UCR Response to Virginia Tech Tragedy
(April 16, 2007) — Students, faculty and staff at the University of California, Riverside are stunned and saddened by today’s shootings at Virginia Tech.
In a letter to Virginia Tech President Charles Steger faxed today, Chancellor France Córdova wrote, "I want to extend our heartfelt condolences to you, your campus, and its wider community of parents, family, alumni and friends, for the tragedy that took place on your campus today. … Our thoughts and prayers are with you and all of those affected."
The University of California Police Department is committed to maintaining a safe environment for the students, faculty and staff members on this campus, said Mike Lane, Chief of Police at UC Riverside. "We have highly-trained and equipped sworn police personnel who work 24 hours a day to prevent and respond to crimes and critical circumstances."
He said as details emerge from the Virginia Tech, his department will learn from the experiences of that campus to keep this campus safer.
"We rely on each student, faculty and staff member to continue taking an active role in telling us about any criminal or suspicious activity," he said. “Sharing this information becomes the responsibility of all members of the campus which may help prevent some crimes from occurring." UCPD keeps the campus informed of crime reports via email. The University Police Department is asking all members of the campus to call 911 in the event of an emergency.
The UCR Counseling Center is a resource for anyone from the campus community who is distraught by the news today.
"At times like these, the effects of such a tragedy may impact those far removed from the location, and may be affecting even those of us here at UCR," said Brad Compliment, director of the UCR Counseling Center.
The center is staffed with a number of trained and licensed professionals who are experienced in helping our students with a broad range of emotional questions and challenges.
The UCR Counseling Center operates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding university holidays. The phone number is (951) 827-5531, for appointments. The Center also offers a walk-in service for individuals who are in crisis between 8:30-4:30 pm. The web site is
http://counseling.ucr.edu.
After hours, students in crisis should call the HELPline at (951) 686-HELP for a 24-Hour Crisis/Suicide Intervention Hotline. Additional assistance is also available by calling 9-1-1 and the police will respond promptly.
In addition, UC Riverside will lower flags to half staff and plan a campus memorial for the lives lost.
My heart goes out to the students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends of VA Tech.