www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday April 18, 2007 - 7 Shooting would spark lockdown at Sheridan Continued from page 1 Brad McLeod, who studies visual and creative arts. "When you're a college student, school is supposed to be a safe place and when you see the things that are going on in the States it makes you feel kind of vulnerable. Everybody was saying that place was a very safe place so it could presumably happen anywhere." Craig Wilson, who takes media arts at Sheridan, said he had second thoughts about coming to school so soon after the devastating American shooting. "I was more afraid of a copycat -- someone who thought that it might be a good idea to come to our school and do this," he said. In the end, Wilson's belief in the slim chance of a shooting actually happening combined with his unyielding workload convinced him to attend class. "I've got a lot of work to do. It's exam time so I have to come to school." Alexia Greco, of Sheridan's ECommerce program, believes college security needs to be beefed up as it currently allows too many strangers on campus. "They don't really check who is coming in at all and you don't know who are students and who are not students," she said. "It's really scary, anyone can just determine your life ending today." Other students said they had no concerns at all about an incident happening at Sheridan characterizing school shootings as a uniquely American problem. "Safety here in Canada is a lot better than it is in the States," said ECommerce student, Brian Choi. "In the States, there's a lot more gun violence than there is in Canada and that's due to the fact that there are a lot more guns in the U.S. than there are in Canada," said Greg Douglas, who also studies E-Commerce. "Over here, the laws are much stricter in terms of getting a gun than they are over there. So, I think we're a lot better off than they are." Ontario's Deputy Minister of Tourism, David Lindsay, who was visiting Oakville for a reception with the Chamber of Commerce on Monday when he became aware of the tragedy, cautioned those present against seeing school shootings as an American phenomenon. "I think we're a little bit too smug as Canadians to say it's only in the States and it's their gun laws and yada yada yada. I remind you of Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal and Dawson College. Two Canadian examples, so just think about that when you're watching the news tonight," he said. "I has happened here." One person who is taking the possibility of a gunman on Sheridan campus very seriously is Sheridan President and CEO Dr. Robert Turner. "Immediately following Dawson we upgraded our Emergency Preparedness Plan...but we also actively spoke with Halton and Peel police to ensure we were getting their professional guidance and that our emergency preparedness revisions reflected their advice." Sheridan is also in the process of upgrading its PA systems to allow for communication to all parts of all campuses in the event of an emergency. Currently, in the event of a gunman on campus, the college will initiate lockdown procedures in which students and staff will barricade themselves in rooms within the college. "Should a lockdown be called, staff will try to keep everyone in the class, try to keep them quiet, lock the doors if possible, take attendance so, when the dust is settled, we can figure out who is on campus and who is not on campus," said Sheridan Security Manager Suzanne Gilbert. Gilbert says that locking down staff and students in this manner is more favourable than a chaotic evacuation when a shooter is known to be in the vicinity. "With a lockdown procedure a person always has the choice as to what they want to do, but if we pull the fire alarm to get everyone out and running they may run into the path of the shooter." With a police response expected within two minutes of a 911 call, Gilbert said students will not have to wait long for help as police have a protocol of entering a college when there is an active shooter. "Unlike Columbine, they're not waiting outside for the noise to stop, they're diving right in there," she said. As Sheridan's emergency procedures have yet to be tested, training has become the order of the day to educate staff and students on what to do in the event of the unthinkable. "The plan is to undertake a simulation this year before school is out with our senior management team, which is 20 people, so they are fully prepared in the responsibilities they will have," said Turner. "Between now and September we will begin to prepare our faculty because at the end of the day faculty are in classes in front of students and we feel they need to take responsibility for their safety. Next year we are contemplating a simu- lation on an annual basis where we will, very carefully, increase the awareness of this kind of circumstance." For prospective student Morgan Davis, the shooting has done nothing to halt his plans of attending Sheridan's craft design program in September. "People are crazy in every town," he said. "The fear is always there but you can get hit by a car, you can get killed by someone on the street, you can get shot. The danger is everywhere and I think that if students start being afraid of going to school or stepping out their front to door then they're the crazy ones." CITIZENSHIP TEST PREPARATION Learn All About Canada *No Charge Bachelor of Education in Adult Education Degree and Certificate Programs Information Sessions TUESDAY, APRIL 24 6 p.m. - 7 p.m. BEd in Adult Education Information Session in Room E204 Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning Trafalgar Campus, 1430 Trafalgar Road, Oakville 7 SATURDAY CLASSES 12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. APRIL 21 - JUNE 9, 2007 Adult Learning Centre 171 Speers Rd., Oakville Thomas Merton Catholic Secondary School REGISTER NOW [905] 849-7555 ext. 223 Your Link the Future ST.CATHARINESONTARIOCANADAWWW.BROCKU.CA Canada's $ in Mopar Accessories* Choice or choose up to Get A Great New Vehicle At A Great Price... Then Choose One Of Three Bonus Offers: 1500 up to $ 1000 in Free Gas** THE LOCKWOOD REWARDS CARD INCLUDED WITH EVERY PURCHASE $ in a Bonus Cash Rebate 750 RVAL DRIVE R QEW or choose up to The Choice is Yours! See Lockwood Chrysler for details. Offer ends April 30/07 RR ST. AFALGAR R Financing Provided By WYECROFT RD. 175 Wyecroft Road, Oakville 905.845.6653 www.lockwoodchrysler.com Lease price is plus P.S.T. & G.S.T. First payment plus freight, license, admin fee, registration fee plus P.P.S.A. and taxes are due at delivery. Freight for Caravan is $1300. Leases are based upon the term specified, 20,400 km per year $0.15 per kilometer extra. Prices inculde all factory to dealer incentives. OBBFP07 Brock University offers BEd in Adult Education degree and certificate programs. Study part-time to enhance your understanding and application of adult education principles and practices. Courses are offered on Saturdays at Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning or online. The program is designed for those working or aspiring to work in adult learning environments including health care, human resources, business, social services, industry or formal academic settings. Applications are now being accepted for the Fall 2007 session. For application information for the BEd in Adult Education, visit our Website at http://adult.ed.brocku.ca or call Sandra at 905-688-5550, ext. 4308, or e-mail: adulted@brocku.ca