PREPARED FOR TERROR CSUN TRAINS CAMPUS POLICE TO RESPOND TO WMD ATTACK HOMELAND SECURITY COMES TO COLLEGE CAMPUSES.Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer NORTHRIDGE - Recognizing Cal State Northridge as a ``soft target'' that is vulnerable to terrorist attack, officials are aggressively training campus police to respond to weapons of mass destruction Weapons that are capable of a high order of destruction and/or of being used in such a manner as to destroy large numbers of people. Weapons of mass destruction can be high explosives or nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological weapons, but exclude the means of transporting or . California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an , was the first in the CSU See DSU/CSU. 1. CSU - California State University. 2. CSU - Cleveland State University. 3. CSU - Channel Service Unit. system to enroll its officers in a specialized federal training course. Operated by the U.S. Department of Justice, the program trained them to respond to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and more traditional attacks. ``Universities are soft targets,'' said campus police Chief Anne Glavin, who heads the 26-officer force. ``We're open 24/7, we have stadiums and everything's open for easy student access.'' College campuses offer a unique set of safety challenges, officials say: open public areas, crowded classrooms and dormitories, and laboratories filled with combustible com·bus·ti·ble adj. Capable of igniting and burning. n. A substance that ignites and burns readily. and flammable materials. Determining how to respond to the emergency itself while protecting those who are unharmed requires special expertise. ``We need to know what sorts of responses are appropriate or not appropriate,'' said Glavin, who has been the police chief since July 2002. ``You can compromise people's safety if you do the wrong things Wrong Things is a collaborative short-fiction collection by Poppy Z. Brite and Caitlin R. Kiernan, released by Subterranean Press in 2001. This short hardback includes one solo story by each author and one story written in collaboration, as well as an afterword by Kiernan. .'' Following CSUN's lead, the police forces at about half of the 23 campuses in the California State University system California State University System, coordinating agency established in 1960 by the merger of individual California state colleges, now consisting of 23 campuses. have received anti-terrorism training, and at least one officer from the rest of the campuses has taken the course, officials said. ``Fifty years ago, campus security was truly a security operation,'' said John Carpenter, chief of police at San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU), founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area (generally the City and County of San Diego), and is part of the California State University system. and police coordinator for the CSU system. ``Now, it's so much more professional, and we have well-trained officers because they have to deal with (universities) as if they were a little city of 35,000.'' The CSU training initiative began last fall, after Glavin and Carpenter attended a federal training conference at George Washington University George Washington University, at Washington, D.C.; coeducational; chartered 1821 as Columbian College (one of the first nonsectarian colleges), opened 1822, became a university in 1873, renamed 1904. in Washington, D.C. They came back and signed their own officers up for training. CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge isn't the only higher education institution to be concerned about potential terrorist attacks. The University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). has a homeland security plan, and each of its campuses is designing a plan, as well, officials said. In addition, several UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX police and administrators are going through weapons of mass destruction incident command training through the federal Office of Homeland Security. At the community college legel, Pierce College in Woodland Hills is assessing how business needs are changing after 9-11 - from screening new employees to securing buildings - and then examining how courses can be added or modified to meet those work-force training needs, officials said. And the University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission also has an national research center for homeland security, which is dedicated to the study of risk analysis related to the economic consequences of terrorist threats and events. Over the past few years, CSUN also has been able to secure $75,000 in federal grants to purchase new equipment for its officers, including hazardous-materials gear. CSUN also has invested in a $165,000 emergency mobile command unit - a 12-person, 40-foot trailer designed to have full police dispatch capabilities. ``If something happens to our police facility, we can set up here to handle our dispatch, radio communication,'' Glavin said. ``It's like a mini-backup to our facility.'' Several CSUN students expressed skepticism that the 33,000-student university, known for its population of older, working students, could be the site of a terrorist attack. But most said they were glad to hear campus police had the training. ``I very strongly believe it's a great thing,'' said Tamar Asatryan, 27, an English major. ``We need to protect ourselves against any terrorist attack that can happen. We can't just be sitting ducks.'' ``After 9-11, we've had to have a wake-up call,'' said Christopher Chestnut, 23, of Simi Valley, a cinema/television arts major. Lisa M. Sodders, (818) 713-3663 lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) CSUN police Cpl. Paul Wells dons a gas mask, part of the university's wide-ranging efforts to prepare for biological attacks. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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