By Asia Fields
The AS Review has obtained a document outlining options being considered by Western’s Classroom Door Locking Committee, providing a look into closed-door discussions that reporters have been denied access to.
Western’s Director of Communications and Marketing Paul Cocke confirmed the accuracy of the document in an email.
The document—which outlines different lock options and various risks associated with installing locks—was designed to guide the committee, Cocke said. No decisions have yet been made and the committee will meet on Thursday, April 12, to discuss recommendations.
The committee was revitalized in March, after The Western Front reported on a lack of options in classrooms in the case of an active shooter and on student and faculty concerns. It will provide a recommendation to the vice president of business and financial affairs.
The document was created by Chief of Police Darin Rasmussen and Director of Facilities Management John Furman. It says that the growing frequency of active shooter events nationally has increased interest in installing classroom locks.
“Since many classroom doors open outward and many classrooms contain fixed seating, barricades will have limited effectiveness, therefore modified door hardware is under consideration,” the document says.
Any added interior locks will have to meet Americans with Disability Act and fire codes, according to the document. There are around 450 classrooms and labs across campus, according to the document, and at least one-third have multiple doors.
It could cost over $1 million to install code-compliant hardware to lock doors, according to the document. The cost per door remains to be decided, but is estimated to be in the magnitude of $600 for hardware, labor and sales tax.
Paul Dunn, senior executive assistant to the university president, told the Front that the university would be moving quickly to request funds in the 2019-21 capital budget.
The document weighs the likelihood of an active shooter situation against protecting against other more likely emergencies, but says this risk must be accepted to create lockable doors.
“One outcome of lockable classroom doors is to provide occupants a choice which they may not currently have—that is to ‘hide’ when there is no means of blocking the door,” the document says.
The university’s current instructions in the case of an active shooter follow national guidelines to “run, hide, fight.” But for years, faculty and students have expressed concern over the lack of a way to hide in classrooms, the Front reported.
One of the risks outlined in the document is that shooters could lock the door and buy themselves more time. The document says university police officers will have keys or electronic access to classrooms. One possible recommendation is giving University Police breaching equipment in addition.
Another risk is that students seeking shelter may be unable to access locked classrooms, according to the document. The committee will consider identifying rooms across campus that will remain open and accessible.
The document also said that lockable doors could “create the potential for other nefarious activity in the classroom to occur.” The document recommends accepting this risk.
The document also identifies students gluing lockable doors in place to avoid finals as a risk, saying it is “probably not a frequent scenario, but legitimate none the less,” and acknowledging this can occur whether doors are lockable or not.
Multiple lock hardware options are listed in the document.
At the first committee meeting, professors on the locking committee called for increased transparency and student involvement, The Western Front reported.
“They don’t want to have someone cherry-pick what was said and what wasn’t said at the meeting. They should just be at the meeting,” political science professor Sara Weir told the Front.
However, the locking committee’s second meeting will not be open to the public, Cocke said.
“The committee will discuss overall security issues on campus but there also may be discussion of specific security vulnerabilities on campus not appropriate for detailed public discussion,” Cocke said in an email.
Read the full document below:
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