Gunman Scare, or Lockdown Scare?

UC Santa Barbara student, Jeff Locken, was in the school library when the campus went on lockdown in response to a gunman report. He recalls that the majority of students were outside and went running for the doors only to be locked out. They banged, but no one let them in.

I asked CSULB campus police Lt. Scot Willey if this upsetting scenario could occur here, and basically lockdown means lockdown--no one in or out.

"Lockdown is an option, not a standard," says Willey. "Our first priority is finding the shooter and then notifying students through the Emergency Notification System."

Through the Emergency Notification System, Willey informed me, students can be told to head in the opposite direction, if it is an isolated incident, or to enter the closest classroom for lockdown--these are only two possible actions, each scenario is taken case-by-case.

Willey stressed the importance for every student and faculty member to be registered on the Emergency Notification System. He also assures that students will not be bogged down with notifications, this system is setup to be used only in times of emergency--to be taken seriously.

Students can register at MYCSULB, and designate how they would prefer to receive emergency notifications--texting is an option.

The UCSB gunman fiasco turned out to be just a scare, and one that ended too quickly for Locken's desire. "We went into lockdown at four-something, and were released at 4:26 p.m. I had a midterm at 5 p.m. and was hoping it would get cancelled," Locken said.