By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The BGSU Faculty Senate this week approved a resolution asking that ALICE training no longer be required of faculty.
The resolution does state the online active shooter training – ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate – could still be optional.
The resolution passed in an online vote of the senators. The tally as 29 in favor, eight opposed, with seven senators abstaining. The resolution is advisory. Any changes would be up to the BGSU administration.
[RELATED: Faculty resolution calls for ending mandatory active shooter training at BGSU]
The resolution was first put forward by Professor Timothy Messer-Kruse, a historian in the American Studies Program, earlier in the month. It was tabled at that time to give senators a chance to consult with their colleagues.
In the original resolution, Messer-Kruse stated that the training is not grounded in evidence, that it overstates the frequency of college campus shootings; and that such training contributes to rising rates of anxiety and depression among students.
On Tuesday he reiterated: “The gist of it is related to our responsibility as educators here at BGSU that we not communicate information to our students and our colleagues that’s either inaccurate or misleading or not evidence based. The substance of this resolution points out that the training video that’s circulated is none of those. It is misleading. It does misrepresent the risk of harm from these tragic events. We need to think more deeply as a collective to come up with a better solution for our students to try to mitigate these sorts of harms. While I don’t have those solutions ready at hand, I am quite convinced that looking at the scholarly and documentary evidence that this isn’t it.”
A reference to SB83, a controversial bill that would have wide ranging effects on higher education, in the original resolution was removed.
Professor of Spanish Amy Robinson said in consulting with her colleagues in the Department of World Languages and Cultures the majority thought “it was a good idea to eliminate it.”
One said it triggered their Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
One person said it should not be eliminated altogether.
Messer-Kruse noted the resolution’s the final clause calls for the training to be eliminated or made optional.
Professor of English Bill Albertini said the responses from his colleagues was similar to those Robinson heard.
They were “largely supportive” of eliminating the mandatory training. One faculty member did ask if the training could be provided in an alternate format. “The video was much more intense than what they were ready for,” he said.
Following the vote Messer-Kruse said he expected the university may decide to make the training optional.
