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Presidents Home Page > Thoughts from the President
Yesterday's sad events
The University is saddened to learn of the senseless tragedy that transpired
yesterday at Virginia Tech University and joins the nation in expressing
our condolences to the families of those killed and injured. While it
is difficult to prepare for a tragedy of this magnitude, our University
Police join those across the nation in working diligently through training
and educational programs to prepare as much as possible.
Among those safety considerations, programs and initiatives in place
are the following:
- Our campus is firearm-free.
- University Police include 14 full-time officers, with regular patrols
scheduled throughout the 300-acre campus, including classroom
and office buildings and on-campus housing.
- The University has a fully developed Crisis Response Plan and
Team in place, regularly tested.
- University Police routinely participate in training in evacuation
and crisis situations, including mock drills and events.
- The University has designated emergency/evacuation contacts
for each building and has dedicated communications programs
in place.
- The University Police work closely with other law enforcement
agencies in the community and remain in regular contact
through dedicated communication on and off campus.
- A dedicated system of emergency phones are located across
campus and can place the caller in immediate contact with
police at any time.
- The University maintains inter-agency relationships with
other State agencies and A&M System campuses to further enhance its response
capability.
What we're doing today:
- University Police remain on heightened alert on campus
- Distributing
on-campus email stressing our response capability and posting same
on website
- Testing address systems and reviewing emergency response
plans
- Making counseling services available for students
- Accelerating
our planned utilization of an emergency notification system that
has the capability of contacting students in five different communications
efforts
- Considering an on-campus observance this Friday.
Again, a senseless tragedy of this nature can never truly be anticipated,
but we believe that advance preparation and a total commitment to diligence
can create as safe a campus atmosphere as humanly possible.
For your part, please remain vigilant. Should you see any thing that
appears suspicious, please do not hesitate to contact University police
at 326.2100.
Most sincerely,
Ray Keck
Ray M. Keck, III
President
Professor of Spanish
Texas A&M International University
5201 University Boulevard
Laredo, Texas 78041
956-326-2320
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