“Young Frankenstein” Page 8
Pensacola State College
“The News The Students Choose.”
November / December 2015
Public Safety Department provides safety training for faculty and staff English department faculty members learn emergency procedures
Peggy Smith supervises as faculty member Paula Ingram demonstrates the proper way to break a window in case of emergency. PHOTO BY TRACEY SQUAIRE
By Tracey Squaire and Jennifer Tonnaer
I
magine that it’s just another day. Another day in class, another day of listening to a lecture that may or may not be interesting, and another day of sitting among familiar faces. It’s just another day and, same as most, it’s habitual and easy. But that can all change in a matter of seconds. An atmosphere of peace can easily change to chaos, and all it takes is a catastrophe. Whether it’s the spread of a raging fire or the exploding cracks of gun shots echoing down the hall—it takes only a minute for everything to change. Though it’s a frightening thought, having to deal with an emergency situation on campus is unfortunately a very real possibility. In a life or death situation, every second counts. Any person would like to think that they would make the right decisions in a disastrous situation, but the truth is that in the heat of the moment, panic is the first reaction for many people.
During an emergency, students may find themselves feeling panicked and afraid, and they will most likely look towards the school’s faculty and staff for guidance and safety. The Pensacola State College administration understands that preparation is key in case of immediate danger, and they are taking charge to make sure that PSC faculty and staff are ready to deal with any threats to their students. Hank Shirah, director of PSC’s Public Safety department, said: “The instructors are really the leaders in a class room. We are going to show them how to mitigate a situation … When catastrophe happens, there’s sensory overload because of the stress. That’s not the time to plan; it needs to be planned before.” According to Shirah, the hot-button issue right now is active shooters. In later training sessions, they will address plane crashes and other things, but right now they are dealing with empowering the employees. “It doesn’t have to be a shooter on the campus,
it can be anything,” said Peggy Smith, Assistant Director of Public Safety. On October 23, PSC faculty from the English Department were educated about what to do if they were faced with an active shooter, and learned how to work together to take one down. The staff also learned how to utilize common classroom items in order to attack or escape a dangerous environment. Smith introduced the idea of “Run, Hide, Fight,” which are the choices a person in danger must consider in order to stay alive. The very first option you should consider is to run if there is an opportunity, and you should prepare in advance and learn the evacuation route of any building you enter so that you know where to go that is safe. You should also know to leave unneeded material items behind so you are not slowed down. Once you are safe, alert the authorities. If running is not an option, then the next option is to hide. You should try and get into a secluded area and lock yourself into a room. It is important to turn off the lights, turn cell phones on silent, cover any windows that are on the door and barricade the room’s entrance. If you are with another person and that person is panicking, then it is important for someone to take charge and try and calm them down. You should be prepared for confrontation, just in case, but otherwise it’s essential that you stay quiet and away from the door. Continued on Page 3
PSC Alert is a free messaging system that will send an alert on cell phones and school computers in case of an emergency. To sign up for the PSC Alert system, visit http://www.pensacolastate.edu/pscalert/.