![]() “We need to stay strong and I just wanted to show support.”Īsked whether he felt safe as a student at UCLA, Pan responded without hesitation. “It’s a really tough time for everyone, especially the families affected,” Pan said. Meanwhile, counseling services were offered to shocked and grieving students and staff on Thursday and there were opportunities for people to leave condolence notes and prayers at and near the campus.Įric Pan, a bioengineering sophomore, left a yellow Post-it note on a “Post a Prayer for UCLA” board put up by Jews for Jesus in Westwood near the campus. Because the gunman in Wednesday’s incident was a former student, “he wouldn’t have been able to get in” had that been the case, he added. “Maybe making that active would help, so only students and faculty can get in,” he said. While many buildings on campus have keypads with that capability, Parast said the doors are left unlocked during the day. Salar Parast, an electrical engineering senior, said he thinks that security on campus is good but could perhaps be better if students and staff had to use their key cards every time they enter a building with classrooms or offices. The department, which has more than 65 officers, also saw a spike in requests for security surveys, whereby campus police staff examine a room or office and offer recommendations on how to improve security there, as well as presentations, such as active shooter or personal safety presentations, Greenstein said. “We are doing additional patrols,” including those of off-campus housing for students. “We have extra personnel working,” she said. RELATED STORY: UCLA murder-suicide gunman created a ‘kill list’ in Minnesota homeĬampus security was beefed up Thursday in an effort to help people to feel secure again, Greenstein said.UCLA routinely holds trainings and drills to prepare students, faculty and staff for a wide range of emergencies, including active shooting scenarios, according to the university. While there are many facets to that issue, it will certainly be a topic of discussion in follow-up meetings with school officials, said Nancy Greenstein, a spokeswoman for the UCLA Police Department. “We will evaluate whether changes are appropriate as we continue to assess campus safety,” the official said. ![]() While many classrooms can only be locked by a key that custodians and perhaps a few others have access to, Chang believes it would be safer to keep the rooms unlocked. RELATED PHOTOS: UCLA Mourns Professor William KlugĪndrew Chang, a fourth-year physiological science student, said Thursday that he feels “pretty safe” on campus.During those terrifying moments following Wednesday’s killing of mechanical and aerospace engineering professor William Klug, several students reported trying to keep doors closed with belts, chairs and whatever else they could find. ![]() ![]() While Nguyen said Wednesday’s episode was handled well and she generally feels safe on campus, the dramatic turn of events raised questions about what more could be done to better protect students and staff on a sprawling public campus like UCLA. “If that were to happen again, I would feel pretty unsafe knowing it’s not something that I would be able to control.” “We don’t have access to keys,” said the third-year student, who lives in Westwood. Tiffany Nguyen’s nursing class at UCLA on Thursday morning spent part of the session talking about the murder-suicide that left a professor and a former graduate student dead the day before.Īfter class, Nguyen realized the classroom where that discussion took place likely could be locked only with a key - something that made her somewhat nervous in light of Wednesday’s dramatic alerts telling students and staff to shelter in place. ![]()
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