LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Tuesday morning, the Nevada System of Higher Education held its first board of regents meeting in the wake of the UNLV shooting.
University Police Chief Adam Garcia and his officers were honored for their heroic efforts last week. During the meeting, the entire department was recognized for their bravery and courage in helping to stop the gunman on campus.
The meeting was also open to public comment. UNLV faculty members expressed concerns and called the campus "unsafe."
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"Thoughts and prayers are wonderful, but we are done with them, we are done, and we need to 'Do,'" said assistant professor of economics at Lee Business School and chair of the University Campus Affairs Committee Bill Robinson.
Economics faculty and chairman of the UNLV Faculty Senate, Bill Robinson, says the priority should be providing traumatized students and staff protection.
UNLV faculty members took the stand to express their frustrations during public comment. Robinson says the priority should be providing traumatized students and staff a sense of protection.
"Nothing would have stopped this guy," he said. "He was going to come on campus, and he was going to be a bad person, but maybe if we had a better system, all the folks who got shot wouldn't have gotten shot."
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Robinson works in Beam Hall, where the shooting happened. He says no one should ever have to experience what happened Wednesday and says campus leaders can start by fixing the door locks.
"The electronic locks are outside the classrooms, so when you get there, you swipe your card and go in the classroom; once you are in the classroom, you have to go out to swipe your card and lock the door," he said.
UNLV President Keith E. Whitfield stood before the board at the meeting. He said there is no playbook to address a crisis like this, but he has contacted faculty, administration, and state and federal leaders to see how they can move forward.
"We will do our best to communicate. We will not be perfect, but we will do our best," Whitfield said. "As we know things that impact others that impact our community, we will try to support them."
Robinson says the time is now.
"Dealing with who is here and the lives of the faculty and the staff that are here right now is more important than anything they want to do in the future," he said.
Garcia reached out to UNLV's director of public affairs to share this faculty member's concerns, and we received this response:
“Last Wednesday’s tragedy has deeply impacted our entire university community – including our students, faculty, and staff. We remain grateful for the immediate response that day by our University Police Services, Las Vegas Metro, and all emergency responders and medical personnel, and for the continued support shown by our entire community over the past week.
The university has and will continue to review safety and security practices at our campus, including what our institution can do in the interim to enhance security. This includes, in the short term, assistance from local and regional partners to elevate the immediate presence of security on campus.”
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