The recent assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on a Utah campus is highlighting campus security at colleges and universities.
Americans honor the loss 24 years after the devastating World Trade Center, Pentagon and thwarted Flight 93 9/11 terrorist attacks.The assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus is highlighting campus security at colleges and universities nationwide.
At the University of Washington, where Kirk and other conservative speakers have previously visited, university officials have not disclosed specific security plans for future events, according to security experts there are lessons that can be learned from Wednesday's violent incident. "The fact that they allowed someone to get that close was kind of surprising," Nicole Foreman, a UW campus employee, said. "It’s a student event, you wouldn’t expect anything like that to happen, but since he’s like a politician, I was expecting some type of security, maybe a check or something." Kirk's assassination has highlighted apparent gaps in campus security, allowing a gunman to bypass measures. "It was really surprising honestly to see something so, especially at a college where you share opinions, it’s shocking to see that occur so publicly," UW freshman Detlef Gerbing said. "I think generally the best thing the campus can do is make sure those events are in a secure location and make sure there’s police for speakers and make sure the area is truly secure because we’ve seen numerous times people have slipped by on faraway buildings."university police were present, temporary fencing went up and Kirk had his own security detail by his side during his speaking engagements.a man was shot on campus during a protest Earlier this year, an event with conservative speaker Olivia Krolcyzk was reportedly canceled due to escalating protests. "We see headlines all over the country, what’s terrible is this is not terribly surprising, it’s happened everywhere," Gerbing said. "It doesn't matter whom you are, everything should be dictated based on your threat level," retired Secret Service agent Tim Reboulet said. "If anybody did a walk through of that site yesterday, they would have determined immediately, 'Hey, we may have a line of sight issue. Hey, we may not have enough campus security. Let's go ahead and hire some off duty secondary local law enforcement to help post those buildings high ground.'" When asked if the university would be adjusting security plans at similar events moving forward, a UW spokesperson shared in a statement: What occurred in Utah yesterday is deeply tragic. Violence has no place on our campuses or in our dialogue, and we send our condolences to Mr. Kirk’s family and loved ones. We take the safety of our community very seriously. Gun violence is sadly something universities — and communities, in general — have to deal with nationwide, which is why we employ a police department and work closely with law enforcement partners. We have taken, and will continue to take, all reasonable precautions to ensure safety around major events on our campus. When asked if security screenings would be required at future events, university officials stated that security varies for each event but declined to share specifics.
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