As part of expanding efforts to make Biola’s community more secure, Campus Safety has increased the number of officers present at chapels this semester. At least one officer will be posted in the gym during chapels, said John Ojeisekhoba, chief of Campus Safety. Their posts will vary in location each time, in order to lower predictability. Officers will also be present at chapels held in Calvary Chapel and Sutherland Auditorium.
Though Biola is a safe campus, said Ojeisekhoba, Campus Safety’s presence during significantly larger chapels, like the ones held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, will have a hampering effect on any criminal intent. This includes a potential active shooter who may think the most effective way of inflicting mass casualties is during congregated chapels, he said. He has incorporated these concerns into Campus Safety’s general strategy for security.
“For a bad guy, if you really want to stick it to Biola, it would be [during] chapel. I’m not saying it’s gonna happen, it’s just we’re trying to be one step ahead here to protect our students. That’s the bottom line,” Ojeisekhoba said.
Recent shooting incidents call for action
Concerns about a potential shooter on campus dramatically escalated in the Talbot East gun scare last semester.
Students can continue to expect armed officer presence at other heavily-attended school events, Ojeisekhoba said. However, the heightened Campus Safety presence during chapels is not expected to cost more money to the school, Ojeisekhoba noted.
The numerous active shooter incidents that have occurred across the country in the past few years, including the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., have spurred Ojeisekhoba to consider the possibility of a similar incident occurring at Biola.
Ojeisekhoba anticipates an increase in shooting incidents across the nation in the coming years.
“This past decade alone, [there have been] 64 incidents of active shooters at schools and universities; hundreds of people killed. This decade that we’re in now … with the numbers that we see, will most likely surpass [the last] decade,” he said.
Biola cannot be completely immune to this, and as the head of Campus Safety, it is ultimately his responsibility for the safety and protection of Biola’s students and faculty, Ojeisekhoba said.
“This isn’t just something that we can just brush aside and go, ‘You know what, it can never happen here,’” he said.
Subtle change, subtle reaction
Students who attended chapel on Wednesday, Sept. 4, had mixed opinions about Campus Safety’s presence in the gym. Freshman psychology major Steven Harrington didn’t even notice the officer until he exited the gym after chapel and has no strong feelings either way about officer presence during chapel, he said.
Sophomore human biology major Jeannie Choi thinks the recent active shooter incidents across the country call for precautionary measures.
“It’s just obvious that there’s been more shootings, especially at academic institutions, so precautionary measure is always good,” she said.
Benjamin Crandall, a junior biblical studies major, said he hadn’t noticed Campus Safety personnel much at all in the gym but feels safer with their presence during chapels.
“I’d say I feel some degree of higher safety. If [an active shooter] were right here in the back, I’m sure they could respond faster, and it would be a good thing.”
Lieutenant George Medina, who was on duty on Sept. 4, said he is excited about the new responsibility he’s been given.
“It’s a very important part of protecting the students on campus … just assuring that we’re able to provide coverage during chapels in events that big,” Medina said. Medina will be supervising the officers present during chapels this semester.
