The Elm

Faculty, staff, and students are unprepared to respond to a mass shooter on campus. Now is the time to change that.

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I started writing this article shortly after receiving the recent University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) mass notification regarding the Penn and West Lombard shooting. Like many of you, my phone read, “UMB Alert: Weapon discharge at 2:36 p.m. near W. Lombard St. & Penn St. Suspect in custody. Avoid the area.”

As soon as I received it, I read it and returned to my Zoom meeting, as if nothing had happened. In reflecting, what scares me most about that experience was not my immediate feeling of fear, wanting to run and hide, or seeking out safety, but my lack thereof. What is wrong with me? Have I become desensitized to such notifications and violence? What should I do if someone comes at me with a gun? As the reality of the situation took hold, I realized how vastly unprepared I was for the threat of gun violence.

I fear we now exist in a society where guns live beyond the control of common-sense gun reform. In the past 20 years, the United States has seen a doubling in guns manufactured and sold. We, as a nation, have failed to fix our gun problem, and now we have to wake up and accept the ill-begotten truth that gun violence is here to stay. While gun violence has become rampant in our city and somewhat commonplace on our campus, we have yet to be impacted by a mass shooting. To be clear, I said “yet” and not “if.” It would be unfortunate for me to languish in an illusion that UMB is somewhat immune from a mass shooting.

I believe that the statistical likelihood of a mass shooting increases exponentially as gun violence grows. Suppose we as a campus community are to survive a mass shooting. In that case, we need to rely upon every one of us to be adequately prepared for the inevitability of a mass shooter. It cannot be seen as the responsibility of our police department but the shared responsibility of every faculty, staff, and student.

If we as a University require every individual to complete required training on online security, why not also require mandatory training on mass-shooter response? Currently, UMB offers an optional Active Assailant Preparedness training, which I applaud. However, we must move beyond optional training to mandatory.

I hate to ask for one more required training, but I believe it is for the betterment of our UMB community. We need to know what to do in case of a campus shooting so that our shared knowledge can save lives. We need tangible resources provided to every UMB faculty, staff, and student, providing education and information on what to do if they hear screaming or gunshots. We need knowledge on what we should do if a person with a gun walks into our offices and buildings.

So here I am, terrified and wondering what is next. Usually, when I write these articles, I typically come forward with solid recommendations, tying up my piece in a neat little bow. But there is no “neat and tidy” conclusion to our pandemic of gun violence. Instead, I welcome my colleagues to join on a unified front, where we share knowledge on what we can do in the case of a violent attack.

In truth, each of us plays a significant role in keeping UMB safe, knowing that in the case of a mass shooter, it only takes the actions of a singular person to either leave the door open or save the day.

Greg A. Brightbill, MBA, MEd, is the associate director, student leadership and involvement, in the Division of Student Affairs and president of the UMB Staff Senate.

Disclaimer: Elm Voices & Opinions articles reflect the thoughts or opinions of their individual authors, and may not represent the thoughts or values of UMB as an institution.