In light of the shootings at Virginia Tech, college officials shared with the Courier a copy of St. John Fisher's Emergency Response Plan. The document, also posted online, exists so that the College can effectively respond to a number of emergency situations, including natural disasters, murders, bomb threats and other forms of crises in relation to the campus community.

The policy names Dr. Ronald Ambrosetti, provost and dean of the College, as the Emergency Director, who would be in charge of the Emergency Response Team and "establish a command post area." The emergency coordinator is listed as Mike McCarthy, director of safety and security. Other individuals key to the process, should an emergency situation occur, are Dean of Students Dr. Rick DeJesus, Director of College Information Anne Geer and the President of the College Dr. Donald Bain.

The plan states that it would be the emergency director's duty to initiate the "College-wide response plans and any related communications plans as required." The Student Life Center is listed as the "emergency shelter" on campus, should other areas be "uninhabitable." An alternative site for an emergency shelter is listed as Cleary Family Auditorium in Kearney Hall.

The document posted online bares the time stamp of Feb. 9, 2007, presumably the last time the document was updated. However, in a campuswide email sent the day after the Virginia Tech tragedy, Bain suggested that the plan may be revisited in the near future.

"While incidents such as this tragedy at Virginia Tech are not typical on college campuses, unfortunately our campuses are not immune from the violence that occurs in society," Bain wrote. "At Fisher, be assured that our Safety and Security staff regularly update and train with their administrative colleagues Emergency Responses to a variety of potential situations. We are carefully reviewing our procedures and plans taking into account what will be learned from events at Virginia Tech."

For those interested, the complete Emergency Response Plan for the College can be accessed at http://home.sjfc.edu/emergency/.