By Jake Burns
VCU Police

The Emergency Management team at Virginia Commonwealth University constantly considers black swans (events occurring outside the norm) and gray rhinos (significant events that are predictable).

Those daily efforts focus on planning for all hazard situations, coordinating with local and state partners on disaster response, and aiding VCU leadership in strategic emergency decision-making.

In the modern world, the ultimate goal - to prevent disasters - dictates the organizations prepare for the worst to happen. For more than a year, in anticipation of black swan events, VCU and VCU Health have been working on a potentially lifesaving production.

VCU and VCU Health's Emergency Management team has produced a detailed active-shooter training video, designed to ensure that the VCU community is aware of best practices to protect themselves and others if the unthinkable plays out. Students recently received notification of the training requirement this semester, and faculty and staff will participate as well.

"Virginia Commonwealth University is unique with its urban setting and complex health system. Our community deserves training that's equally unique to keep themselves and others safe," said Tara Thomas, director of Emergency Management and interim chief of staff at the VCU Police Department.

Matthew Majid, assistant director of Emergency Management at VCU, helped coordinate scripting and production elements with Bookend Creative, the production company behind the video.

Majid said the video clearly defines how individuals should respond in an active-shooter scenario. Similar to how someone practices for a sport, the goal is to help make an individual's action in the moment closer to muscle memory.

"Even if you have the most robust police response possible, it could still be a minute and a half to two minutes before officers arrive. That's a lot of time," Majid said. "I think it's important for people to understand that it does fall upon the individual to make those lifesaving actions until somebody else can show up."

"We remain in a constant state of active preparation to deal with any type of catastrophic incident here at VCU," said John Venuti, associate vice president for emergency services and public safety and chief of police for VCU and VCU Health. "All of the research indicates with any level of preparation prior to an emergency, individuals will perform better during that emergency.

"I often say this when I speak to students here at VCU: Unfortunately in this day and age, their reality is preparing for active shooters," Venuti continued. "If it does occur and you have some level of preparation and training of what to do, you'll perform better in that situation - and ultimately, that preparation may save your life."

The video project began ahead of a pivotal time. Virginia lawmakers recently addressed the need for university communities to maintain situational awareness about active-shooter events.

This year, the General Assembly passed House Bill 713, which requires every first-year student at a public higher education institution in the state to undergo campus safety and emergency preparedness training, with an emphasis on active-shooter incidents, by the end of their first semester. The new law requires students to take the training every two years after that.

But in an active-shooter scenario, each community member must possess the necessary awareness to respond in a timely manner and make informed, lifesaving decisions.

Leadership at VCU, the Board of Visitors and VCU Health are expanding on the new law to ensure that every student, faculty and staff member at VCU and VCU Health engage with this training by the end of this academic year.

VCU's active-shooter training highlights the multichannel alert system in place to inform the campus and health system community during an incident. The material also delves deeply into the lifesaving measures community members should take in the unlikely event of an active shooter on campus or at a VCU Health facility.

Since VCU community members often spend time both on the Monroe Park Campus and at VCU Health facilities, the training emphasizes the importance of understanding how an individual's response changes based on where they are at the time of an incident.

"Our students are not just students in many cases: They are receiving health care, providing health care, they are full-time employees," Thomas said. "We are constantly collaborating with our partners at the VCU Health System Emergency Management team to ensure seamless emergency operations at both campuses. This video aligns with our commitment to the One VCU concept. Community members will hopefully understand how to respond regardless of where they are."

A key component of the production was place. Simulating scenes and events within VCU-owned facilities was an intentional design element to give the broader VCU and VCU Health community a better sense for their role in an incident.

"If you work here or you're a student here, when you watch that video, you clearly identify the environment as being VCU," Venuti said. "The concepts are really not that complicated, but we tried to get our students, faculty and staff to make the connection to our environment so that they understand the significance of the guidance."

"It's about familiarity," Majid added. "Not that we want people to imagine this happening, but it should help our community better envision how they should respond."

As a part of the training, VCU community members will review emergency preparedness materials related to severe weather and natural disaster events, including what various alerts mean and how to prepare an evacuation kit. The modules also include detailed resources on the safety measures and programs in place for community members.

"We're never going to miss an opportunity to educate, involve or inform members of our community of what they need to do to ensure the safety of everyone. I constantly say at VCU, communities keep communities safe, and the Police Department just helps," Venuti said. "Every single person that works here has an absolute responsibility to ensure that VCU is a safe place. Once everyone understands that - fully accepts that responsibility - VCU becomes the safest institution in the United States."

Students recently received an email alert with details on the required training. Campus Safety and Emergency Preparedness Training is assigned through Canvas for students and must be completed by Dec. 6. Faculty and staff will receive the training through their annual HR requirements.

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