“Who sees better a student who is having—let’s say mental health issues, troubles—than their fellow students? They’re the ones interacting with them on a daily basis,” Cameron said.
If an active shooter situation arises on campus, he said students should try to reach a safe location, and that if they’re in the path of the shooter, they should do everything possible to “interfere” with the shooter.
“If you can’t get to a safe location, and you’re in the path, don’t just sit there.”
Cameron said that the security office has “very definitive” plans in place for active shooter situations, though he declined to discuss them in detail.
Students can report concerns about fellow students’ behavior, including social media posts or other actions, to the Security Office located in the basement of Elam. He said students should report “anything that jumps out and says, ‘This isn’t right. There’s something going on here that needs to be addressed.’”
Those reports are referred to the University’s Behavioral Intervention Team, which is comprised of representatives from the Counseling Center, Veteran’s Services, Risk Management, Student Life, Security Office and Academic Success Center, plus outside mental health professionals.
The team would then meet with the student who filed the report, then the student whose behavior was reported in order to assess the threat and determine if further steps are required.
Director of Risk Management Kathy Hargis said that around 30 reports have been investigated thus far in 2018. Most are referred to the BIT through the Counseling Center and deal with students who made threats to harm themselves, not others, she said.
At a faculty workshop on emergency preparedness Monday, Hargis instructed professors and staff to follow the same playbook as students during active shooter situations: “get out, hide out, or take out.”
“They’re in charge of a classroom. They need to be very well instructed, because the students are going to look to them to be that person who knows what to do, where to go and to instruct them,” she said.
Lipscomb’s campus security officers are also responsible for Lipscomb Academy High School, which is located adjacent to campus on Granny White Pike. Cameron said the high school is considering installing a shot-detection system.
Clocking in with a price tag of at least $75,000, depending on various installation options, the system would use infrared sensors and microphones to detect and locate gunshots. Price negotiations between administration and Shot-Detection Systems are ongoing.
There are currently no plans to install a similar system on the University’s campus, because the price to outfit the campus would be much higher, due to the number of buildings and outdoor areas that would have to be covered. The Security Office has added security cameras to many areas around campus, Cameron said.