An ultimate goal of American universities is to provide a safe and secure environment for all who attend and operate there, but what safety looks and feels like to the individual can vary to a great degree. There are many factors that campus safety departments consider when designing their campus safety policies and regulations. One way…

Little is known about how a college mass shooting affects faculty and staff survivors. The purpose of this study was to better understand how the experience of a college mass shooting affected the lives of faculty and staff involved in the incident. This study examined, in-depth, the personal accounts of six college staff and faculty who had…

Many of the policies shown to benefit the public's health in research studies are never widely implemented. We conducted a qualitative and exploratory multiple-case study of three U.S. academic research-policy translation initiatives that resulted in the development, enactment and/or implementation of evidence-based policies to address public…

Although rare when compared to other crimes or disasters that occur on college or university campuses, active shootings still affect educational institutions. These campus shootings are also heavily publicized in the media; therefore, everyone can see the damage these tragedies cause. However, while various strategies and plans exist to help in…

One of the most pressing concerns on college campuses today is student safety. To date, nine states have passed Campus Carry legislation and more states may follow. Texas was the eighth state to pass Campus Carry legislation. Specifically, in the 2015 Legislative session, the Texas Legislature voted to allow License to Carry (LTC) holders to carry…

The euphemism that Florida, the nation's third most populous and politically powerful state, is a battleground is an apt description--and more than just every four years. Every year, every day in the state's capital, Florida has become high ground for pro-corporate, special-interest lobbyists who seek to instill a far-right legislative and social…

In order to explore themes of privilege in regard to policy availability, language accessibility, and underlying bias, policies related to two topics of interest to higher education campus visitors, campus firearm carry policy and smoking policy, are explored to determine how Web-based information is presented to various audiences. Implications of…

Security and intelligence agency concerns with universities range from the commissioning and protection of security-sensitive research, the ongoing recruitment of staff and students for covert security and intelligence work, as well as prominent counter-terrorist concerns. This is an ethically charged terrain of moral ambiguity which raises issues…

The purpose of "Theory of College Student Development" is to provide readers with new theoretical knowledge or a reminder of the foundational and evolving theories that professionals can utilize for understanding and making sense of students' behavior. Its primary focus is on the integration of knowledge, skills, and application of such…

With a new Governor, State Superintendent, and Legislators in Sacramento and a diminished federal role in education, there is an opportunity for California's leaders to take stock of recent educational reforms and make necessary improvements. Several high-profile reforms over the past few years, including the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)…

"Guns on Campus: The Architecture and Momentum of State Policy Action" offers a detailed summary of state legislative action and higher education system policy decisions that have occurred in two specific categories: (1) States that have permitted or are seeking to permit guns on campus; and (2) States that have prohibited or are seeking…

The question of whether guns should be permitted on college and university campuses in the United States reflects the tension between two competing perspectives. America has both a robust gun culture and an equally robust (if less well known) gun-control culture. The gun culture is as American as apple pie: There may be as many as 300 million…

By examining Virginia Tech's crisis communication during and after the shootings on April 16, 2007, valuable insights were gained that may be applied to current crisis communication models. This article addresses the unique characteristics of educational institutions and the need for comprehensive emergency communication strategies and on-site…

It is important that first responders remain aware of the possible hazards resulting from chemical accidents or the intentional use of chemicals in destructive devices. Chemical components can be utilized in the manufacturing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), can enhance the effect of a more conventional device, or can pose hazards based on…

One of the numerous responses to the mass shooting at Virginia Tech in April 2007 has been the call for higher education institutions in the United States to take an increased role in identifying troubled students. This has had widely felt effects, with educational institutions across the United States developing mechanisms such as Threat…