Page 90 - Security Today, March 2020
P. 90

By Ralph C. Jensen
Security From a Higher Power
It is my hope that campus violence and shootings aren’t becoming so mainstream news that we forget or dismiss how divisive and tragic a shooting will be seen. A shooting or untimely death of any kind is proportionately tragic.
We often report online and later in print concerning campus security and campus shoot- ings when they happen. We have not intentionally skipped houses of worship, and it certainly demands that we include them in our reporting, printing of news and our Campus Security Summits.
So, who is that higher power? In my mind it will be those people who fill the pews of the cha- pel, the synagogue, the mosque and other houses of worship each day. It will take education, solutions and technology.
On Dec. 13, 2019, a maligned person with evil intent entered a church sanctuary. No one wants to see this kind of news slid along the landscape; however, the gunman opened fire. Two people were killed before an armed parishioner stopped the man. The parishioner has been hailed as a hero. He is part of the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas.
Church members had gone to extreme lengths to ensure order and security inside the walls of the church. Part of the plan was to ensure that members were aware of people who seemingly didn’t belong. Others were armed to preserve the security of others.
Do guns belong in houses of worship? While that is not for me to decide, I have thought of a plan if such an incident were to take place in my church. I do wonder if I could react quick enough to save lives. I think churches have an obligation to discuss such matters with their con- gregations. What to do in case a deranged person enter the chapel with maligned intent. The higher power lies within each of us to save our family and our fellow worshipers.
My first thoughts would be to my family. It would become imperative to get those closest to me hidden and on the ground underneath a pew. Since we sit in the same place each week, I have looked around for the nearest exit or safe hiding place. As a family, we have talked about this. Our conversation is to get into a room and block the door.
Because I think I’m some sort of hero, my plan is to grab as many hymnals and start throwing in the direction of a shooter. In my minds’ eye, I feel that I’m still young and virile enough to jump from pew to pew to take the person to the ground. We all know that isn’t happening, but the point is as individuals, in this type of scenario, each person is the higher power.
Like him or not, President Trump has signed a bill authorizing $375 million in grant money for houses of worship to defend against violence amid rising hostility against religion. As he said: “It’s crazy; what’s going on is crazy.”
4 campuslifesecurity.com | MARCH/APRIL 2020
Editor's Commentary
MARCH/APRIL 2020
EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor-in-Chief Associate Content Editor E-news Editor
ART STAFF
Art Director
PRODUCTION STAFF
Production Coordinator
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Ralph C. Jensen Haley Samsel Brent Dirks
Dale Chinn Teresa Antonio
Jeff Karpovich, CPP, CHPA, CSSP, Chief/Director, Security & Transportation, High Point University, High Point, NC
Alison Kiss, Executive Director at Clery Center, Strafford, PA
Mark Kissel, K-12 Chief of Police (Retired); Principle Kissel Consulting LLC, Bethlehem, GA
Greg Klaiber, Director of Emergency Management, Northwestern University, Evanston IL
Joseph Souza, Director of Security and Technology at
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Chief Tom Weitzel, Riverside Police Department, Riverside IL Jennifer Ziffle, Director of Campus Safety,
Technical College System of Georgia, Atlanta, GA
SALES
Sam Baird +44 1883 715 697 Brian Rendine 972-687-6761
INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS GROUP
President & Group Publisher Editor-in-Chief/
Associate Publisher, Security Group Circulation Director Group Marketing Director Group Website Manager Group Webinar Administrator
Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer Chief Technology Officer
Executive Vice President
REACHING THE STAFF
Staff may be reached via email, telephone, fax or mail. A list of editors and contact information also is available online at www.campuslifesecurity.com.
E-mail: To e-mail any member of the staff, please use the following form: FirstinitialLastname@1105media.com
Dallas Office (weekdays, 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. CT) Telephone (972) 687-6700; Fax (972) 687-6799 14901 Quorum Dr., Suite 425, Dallas, TX 75254
Corporate Office (weekdays, 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. PT) Telephone (818) 814-5200; Fax (818) 734-1522
6300 Canoga Avenue, Suite 1150, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Kevin O’Grady
Ralph C. Jensen Irene Fincher Susan May Scott Newhouse Tammy Renne
Rajeev Kapur Sanjay Tanwani Erik A. Lindgren
Michael J. Valenti


































































































   88   89   90   91   92