By KRIS KANTHAK

Pitt undergraduate students are some of my favorite people, but I can now say with certainty, being in a lockdown with them leaves little to recommend it. Like many of you, I was in the Cathedral of Learning when our campus was in lockdown due to (false, we now know) reports of a shooting at a nearby high school. It was scary. The door didn’t lock. We were too high to jump from a window to safety. Like all our University community, we were extremely lucky that this one was a hoax.

I have learned and worked at four different universities, and I have joined each of those university communities in coping with the aftermath of an active shooter that wasn’t a hoax. This includes the University of Pittsburgh itself in 2012. And this does not make me unusual. There is nothing “normal” about these new circumstances, but they are unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon. As a community, we must address these important safety concerns while still maintaining a sense of who we are and what makes our University community so very special.

When we endure trauma, oftentimes our instinct is to turn inward, to become afraid of anyone who is deemed an outsider. But building a wall is no way to protect an institution dedicated to free inquiry. Rather, we need to rely on smart use of technology, clear information, and one another to keep us as safe as we can be.

For that reason, University Senate President Robin Kear invited Ted Fritz, vice chancellor for public safety and emergency management, to address the Sept. 6 Faculty Assembly meeting. President Kear asked him to update the community on the myriad enhancements to security his team oversaw during the summer break.

Most obvious to those of us who spend time in classrooms, and much to my great personal comfort, locks have been installed on all classroom doors. In addition, classrooms are now outfitted with panic buttons that, when they are pressed, will summon police and automatically lock the classroom doors (if the room is outfitted with electronic rather than mechanical locks). More security cameras have been installed on campus, including 29 new ones in the Cathedral of Learning, alongside other safety improvements, including Stop the Bleed and AED (automatic external defibrillator) kits.

Problems with emergency communication at Pitt — particularly during the hoax at Hillman Library — were laid bare last semester. Fritz outlined how his shop has implemented plans to improve emergency communication, including adding staff who are dedicated to getting accurate and timely information to the Pitt community. Further, the office has produced a series of training videos, available to the entire Pitt community.

For those interested in more in-depth information about policing at Pitt, there is the Citizens Police Academy, which comes with a valuable seal of approval from Senate Benefits and Welfare co-chair Linda Tashbook, who has completed the training.

I should note, too, that active killer events remain extremely rare. The leading cause of gun death in the United States is suicide, which once again highlights our need to reach out and take care of one another. Pitt’s counseling center offers a variety of suicide prevention resources. And Pitt’s LifeSolutions program offers resources for faculty and staff.

Kris Kanthak is vice president of Senate Council and associate professor of political science.