January 16, 2013

In the wake of the tragic shootings at a school in Newtown, Connecticut last month, gun control issues have made their way to the Princeton University campus. A petition by faculty members urging the University to divest its holdings in firms with ties to the production of firearms is set to be reviewed by the school’s Resources Committee next month. And the union that represents some of the Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) officers has renewed a call that would allow them to carry guns.

As reported this week in The Daily Princetonian, the 17 sworn officers in the department do not carry firearms, but carry batons, pepper spray and handcuffs, and wear bulletproof vests. When an armed response is needed, the Princeton Police are called. While the University is considered to be a safe campus, there is still risk involved, DPS officer Michael Michalski, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Princeton Lodge No. 75, is quoted as saying. Mr. Michalski could not be reached Tuesday for further comment.

University spokesperson Martin  Mbugua said Tuesday that arming public safety officers with guns is not a step the school feels is needed. “The critical question is whether the Department of Public Safety has the necessary resources to deliver safety, timely and professionally, to the community. We believe the answer is yes,” he said. “We continuously monitor our circumstances. We have studied carefully the issue of arming on campus, and we have looked at what other institutions do. We have had conversations with law enforcement agencies. We have done a comprehensive review and we are satisfied with the plans we have in place with local law enforcement.”

In order for University public safety officers to carry guns, they would need to pass a qualification twice a year, the Daily Princetonian says, as well as regular training with firearms. This is standard practice for regular police, but public safety officers do not normally receive this training.

In 2010, the Princeton University student government formally recommended that public safety officers not carry guns after a survey showed that 56 percent of students opposed arming the police. The police union first petitioned the University administration in 2008 to reevaluate its policy of prohibiting officers from carrying firearms.

Since consolidation took effect January 1, the former Princeton Borough police have left their headquarters just off Nassau Street and joined their colleagues from what was formerly the Township at the municipal complex on Witherspoon Street. Some FOP members have expressed concern that the relocation puts officers further from campus, which could lengthen response time. But Mr. Mbugua said, “Consolidation makes it more efficient. You are contacting one department instead of two, depending on the location of the event. We look forward to a very good partnership with the local law enforcement.”

December 19, 2012

“I spent the weekend, as did many fellow heads of schools, listening to the news for any details of the story that could shed a light on how we might better protect our students from such violence,” said Stuart Country Day School Head Patricia Fagin in the aftermath of the December 14 tragedy at the Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut.

“Our hearts are broken for our neighbors in Newtown,” wrote Community Park Elementary School Principal Dineen Gruchacz on that school’s website. “We will be prepared on Monday morning to handle our children with love and care.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the students, teachers, and families of Newtown, Connecticut,” said Principal Gary R. Snyder on the Princeton High School website.

In remarks to be delivered at Tuesday evening’s School Board meeting (after Town Topics went to press), President Tim Quinn plans to say that “while this heinous act will continue to spur many substantive discussions about violence in our society and about school safety, speaking personally, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the principal and school psychologist who ran toward gunfire, and the teachers who shielded their students from bullets. Their actions were brave, selfless, and student-focused.”

In a letter to the Princeton Community, Superintendent Judy Wilson advised parents and teachers to “model calm and control; reassure children that they are safe; remind them that trustworthy people are in charge,” and “let children know that it is okay to feel upset.” In similar letters to parents and teachers, school officials like Ms. Fagin expressed their condolences to the Newtown community, described the availability of school psychologists and counselors ready to work with children distressed by the images, descriptions, and conversations going on around them, and listed additional resources that provide coping strategies.

They also reassured parents about the safety precautions in place — and now, not surprisingly, being reviewed — at each school.

“Inevitably, events like this stimulate review of our own safety procedures,” said Headmaster Jonathan G. Brougham in a letter to the Hun School community. “As the details of the Sandy Hook events unfold further, I assure you we will consider them carefully, and, if necessary, apply what we learn.”

“As you know, we have made security a priority at Stuart and have brought on board highly trained and experienced security professionals with extensive law enforcement backgrounds,” wrote Ms. Fagin in her letter to parents. “As part of our protocol, we regularly conduct various safety drills. Today we had a prescheduled lockdown drill during which faculty and staff secured the students in classrooms.

“Under normal circumstances, lockdown drills may create uneasiness, and in light of today’s tragedy, children may feel particularly ill at ease,” she added.

A message on the Johnson Park Elementary School website reported on the availability of Ms. Wilson’s district website message, adding that “we will be marshalling resources to help parents and staff members deal with inevitable questions that our children may ask (or may be too frightened to ask).”

Community-wide responses include an “Interfaith Gathering of Remembrance, Unity, and Hope” sponsored by the Princeton Clergy Association on Thursday, December 20, from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. on the Palmer Square Green in front of the Nassau Inn. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, as they try to cope with their unimaginable losses,” said Clergy Association Treasurer Robert Moore, who is also head of the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action. “But let us do more than think and pray for them,” he added. “Let us remind our neighbors, friends, and families that gun violence in this nation is an epidemic and we must fight.”

Mercer County administration has also posted an online message about the shooting, noting that those who are “feeling particularly affected by this tragedy and would like to speak to someone about it ”may call Mercer County Human Services professionals Michele Madiou or Ann Dorocki, at (609) 989-6897.