To purchase a gun in the state of New York, you must be over the age of 21 with a government-issued ID and background check.// Photo courtesy of Simran Desai.
TW: The following piece contains discussion of gun violence.
On February 13, Katie Vanyo, a junior marketing major at Michigan State University, was sitting in bed when she received a horrific email about an active shooter on campus.
Vanyo said the consequences of school shootings are more severe than they may seem.
Unfortunately, stories like Vanyo’s are far from unique. ABC News reported that since the start of the year, about 9,800 Americans have already died as a result of gun violence.
Students at Hofstra University feel similarly to the ones at Michigan State about the impact of these shootings on their wellbeing.
Jessica Hillel, a special education graduate student at Hofstra, said she feels moments of doubt whenever she enters a classroom.
“Whenever I walk into a classroom, I’m like, ‘Where can I hide?’ and that should not be the first thought in my head,” she said. “That’s what’s concerning about today’s society.”
Mckenna Osborne, a junior psychology major, said that she lives in a constant state of anxiety over an active shooter. Hofstra Public Safety has been proactive in its response to gun violence and does a lot of emergency management work, such as active shooter threat preparation, response and recovery training and overall mitigation of violence.
“We’re constantly training,” said Geraldine Hart, associate vice president of public safety and community engagement. “We train our [public safety officers]. We had a two-day training in January where we did an active shooter tabletop drill, just going over a real life scenario, what that might look like and what they’re expected to do as far as a response.”
Hofstra also has a strong relationship with the Nassau County Police Department, and the department’s homeland security team plays a crucial role in Hofstra’s active shooter training.
Faculty members at Hofstra have also received some training.
“FBI behavioral analysis individuals have come onto campus and talked to our faculty and staff about indicators of violent behavior,” Hart said.
Public Safety officers will also go through “Stop The Bleed” training – where officers will be trained on how to stop a victim from bleeding out – in April for the second time this year. Hofstra is currently in the process of installing tourniquet kits around campus because heavy blood loss is the “number one reason for fatalities during an active shoot[ing],” according to Hart.
Hart also said that Hofstra has several safety features already in place, such as classroom doors that lock from the inside, a central way to lock down campus and a robust video monitoring system on campus to follow an intruder if necessary.
Hart encourages students to download the Hofstra Safe app which notifies students of any emergency almost immediately.
If students wish to take action against gun violence, they can look into the March for Our Lives organization. The group, started after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018, has helped pass over 250 laws across the U.S., including the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, one of the biggest gun violence prevention packages ever passed, according to Mikah Rector-Brooks, press associate for March for Our Lives.
March for Our Lives hosts many rallies and walk-outs across the country throughout the year.
While these rallies may not always be located near Hofstra, Rector-Brooks said there are other ways for students to get involved in gun violence prevention such as creating a local chapter of March for Our Lives and reaching out to legislators by phone or email.
“Find whatever skill set you have, whether it’s graphic design or public speaking – whatever it is that you’re passionate about – to push that movement for gun violence prevention forward,” Rector-Brooks said.
For more information or to get involved with March for Our Lives, text ACT to 954-954.