Current:Home > News‘We are a safe campus’: UNLV to resume classes at site of the 2023 shooting-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
‘We are a safe campus’: UNLV to resume classes at site of the 2023 shooting
View Date:2024-12-23 20:43:38
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! (74382)
Related
- Tua Tagovailoa playing with confidence as Miami Dolphins hope MNF win can spark run
- Ed Sheeran takes the stage with Indian singer Diljit Dosanjh in Mumbai for surprise duet
- Kate Middleton and Prince William Seemingly Step Out Together After Photo Controversy
- Julia Fox's OMG Fashun Is Like Project Runway on Steroids in Jaw-Dropping Trailer
- One person is dead after a shooting at Tuskegee University
- Want the max $4,873 Social Security benefit? Here's the salary you need.
- Judge approves new murder charges against man in case of slain Indiana teens
- High-profile elections in Ohio could give Republicans a chance to expand clout in Washington
- Disney Store's Black Friday Sale Just Started: Save an Extra 20% When You Shop Early
- United Airlines CEO Speaks Out Amid Multiple Safety Incidents
Ranking
- Patrick Mahomes Breaks Silence on Frustrating Robbery Amid Ongoing Investigation
- Heat-seeking drone saves puppy's life after missing for five days
- As housing costs skyrocket, Sedona will allow workers to live in cars. Residents aren't happy
- Singer R. Kelly seeks appeals court relief from 30-year prison term
- Celtics' Jaylen Brown calls Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo a 'child' over fake handshake
- MGM Casino Denies Claims Bruno Mars Owes $50 Million Gambling Debt
- Former Mississippi Archives and History department leader Elbert Hilliard dies at age 87
- 'My body won't cooperate any longer': Ex-Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch retires from NFL
Recommendation
-
Caitlin Clark has one goal for her LPGA pro-am debut: Don't hit anyone with a golf ball
-
Love Is Blind's Chelsea and Jimmy Reunite Again in Playful Video
-
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
-
Missing NC mother, 2 young children found murdered in Charlotte, suspect arrested: Police
-
The Daily Money: Inflation is still a thing
-
Student at Alabama A&M University injured in shooting
-
Kate Middleton and Prince William Seemingly Step Out Together After Photo Controversy
-
Jeff Lynne's ELO announce final tour: How to get tickets to Over and Out