Current:Home > Markets‘We are a safe campus’: UNLV to resume classes at site of the 2023 shooting-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
‘We are a safe campus’: UNLV to resume classes at site of the 2023 shooting
lotradecoin spot trading tutorial View Date:2024-12-26 05:19:47
When UNLV students return to Frank and Estella Beam Hall for classes in two weeks, nothing should look too different from last December — before the building was closed after a shooting spree that resulted in the death of three professors and left another severely wounded.
For months, the university has worked to erase any traces of physical damage left behind in the aftermath of the Dec. 6 shooting while also working to make students, faculty and staff feel more at ease in the building and avoid retraumatizing them, said Musa Pam, associate vice president of facilities management, during a Tuesday press conference. It was the first time the building was opened to the public since the shooting.
This fall, 160 classes will be taught in Beam Hall, approximately half the number than what would typically be offered. A UNLV spokesman said each of the classes scheduled for Beam Hall also will be offered at another building on campus to accommodate students who still feel uncomfortable being inside the facility.
Arnold Vasquez, interim director of University Police Services, Southern Command, and Pam shared safety upgrades that have been made to Beam Hall in preparation for the fall semester. Those upgrades include:
1. Surveillance cameras installed outside elevators on all floors
2. New telephones equipped with enhanced emergency notification capabilities that can relay updates or instructions. The phones are attached to classroom walls to keep them out of instructors’ way
3. Armed security officers on the first and second floors
In addition, the third, fourth and fifth floors that house faculty offices will now only be accessible via stairwells or elevators using an access card or key.
The new safety measures are coupled with a “heightened and increased presence” from university police with ongoing patrols across campus and at special events.
“We are a safe campus,” Vasquez said. “This is an island of safety. We are here to provide that for them.”
UNLV has spent approximately $2.5 million on repairs and security upgrades around campus, including at Beam Hall, and an additional $1 million in recent months to improve lighting throughout the university, officials said in a Tuesday statement. The Nevada System of Higher Education is using $2.6 million in grant funding for security enhancements throughout its institution, including for the private security officers stationed at Beam Hall.
UNLV President Keith Whitfield plans to ask the Legislature in 2025 for $38 million in funding for more security improvements.
But even if these new safety measures had been in place prior to the shooting, Whitfield said he doesn’t think they would have prevented the shooting from happening.
“I hate to say that,” he said. “To say something could have stopped somebody who came to do ill is very, very difficult.”
After the shooting, there were suggestions that UNLV close off the campus to all visitors, but Whitfield has dismissed that idea. During Tuesday’s press conference, he said not only is that not feasible for an urban research institution such as UNLV, it’s also “not that big of a deterrent as you would think.”
But he’s hopeful that the upgrades the university made since the shooting will help give students and staff a peace of mind as they prepare for the start of the fall semester.
“As time goes on, we’re never going to forget what happened, but we’ll put it — hopefully — in a proper perspective, so that students can still feel very safe here and to be able to achieve their dreams that are going to lead to greater opportunities,” Whitfield said.
Vasquez urges individuals to reach out to law enforcement if they see or hear about anything suspicious.
“We will not be inconvenienced by a phone call … so please call us,” Vasquez said. “It is our job. We will come out, we will address that, we will figure it out.”
___
This story was originally published by The Nevada Independent and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
veryGood! (43561)
Related
- Alabama Supreme Court authorizes third nitrogen gas execution
- Credit card late fees to be capped at $8 under Biden campaign against junk fees
- Death Valley's 'Lake Manly' is shrinking, will no longer take any boats, Park Service says
- Beyoncé and Jay-Z made biggest real estate move in 2023 among musicians, study finds
- Detroit judge orders sleepy teenage girl on field trip to be handcuffed, threatens jail
- A revelatory exhibition of Mark Rothko paintings on paper
- EAGLEEYE COIN Trading Center - The New King of Cryptocurrency Markets
- Denver Broncos to cut QB Russell Wilson, incurring record cap hit after two tumultuous seasons
- Get 70% Off Kate Spade, 70% Off Coach, 40% Off Banana Republic, 40% Off Disney & Today's Top Deals
- JetBlue and Spirit abandon their decision to merge after it was blocked by a judge
Ranking
- As Baltimore’s Sewer System Buckles Under Extreme Weather, City Refuses to Help Residents With Cleanup Efforts
- Former Twitter executives sue Elon Musk over firings, seek more than $128 million in severance
- EAGLEEYE COIN: Application of Blockchain Technology in Supply Chain Management
- Taylor Swift is related to another tortured poet: See the family tree
- Rob Schneider seeks forgiveness from daughter Elle King after 'fat camp' claims
- Alabama lawmakers aim to approve immunity laws for IVF providers
- EAGLEEYE COIN: Artificial Intelligence Meets Cryptocurrency
- 2 snowmobilers killed in separate avalanches in Washington and Idaho
Recommendation
-
Alabama lawyer accused of sexually assaulting handcuffed inmate, lawsuit says
-
'Love is Blind' Season 6 finale: When does the last episode come out?
-
In the N.C. Governor’s Race, the GOP Frontrunner Is a Climate Denier, and the Democrat Doesn’t Want to Talk About It
-
A revelatory exhibition of Mark Rothko paintings on paper
-
Alabama lawyer accused of sexually assaulting handcuffed inmate, lawsuit says
-
Want to eat more whole grains? You have a lot of options. Here's what to know.
-
EAGLEEYE COIN: Blockchain Technology - Reshaping the Future of the Financial Industry
-
GM recalls nearly 820,000 pickup trucks over latch safety issue