A total of 160 active shooter incidents occurred in the United States between 2000 and 2013, according to an FBI study released in 2014. Increasing annual averages throughout the study indicate active shooter incidents are becoming more frequent, yet many students at Ole Miss have no idea what to do in such a situation.
(Courtesy: Lillian Benton)
President of UPMe and junior Katie White and her colleagues noticed this problem one day, and they created UPMe as a way to combat it. UPMe is a program designed to inform Ole Miss students of the dangers they may face on campus and how to respond to them. By teaming with the University Police Department, they hope to improve safety on campus while promoting a better relationship between officers and students.
“The idea of UPMe came about during one of our work meetings,” White said. “Our boss at the department of student housing, Jennifer McClure, began asking us what we would do in an active shooter situation, and we all didn’t know what we would’ve done.”
When the students pitched the idea, UPD was more than happy to help make the program a reality. With the help of Jeff Kellum, the Crime Prevention Coordinator at UPD, they began to set a plan to achieve their goal.
According to Kellum, the offices of the dean of students, health promotions, violence prevention and Title IX got together and agreed that the best way to help student communities learn was to encourage student leader involvement.
According to White, this semester, the group will focus on active shooter seminars, but plans on tackling other projects as the club expands.
“Initially, I will concentrate on incorporating UPMe Peer Educators into our Active Shooter Response programs,” Kellum said. “By the fall 2016 semester, I hope to have them established as an integral part of our alcohol and other drugs programming as well.”
During their first meeting on Feb. 3, they discussed what they hope to achieve as a group within the next year and how they plan on attaining that goal.
“So far, plans are still coming together. But this semester, our main focus will absolutely be active shooter awareness and safety training through peer educators,” White said.
Ole Miss students must go through an application process to get involved with the club. Participating officers passed out applications during their meeting. If people who missed the first meeting would still like to get involved, they can contact the officers at olemissupme@gmail.com.
“Through an organized effort to strengthen our relationship with the UPD and to educate students on what to do in cases of emergency, as well as what they can do to prevent unfortunate events from occurring, we hope to create a community that is more safe, collaborative and prepared,” said Billy Rainey, vice president of UPMe and senior integrated marketing communications major.
