Days after a thwarted attack planned at the University of Central Florida, school leaders met to discuss campus safety and the efforts of the University to prevent another incident like the one Monday.
Trustee Harris Rosen, whose son was a resident of the dorms, feels that not enough is being done to inspect rooms and ensure banned objects, such as weapons, are not being housed by students. Rosen suggested that the University work towards having the current inspection method changed to include unannounced inspections of student dorms to search for such objects.
“The inspection should be akin to what [they do] in the military,” Rosen said.
Trustee Ida Cook argued with Rosen, understanding his concern for security as a parent but stating that the University must uphold the rights of students — and that means not having unannounced searches of personal belongings conducted.
“While we have a responsibility to maintain the facilities and sure that students are safe and secure, they all, students, also have rights and I think that we need to look more closely at what the rights of the students are,” Cook said during the meeting.
The board also applauded the efforts of the police officers who took the risks of entering the dorm to save the students on Monday morning.
“I’ve been involved with UCF for 39 years, I know its one of the toughest days in our history and I commend all of you for what you did and I think, how you performed, I think you all deserve a huge ovation,” Michael J. Grindstaff, Chair of the Board said.
Police Chief Richard Beary told the Board just how important the situation on Monday was, stating the White House Situation room was calling for answers.
“…I got a cell phone call from the FBI that the White House Situation Room wants an update on what’s going on at UCF,” Beary said. “That was an interesting phone call. Just to show you how important this situation was and we are on the national level, the White House Situation Room wanted to know what was going on, and they wanted to know now.”
