Campus safety panel to offer ideas

A task force reviewed campus safety plans and made
recommendations to further protect students.

By MARC KOVAC

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

COLUMBUS — A group that has been studying security issues at Ohio college campuses plans to present its findings to Gov.Ted Strickland next week.

Better tracking of students with violent histories or tendencies, better access to mental health services on campus and better monitoring of security planning and issues statewide are among the long-term recommendations to be included.

Those and other ideas were reviewed Tuesday during the final meeting of the Ohio Board of Regents’ Task Force on Campus Security. The group formed in April, at the request of the governor, after a lone student gunman shot and killed more than 30 people at Virginia Tech.

Strickland asked Chancellor Eric Fingerhut shortly thereafter to establish a task force to review campus safety plans and offer recommendations to further protect students, faculty and staff.

The full task force and its four working groups have met about a dozen times since May. Members also gathered for a safety summit in late July that included participation by the superintendent of the Virginia State Police and breakout discussions focusing on communications during crises, legal issues, mental health services and public safety.

Recommendations

Tuesday, the task force reviewed recommendations members intend to present to the governor for improving campus security, including:

URequiring state-supported campuses (including branch locations) to offer mental health services, either directly or through agreements with providers, and encouraging students, faculty and staff dealing with relationship violence to connect with available counseling services.

UDeveloping “a method for tracking students with a history of relationship violence issues and/or other violent tendencies who withdraw from one institution and enroll in another institution. The Board of Regents should examine the feasibility of having students who transfer ... authorize the transmittal of all of their records to the receiving institution.”

UImplementing “best practices with respect to involuntary withdrawals due to mental health issues and processes for allowing withdrawn students to re-enter school.”

UExpanding the use of federal Homeland Security grants to cover campus safety.

UTaking steps to monitor and upgrade campus safety throughout the state.

“These efforts may include annual summits, monitoring safety plans and participation in available training and technical assistance, encouraging participation in online recording of safety plans and campus building plans, initiating public service campaigns, convening advisory groups and reconvening the task force as required.”

UImproving communications among campus safety and law enforcement agencies.

Fingerhut told participants, connected electronically via teleconferencing systems at eight regional locations, that the task force’s report was not the end of the process.

mkovac@dixcom.com.