On April 20, 1999, two 18-year-old high school seniors named Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School and slaughtered 12 students and one teacher before killing themselves in a new, unprecedented kind of crime.
According to a February NBC report, there have been upwards of 270 school shootings since Columbine, two of which occurred just this past month in Miami and Phoenix.
Amidst all of these mass shootings, which have occurred fairly uniformly across the country, there is always the possibility that it will occur at UNM.
Byron Piatt is the manager of emergency services for UNM, and though he said he could not talk specific tactics, he provided some valuable information on how to deal with these types of crises.
“Run, hide, fight. Secure your own safety first. If you’re an able bystander that intervenes in a shooting situation, we potentially now have another victim,” says Piatt. “If all else fails, fight.”
To stay alert, in addition to notification systems like Amber Alert and Lobo Alert, Piatt specifically mentioned another app for students called LoboGuardian.
It is available at loboguardian@unm.edu, he said, as well as for download.
“This app has three capabilities,” Piatt said. “One, it turns your smartphone into a virtual blue light phone that hooks you up to a GPS that connects you with campus police. Two, it sets up a safety timer that allows you to text a friend to monitor how long you have been somewhere. And three, it sets you up to anonymous texting with campus police.”
Robert Olds, a visiting professor in the department of family and community medicine and public health specialist with a focus on behavioral sciences, said the risk of an attack on campus is low, despite the media attention that mass shootings across the U.S. have garnered.
“You could argue that most people do not have the intentions of hurting others, but impulsive behavior involving anger and access to guns; you could have a real problem. The issue is very complex,” Olds said.
There are many considerations to make when talking about the issue of gun violence and how it pertains to UNM, he said.
“It is a combination of policy, law enforcement and public health,” Olds said. “We live in a free, open society with a Second Amendment right under the Constitution to bear arms which makes gun access to school shooters an issue. The issue is collective and needs assessment of law enforcement, legislation and public health initiatives to see what makes the most sense to treat it.”
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UNM have numerous resources on campus, he said. He advised that anyone who feels on edge or frustrated take advantage of them.
For quick assistance, students can consider the Agora Crisis Center 277-3013, or UNMPD, 277-2241. To speak to someone on a more one-on-one basis, contact Manzanita Counseling Center, 277-7311, professional counseling services.
Olds said what makes the issue of gun violence especially difficult is the process of adapting policies and action for the public.
“We have more guns than people in this country. If you were to go about reducing the number of guns in this country, how would you practically do that?” Olds said. “It can take decades to adapt action into the public and get people to respond.”
William Longenbaugh is a staff reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @dailylobo.
