The shooting that occurred in Binghamton, as we all might easily agree, is nothing short of tragic. What makes it more so, however, is the way in which the University administration chose to handle it.
For a campus that boasts an impressive security record, BU sure didn’t do much to quell our fears when tragedy struck close to home. After having the administration tout its installation of message boards and screens throughout campus, the subscription to a mass-texting alert service, additional security cameras on campus and various other upgrades as the latest in campus security, I think we can also agree that the administration failed to do enough to warn students of the danger on our doorsteps.
It wasn’t until Binghamton had made live national news — on such minor channels as CNN and FOX, to name a few — that B-Line, the daily student announcement e-mail used to inform us of all things relevant to campus, sent out a message detailing the proceedings. By detailing, I mean that they told us “An incident took place earlier today at the American Civic Association building located on Front Street in the city of Binghamton. As a precautionary measure, additional University police officers have been posted in the University Downtown Center, which is a secure facility. At this time, classes and other activities at the Downtown Center continue to be in session” (B-Line, April 3).
This message was sent to students at approximately 1:08 p.m., hours after the scene at the Civic Association had begun. The BBC sent out a breaking news e-mail just moments later, and I have trouble believing that Binghamton couldn’t have bested the BBC by a bit more than 16 minutes. Not only had the dangerous situation begun hours earlier, it was not yet appropriate to refer to it in the past tense, as the B-Line message did. Most media outlets did not report the situation resolved until approximately 3 p.m., and it was then that the BBC informed me that the gunman had been found dead.
The University has said that classes held at the Downtown Center are typically seminars for upperclassmen. Knowing, as they do, that many upperclassmen, if not most, choose to move Downtown (and many of them to houses within a four block radius of the Civic Association), it was all but criminally negligent to imply that students attend classes at the Downtown Center.
Main thoroughfares like Front Street and Main Street had partial blockages that would impede traffic flow; not only would many students have trouble getting to their classes, but asking them to attend was irresponsible and foolhardy.
So complete was our ignorance that many students were stunned to turn on TVs and discover breaking coverage of Downtown Binghamton. International news sources turned to students’ publications for information, and Pipe Dream reporters spoke with media outlets like ABC News. WHRW was one of the only radio stations giving regular updates — with information pulled from CNN and the Press & Sun-Bulletin online. A mass text, from the system that has previously been used to tell us about power failures and pipe bursts within moments of their passing, was finally sent mid-afternoon, long after most people had been alerted by panicked calls from family and friends, or the TV in the bus station.
The actions, or the lack thereof, of the University are deplorable. Whether there were concerns about the reliability of information or not, I think that coverage by local, national and international news sources suggests that information was available. At the very least, B-Line could have stated that the incident was on Front Street, and that there were road closings in the vicinity — pieces of information that were known and verified very early on.
I also firmly believe that it is the responsibility of University officials to see to the security of their students, regardless of their own personal fears and best interests. Students have a right to know about dangerous situations that could impact them, and the University is supposed to be responsible enough to look out for them. I think students, faculty and staff have a right to be indignant that officials seemingly chose to be vague. Whether or not it would have made a difference, it was not the University’s choice to make.
To make a bad situation still worse, our response to this event was also delayed. While the Student Association (laudably) quickly announced their own plans to hold a vigil to remember the victims, University officials were tardy in their own responses. President Lois DeFleur announced Sunday that a ceremony would be held this past Tuesday and other officials also sent e-mails after the fact. While officials may have been waiting to release university affiliations until the city did, this occasion presented a more appropriate time for vagueness. If the memorial was to honor all those involved, the ceremony could have been announced without enumerating any specific victims.
A crisis can happen anytime, anywhere — that’s what makes it so horrific. Something like this could happen again, and it could happen on our campus, as it could happen on any campus. It isn’t enough to buy the emergency notification equipment; we have to use it too.