gun safety reform during a news conference at the capitol building on Wednesday. The meeting marked one month since the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and occurred on the day students across the nation walked out of their schools, advocating for stricter gun laws. During the conference, lawmakers spoke about their frustrations with passing legislation and specific House bills they would like to see move from committee. PA SAFE co-chair Madeleine Dean said to listen to the students that are speaking out, because their wisdom and bravery is inspirational and that the time to say enough is enough is now. “We can and must do something to combat this gun violence epidemic, not just to
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prevent mass shootings like in Parkland, but to combat the everyday violence that claims 33,000 lives a year in this country, and injures 80,000 others in the crossfire,” Dean said in a press release. Special hearings about gun laws will be held on April 9–12, and members expressed their expectations for the hearings. “We are pleased to see that the House Judiciary Committee will give members a chance to speak about important gun safety proposals,” PA SAFE co-chair Dan Frankel said. “But we also know that a hearing is not enough — we expect the chance to vet some of these bills on the House floor in the very near future.” “Every gun murder is a tragedy and outrage, and every victim should matter. The upcoming hearings should be followed by votes on bills that can save lives. I’m a minister and I strongly believe that thoughts and prayers are not enough,” Pennsylvania Rep. Joana McClinton said. See “PA SAFE,” A2
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