By Cory Lesniak
Dominican University officials are planning the first ever-active shooter drill on campus.
Dominican’ s Emergency Response team is planning an active shooter drill scheduled for sometime in October. River Forest Police officials will be on campus during the drill. While there is no set time or date Dominican officials note, “The specific time will not be announced so that the drill will more closely mirror an actual event.”
Students, staff, faculty and visitors that will be present during the drill are asked to participate. The drill will not feature a pretend shooter or active police officials conducting a search with ammunition.
“RFPD and RFFD officials were invited to observe the drill and offer any recommendations for improvement after the conclusion of the drill,” said Glen Czernik, Crime and Prevention/ School Resource Officer.
“The faculty and staff have already been provided with recommended responses for this specific active shooter drill. Students will be provided similar information very soon, “ said Charles Stoops, Emergency Response Team.
The ultimate goal of the planned drill is to practice what to do in the case of an emergency so those involved know how to act in the safest manner if a real emergency were to occur.
With the new security service, Allied Barton, River Forest Police President Donna Carroll feels Dominican has a good team in place.
“The purpose of a drill is to make mistakes, to learn from them and, as a consequence, to feel more confident in the event of an incident. This summer the university reorganized and strengthened its security operations, refocusing our efforts on “public safety.” All that said, my heart goes out to any campus, president or student body that has had to deal with the experience and aftermath of an active shooter. It is devastating,” said President Carroll.
Dominican’s Emergency Response Team, in collaboration with University officials and local emergency response units, plan two to three drills per year. In most cases, the campus isn’t provided any prior notice.
“Due to the sensitive nature of an active shooter drill, it was imperative that our community is alerted to the fact that this will be a drill so that we avoid as much as possible someone mistaking it for an actual emergency,” said Stoops.
Dominican officials encourage the importance of listening and following any directions during an emergency. Stoops adds, “I want to emphasize the importance of each and every member of our community to participate in this active shooter drill, and respond to every emergency notification, so that we are better prepared should such an event occur on our campus.”
lesncory@my.dom.edu