Consulting-Specifying Engineer - April 2008 - (Page 18) The challenge of mass notification systems on American campuses Mass notification systems require integration with people, not just hardware and software. BY WILLIAM SAKO, Chairman, Sako & Assocs., Chicago or most of our history, Americans have felt relatively safe and isolated from violence as they went about their daily work and leisure activities. Certainly there were inner-city areas where higher crime rates produced headlines in daily newspapers, and isolated events throughout the country often focused national attention on horrific violence for a few days. But fortunately, most Americans took the position that “it can’t happen here, or to me” and continued on with their lives. Then came the 1999 shooting spree at Columbine High School in Colorado and in a matter of hours, our illusions about personal safety and security were shattered. If the unthinkable could occur on a high school campus in the heartland of America, it could happen anywhere, anytime to anyone. When the terrible events of Sept. 11 occurred, which were soon followed by the anthrax attacks by mail, America’s vulnerability to terror and violence were exposed and the entire country began an immediate transformation to a much higher state of security awareness. F Nowhere has the concern for personal protection hit home more than on the campuses of our colleges and universities. As security breaches became almost commonplace in virtually every area of the country, officials of public educational institutions, especially those located in gang-infested inner cities, were quick to add security measures ranging from metal detectors in their lobbies and in-school security forces to police-manned perimeters. However, the very essence of a college/university campus devoted to higher learning or a bustling corporate business campus is openness. A reality, for better or worse, is that America is an open society and the personal freedoms that we enjoy as a society are afforded by that openness. So there is a natural resistance to encircling entire widespread, multi-building campuses with barbed wire fences and armed guards, or force people on campus to enter buildings through metal detectors. In the security design profession, we understand that we cannot always prevent incidents from occurring, but it is essential that we possess the 18 Consulting-Specifying Engineer • APRIL 2008
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