Ten community college students lost their lives at the hand of a fellow student on Thurs. Oct. 1. Community colleges all around the country have come together in order to support and mourn the loss of the students, College of DuPage included.

On Mon. Oct. 5, hundreds of students and faculty honored the lost lives by signing a banner to be sent to the school.  Around 100 students and faculty members also participated in a moment of silence at the college’s fountain and dropped their heads in respect.

The tragedy struck a heartstring for many on COD’s campus, reminding students and faculty that similar calamities can happen any time or place. Acting Interim President Joe Collins spoke of the event and it’s connection to COD.

“There is nothing about Umpqua that deserves this tragedy,” said Collins. “It’s especially disturbing for us. Umpqua shares the same initiative we have.”

Collins and COD security are dedicated to keeping campus safe, especially in the onset of the Umpqua tragedy.

“This kind of event, unfortunately, could happen anywhere,” said Collins. “We live in an open society where if someone wanted to do that, it’s hard to stop. I think College of DuPage is one of the better prepared campuses.”

COD has an upper hand in emergency situations because of the on-campus police department who know the school well. The 20 campus officers have regular drills based on theoretical emergency situations.

Collins also explained the new electronic lock system found on classroom doors. In order to unlock, faculty must swipe an ID card. In an emergency situation, all campus doors can be locked from a remote location.

Emergency handbooks can be found in every classroom outlining what students and faculty should do in case of a wide variety of disasters. Students should read the handbooks at their convenience. If no other guide, students should remember that in the case of an active shooter, the options are to run, shelter or fight back.

Training sessions on the handbook are being offered to faculty this month. Information on the dates and locations of these sessions can be found by emailing [email protected].