July 26, 2025 — Albuquerque, NM
Yesterday at 1:42 PM, students at the University of New Mexico received a chilling emergency alert: “Please continue sheltering in place on central campus until UNMPD arrives at your location with instructions.” Eight hours later, another message followed: “The suspect from today’s shooting is in custody. The campus will be open with all planned activities on Saturday.”
Just like that, we’re expected to move on. Another crisis. Another sigh of relief. But this isn’t just about what happened — it’s about what keeps not happening: a failure to learn, evolve and empower.
We Keep Treating Emergencies Like Weather Events
Every shelter-in-place alert highlights our failure to prepare students and institutions to prevent, manage or circumvent crises. We don’t need more passive warnings — we need proactive infrastructure. Curriculums should be shaped by real environmental indicators and focused on addressing systemic deficiencies. Students should be solving real problems now, not just absorbing theory until the next siren.
What if classes trained students to identify and resolve threats to community well-being? What if cognitive optimization and conflict resolution were standard practice? Education must become a living, responsive force.
From Bystanders to Civic Engineers
Imagine a campus where students are not passive learners but trained civic engineers — empowered to intervene and stabilize their environment in real time. We train future military leaders through ROTC to lead globally. Why not prepare students to lead locally with the same urgency?
Students shouldn’t worry for their safety on campus or about their families while deployed overseas. It’s time to lead by example, here and now.
A Framework for Change: Empowering Students to Lead
In a time of rising social tension and campus threats, higher education must evolve. Here’s how:
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Real-Time Conflict Resolution Training
Embed practical tools in emotional regulation, active listening and de-escalation into orientation and leadership programs. Students must be trained to be proactive peacebuilders. -
Deploy Peer-Led Response Teams
Trained student responders can intervene early using trauma-informed approaches, trust, and peer presence — stabilizing conflicts before they escalate. -
Leverage Tech to Map Emotional Trends
Tools like Cognify can create heatmaps of emotional and behavioral activity — pinpointing secure vs. vulnerable areas. Like Waze for human behavior, this tech supports proactive engagement. -
Host Constructive Gun Safety Dialogues and Training
Gun safety requires inclusive, practical education on secure storage, warning signs and accountability. Gun-free zones don’t stop violence — prepared, responsible citizens do. -
Integrate Conflict Literacy Across All Disciplines
Regardless of major, students must learn to diagnose and resolve systemic issues. This isn’t about GPA — it’s about real-world impact. Systems should serve people, not tradition.
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The Pilot Program: Housing, Healing and High-Impact Change
The heart of this proposal is a multi-tiered pilot initiative designed to integrate housing development, veteran reintegration, civic engagement and applied education into one operational ecosystem. In partnership with UNM and the DoD SkillBridge Program, transitioning active-duty service members would be given the opportunity to help construct affordable 3D-printed quadruplex housing units. These units would be financed through the VA home loan program, allowing each veteran to become a homeowner while generating passive income by renting to students and local residents at reduced rates.
By offsetting labor costs through the SkillBridge workforce, the project not only reduces construction expenses, but also provides service members with meaningful civilian experience, economic stability, and a dignified on-ramp to post-military life. In parallel, students and faculty would support the design and operational framework using GIS systems, augmented reality and behavioral trend mapping to help manage community dynamics.
This isn’t just about housing. It’s about reimagining how our communities operate. The systems developed in these micro-communities would be tailored to exceed basic human needs, creating scalable templates for use in other states and even foreign operations where the U.S. can offer aid. By proving that we can build safety, stability and prosperity at home, we elevate America’s moral standing abroad — showing we can do more than intervene; we can invest in humanity.
In a state like New Mexico, with a long history of underserved, exploited, and overlooked communities, this model offers real solutions. It represents hope — for families, neighbors and friends navigating broken systems and bad leadership. We owe them more than empty gestures — we owe them results.
Education That’s Meant to Do Something
Education shouldn’t be a four-year waiting game. Students can — and should — use their knowledge now to improve their communities. Train engineers to build food systems, psychology students to identify early mental health issues, and business students to lead peer-based safety systems. Don’t just prepare them for the world — let them reshape it.
When Institutions Stall, Fear Wins
Institutional silence feeds fear. Gun violence and anxiety are symptoms of inaction. Students have ideas. But institutions only react when there’s blood or headlines. That’s not leadership — that’s liability.
What If UNM Led Instead of Lagged?
UNM could be first to say: “We don’t need more guards. We need more guardians.” Trained by us. Empowered by us. For each other.
The Community Conflict Corps could be the spark — a student-led, data-backed prototype for real-time conflict resolution and community safety. Real-world impact would increase student investment, motivation and discipline.
Final Thought
As a veteran, I’ve seen what happens when people are trained only to respond to violence — not prevent it. I’ve seen systems explode under delayed support. We can do better. One pilot program. One cohort. One commitment to proactive stability.
The next alert shouldn’t be a warning — it should be gratitude that someone acted before it became a tragedy.
If you're a student, faculty member or policymaker: don’t wait. Build the solution before the sirens start again.
Three Years of Advocacy, Still No Action
For three years, I’ve proposed real-time safety and decision-making systems to UNM, Senator Heinrich’s office, the DOD, VA and the NM National Guard. My concepts integrate GIS and augmented reality to track behavioral trends and cognitive loads — tools that could prevent threats and highlight opportunities for those with disabilities or overlooked talents.
I’ve proposed SkillBridge partnerships to house transitioning veterans in 3D-printed communities—supporting both reintegration and local housing needs. Yet UNM’s leadership appears unable or unwilling to understand the value of these solutions. Frankly, it calls into question their capacity to lead in a world that urgently needs innovation, not complacency.
By Brandon Bussard — Student, Veteran, Builder of Better Systems
