For some, campus shooting is a greater concern because they might be spending their lives working in a school system. In other words, the risk is not just four years of college, but forty years. College students, even at respectable institutions, are also becoming increasingly confrontational and unbalanced. Some don't hesitate sending emails that begin with "f*** y**" and end with something similar, often a vague, cowardly threat. Fortunately, strange emails where students with a loose screw declare themselves to be your god are a bit more common ("I am Infinity! Bow down and worship me!"). In a bizarre turn, some gang members are also pursuing higher education. Someone who teaches crime prevention and self-defense workshops at a small, low-ranking college was shocked to find some members of national criminal syndicates in his classes, presumably to learn what the victims learn. (That's near you, Mr. Gulliamo.) So the threat today is greater than what you judge by -- your own experience as relatively well-behaved students.

Usually only really sensational news like the Virginia Tech mass shooting grabs national attention, but those in higher education notice the smaller violent incidents (sometimes directed just at an individual or a department). It seems there has been at least one or two incidents every year for the last four or five years. It just takes a disturbed or depraved individual with poor judgment. Now, which of the students who send you those strange emails will turn out to be him? Will he target just you or random strangers? Though not really the same, tese concerns lie on the same spectrum for school workers -- I do realize we're mainly talking about the Virginia Tech scenario in this thread.

In this sort of climate, it is quite frustrating that there is no good way to arm oneself effectively against the crazies. I am just not interested in being helpless and trusting to chance. But even if local law allows carrying firearms, in my opinion it is inadvisable to risk expulsion or termination of employment. To get readmitted or to get your job back, you'd need to get into a legal battle, and universities, being basically large corporations, can keep throwing money at the case until they bankrupt you. Some people like their school or their job, and the risk of getting killed by a campus shooter is actually fairly low, as some posts on this thread have pointed out. So the risk of getting fired/expelled seems to outweigh the risk of getting killed.

After all this discussion, it really seems that situational awareness is the best defense. Subscribing to campus text message alerts and noticing potential "escape routes" are good ideas. These can be done without too much cost. (As for room design, building egress, door locks, etc. -- they vary from campus to campus, and even from building to building. Generally, though, doors can't be locked except by a key. Some rooms have two or more exits, others have one. Some windows are big enough to let a man through, others aren't. Some rooms are on the ground floor, others are on the 20th floor that you would not want to jump out of. It's all case by case.) Equipment that cannot be easily concealed can lead to misunderstandings with the colleagues or administrators. So body armor is probably out. Depending on the state & the campus, a small projectile taser might work, but there is again the problem of range. I invite those with better ideas to contribute.

Thanks you very much for all your input. One final thought -- I wasn't expecting to cause such controversy about what sort of preparation is worth discussing. Can't we all face the fact that the main reason we're on this forum is mostly because (1) we like gadgets and (2) we are prone to be overly vigilant?

Stay cool.


Da Bing