By Ashley Berry, Liberal Arts – Political Science Major

In light of recent violent events across the country, there are many questions that students

have regarding guns, violence, and whether or not we at SMCC are prepared. On October 15th,

2015, LD 652 went into effect in Maine. This law now allows anyone over the age of 21 to carry

a concealed weapon. The previously existing permit system, while still in place, is not a

requirement. However, this law does not alter the SMCC weapons policy in any way.

For people who may be unfamiliar with that section of The SMCC Compass, the

weapons policy states, “Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) is committed to

maintaining a safe and secure environment for all of its faculty, staff, students, and visitors.

Therefore, SMCC does not permit the possession of weapons, firearms, ammunition, or any

other type of explosive device in its buildings, campus grounds, and extension centers.

Discharging of firearms or any other type of projectile weapon or use of other forms of weapons

is prohibited on College property. Exceptions to this policy are: 1. Law enforcement officials in

the execution of their duties, 2. Supervised and approved educational programs. Any violation of

this policy is subject to sanction under the SMCC Student Code of Conduct and/ or applicable

state laws”.

Some may think that the new law should supersede the college’s policy. This is not the

case. Tiffanie Bentley, Dean of Student Life, said, “Because the College has a right to set its

policies in support of our mission, which sometimes means those policies are more restrictive

than the law, that is really not necessary,” in response to questions regarding change of the

weapons policy.

There have been at least 153 school shootings in the United States since 2013. According

to everytownresearch.org, that averages to about one a week. With this violence constantly

circulating throughout society, one can’t help but wonder what would happen should they be in

that situation. We raise questions like, What should I do if there is an active shooter event? And,

Does my school have any kind of emergency plan?

Most institutions of learning have some kind of emergency plan in place. Everyone hopes

to avoid these types of violent situations, but the reality is that this violence is prevalent and

could happen anywhere. SMCC is no different and has had an emergency plan in place that can

be used in any type of emergency event, and was designed according to national standards.

On Friday, the Executive Team and key staff at SMCC participated in a tabletop exercise

in which they worked through two scenarios using this plan. According to Tiffanie Bentley, this

group will continue to reconvene to make sure they are always prepared. In regards to what an

individual should do in an active shooter event, SMCC has provided a resource to demonstrate

the correct course of action for individuals. On the Security page on the SMCC Portal, there is a

video entitled Run. Hide. Fight. This video was produced jointly by the Houston Mayor’s Office

of Public Safety and Homeland Security.

The video takes place in a typical office building, but the strategies the video details are

applicable in any public setting. The video explains the most important actions an individual can

take are run, hide, and fight. If you can possibly get out safely, do that. That is always the best

option. If that isn’t an option then the next best option is to hide. The very last option is to fight.

If you work together or as an individual, put everything into disarming the shooter. For more

detailed information on what to do, all students should take the time to watch the video.

According to Bentley, there will also be a lockdown drill taking place in the near future

that will involve the entire SMCC Community. Specific information regarding the drill will be

sent out to students soon. In order to have access to this information, it is incredibly important

for students to be enrolled in Emergency Alerts, which can be done via MySMCC.

According to the New York Times, schools across the country have been strengthening

security measures since the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, which remains the most deadly school

shooting in modern U.S. history. This includes high-tech communications systems that send

emergency alerts to students, very much like the system SMCC has in place. It is extremely

unpleasant to think about these horrific situations but they are a reality, and it’s important for

everyone to be prepared. It seems much easier to ignore the topic because people think, It will

never happen to me. That’s the common phrase that goes through everyone’s mind when these

violent shootings come to mind. Most unfortunately, that is false; this could happen to anyone

and anywhere. This applies to SMCC as well. All we can do as a community is make sure we are

prepared should we all ever find us in such a nightmarish situation.