Safe @ Gav
In the wake of the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting, we all want and need to feel safe at our workplace. Here are six things you can do this week to improve campus safety:
--Program Gavilan Security into your phone 848-4703, call or visit to let our officers know if you have any concerns or intuitions about someone’s behavior. Prevention is the best approach to many emergencies, and talking to someone on the first instance of disruptive behavior is much better than waiting till incident #4 or #9.
—Get or update your first aid/CPR certification, or identify students who have done so in each class. Knowing who among your students has military training and/or expertise in helping others in emotional distress is also useful. Note CERT training to be offered on-campus in spring, below.
--Talk to your students about possible emergencies, exits, and what a lockdown/shelter in place scenario would entail. If you don’t know how to start this conversation, we’ll do some Flex Day training in January, and I’m including a checklist as an attachment, below, that could help students think through their own needs and approaches—adapt it, print it, use it to start a short discussion.
-—Review safety procedures periodically for various kinds of emergencies; some great resources are below, and some contain pdfs of guides you could post in your classroom/s. In an emergency, you will be your own first responder, and you are required to aid students as much as you can in staying safe.
—Consider creating a minimal emergency kit to put in the bag you bring to class: duct tape, rope or belts for tying doors shut (see Nov. 12 training), large plastic bags for human waste during a lockdown, wet wipes, 3-4 pairs latex or other inpenetrable gloves. Some companies add tarps for privacy on a portable toilet.
—Come to trainings that help you think through your own classroom or workspace, its vulnerabilities and opportunities in a crisis. We’ll be offering some afternoon trainings (see Nov. 12 training below) this fall, and some additional options on January Professional Learning Flex day.
Safety resources:
A selected and annotated list of safety-related resources for Gavilan faculty and staff--these will live on the Professional Learning Page when it’s back in operation.
--Knowing our own college’s safety procedures, campus map and evacuation routes, and personnel is an important step. https://www.gavilan.edu/about/safety/
--The National Association of School Psychologists’ Natural Disasters page is useful for natural disasters: https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-climate-safety-and-crisis/natural-disaster-resources/natural-disasters-brief-facts-and-tips
--The National Fire Protection Association has some great handouts on just about every emergency thinkable, in English and Spanish. Reviewing them is a learning experience in itself; the disasters likeliest at Gavilan might include earthquakes, wildfires, blackouts, floods, hazardous materials, and storms. All are well written and clearly organized, and could be posted in your classroom or work area. https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Teaching-tools/Community-tool-kits/Preparing-Your-Community-For-a-Disaster
--Earthquake information we all need to review from the experts at OSHA: https://www.osha.gov/dts/earthquakes/preparedness.html
--Active shooter resources for college campuses usually include information on the Run, Hide, Fight advice experts give. Our own Security office has a good page on Sheltering in Place/Lockdown procedures: https://www.gavilan.edu/about/safety/Shelter-in-Place%20Drill.php
--Many service provders are adopting a trauma-informed approach to safety systems that responds "to the needs of trauma-exposed clients by focusing on safety, coping, and designing practice to encourage trauma recovery” (Gabrielle Grant homepage). See
https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources//the_12_core_concepts_for_understanding_traumatic_stress_responses_in_children_and_families.pdf 12 core concepts for understanding traumatic stress responses and https://www.trauma-informed-california.org/resources/
--The National Association of School Psychologists is K-12 based but has many excellent resources applicable to Gavilan, including interesting research on the impact of security measures on students. Some resources require a free account and login. https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-climate-safety-and-crisis/systems-level-prevention/best-practice-considerations-for-schools-in-active-shooter-and-other-armed-assailant-drills.
--NASPO’s page on creating systems for safety is especially good: https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources/school-safety-and-crisis/prevention-resources
--Campus Safety Magazine for people who wish to stay updated https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/category/university/
--Need some just in time (JIT) 365 Training? Safety issues are among the many topics available to you at the CCCCO Vision Resource Center.
No need to leave your desk. The CCCCO Vision Resource Center is bringing the training to you. To access training go here to request an account: https://cccpln.csod.com/selfreg/register.aspx?c=vrc. Once you are given access, login here: https://visionresourcecenter.cccco.edu/login/ by clicking on the “General User Login” button. Once logged in, go to the “Learn” section on the page. You can search for the training you’d like. At this point in time, we recommend staying away from the SkillsSoft training as it seems to be having some trouble. OR choose Lynda.com training instead.