TEMPE, Ariz. — The shooting that ended a University of Arizona professor's life has students in Arizona concerned about their safety on campus.
You don't have to go too far to figure out just how open University campuses are in the state.
Arizona State University's massive Tempe campus has no security checkpoints, and most doors into classrooms during the day are not locked.
"You could definitely get access to almost anywhere you needed to be on campus," said freshman Anderson Coy.
Halle Bahr said she's seen people go into her classroom that wasn't supposed to be there. “I’ve actually had experiences where there were random students coming into class, and [the teacher] had to kick them out,” the sophomore said.
Many students 12News spoke with said they worry about how open their campus is. At the same time, they don't necessarily want stricter precautions or to be watched all the time. However, with the recent shooting, they believe something could be done.
So is there a solution to preventing these types of situations?
Security expert Rick Amweg with Security Risk Management Consultants based in Ohio said it's almost impossible. “You can’t prevent this type of thing across the board or a hundred percent of the time.”
Amweg helps universities across the country have safer campuses. He said part of the problem is just how large and open many of them are. He believes adding security measures like key card access and checkpoints won't work.
“That would practically be impossible to do," Amweg said. That doesn't mean universities aren't trying to find other solutions. Amweg said, “They are doing that through awareness and information that they push out to faculty and staff.”
Emergency alert notifications sent to all students and staff have been successful in warning everyone about a possibly dangerous scenario.
At the same time, each one of these instances needs to be examined on a case-by-case basis to make sure proper protocols are being followed.
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