In the wake of the latest school shooting by a gunman armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, Pierce College should have additional security to prevent a similar tragedy by adding a second campus sheriff’s station on the west side of the school.
Currently, there is one sheriff’s station located on the east corner of the campus.
Although the campus sheriff’s are efficient at maintaining school security, Pierce College is 426 acres. Of that, approximately 225 acres is farmland, which is used for instruction and housing animals.
In addition, there are approximately 20,000 students that attend Pierce College and only one campus sheriff’s station to protect them.
At the University of Southern California, which sits on 226 aces, there are three Department of Public Safety Stations. They are all 24 hours and can respond to different areas of the campus.
Pierce College is the second largest geographically of the nine community colleges in the district, behind West Los Angeles College.
Yet we don’t know the best way to get in touch with our sheriff’s department, besides the phone number listed in our syllabi.
The other eight community colleges in the district have a website with easy access to location and emergency information. Pierce does not, which can also cause a problem when people do not know who to contact within the department or how to find out certain information or services.
Now if there was a serious emergency or an active shooter on the west side of the campus, police intervention would likely be delayed.
If there was another sheriff’s station to work with the established one, there could be a great increase in security.
In the present climate faculty and students are being faced with the threat of mass shootings.
A way Pierce could decrease the chances of violence with the second sheriff’s station manned by additional deputies and cadets.
Some Americans have suggested that teachers should be armed. Arming teachers is a controversial idea.
According to an ABC News poll in Feb. 2018, 42 percent of people surveyed say the Parkland shooting could have been prevented if teachers carried guns.
That leaves 58 percent of Americans that are indifferent or do not think arming teachers would have helped.
Most teachers do not want to be first responders. More guns on campus can lead to more accidental shootings.
When more police are available on campus it would be a safer option because they are trained professionals and understand how to better use guns in situations such as school shootings.
