SCSU safety plan used at Holes Hall

While a school shooting was taking place thousands of miles away at Delaware State University, SCSU had a near hazardous situation of its own.

"I feel safe on campus. It's just scary with all the stuff that happened in Delaware and having this happen on the same floor I live on. It just seems weird that it can happen so close to you," said Holes Hall resident Jessica Miano.

At 12:10 a.m. Saturday, a W. W. Holes residence hall director made a call to Public Safety in regard to a fight that was taking place in a second floor hallway and said one of the males involved in the fight was possibly in possession of a firearm.

"I instantly thought about that (recent college shootings) because I didn't really know what was going on right away until I asked my roommate. I have so many friends on that floor, it was just scary," Miano said.

SCSU Security Coordinator Jennifer Furan said indications the suspect made to other people in the hallway, such as the movements he was making with his hands, and the statements he made, are what led the community adviser to believe there was a gun involved.

Because of the shootings at Virginia Tech and Delaware, similar situations such as the Holes Hall incident become more than a routine.

"Our procedure (since the Virginia Tech shooting) has not changed in how we would have reacted to the situation like what happened at Holes Hall, but there is a heightened sense of awareness by those involved, and I would say that is the biggest change," Furan said.

Shortly after Public Safety was aware of the situation, the St. Cloud Police Department was contacted.

While waiting for police to arrive, Public Safety secured the perimeter of the building, while on-duty staff in Holes Hall began securing entrances and exits.

"The residential life staff and Public Safety work in tandem together, and residential life has a phone tree to call all community advisers who communicate with their people on each floor. So we were setting up a icated.

While its was reported to the police that the suspect was possibly carrying a firearm, it was proven to be false, as the intoxicated male was not in possession of any type of harmful weapon.

The suspect was eventually arrested and transported to Stearns County Jail for Disorderly Conduct and Minor Consumption of Alcohol about 25 minutes after the initial incident occurred at Holes Hall.

The person has also been issued a no-trespass order for the SCSU campus.

While security techniques and procedures are always changing, the best and newest technology can still have flaws.

"The technology continues to get better which is good, but it is never 100 percent effective. We are a campus that is "Minnesota nice". If we see someone stumbling to get their keys out, we will help them open the door," Furan said.

For Eric Olson, a freshman and resident of Holes Hall, Public Safety is not an issue on campus.

"I wasn't here that night, but I feel good where I am at. From what I see, Public Safety is on top of things." Olson said.