The Johnsonian

Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: News

English instructor Casey Cothran makes sure to fully close her door before class begins. Owens Hall is one of the few buildings on campus already equipped with interior doors that unlock only with card access.

When Haney Howell begins one of his broadcasting lectures, he cannot be found at the front of class writing on the chalk board.

Instead, he is locking his classroom door.

"I feel like when students are in my classroom, I am responsible for them," said Howell, an associate professor of mass communication. "It is the professor's responsibility for the students' intellectual as well as physical wellbeing."

With memories of the Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University shootings still fresh, Winthrop faculty are focusing on how to best protect their students.

Seung-Hui Cho was a senior English major at Virginia Tech when he opened fire on his campus, killing 32 people and wounding many more, making it the deadliest school shooting in history last year.

It also tells the story of heroic faculty members.

Professor Liviu Librescu hurled himself in front of Cho when the shooter tried to enter the classroom. He was killed in his efforts.

Instructor Jocelyne M. Couture-Nowak told her students to hurry to the back of the classroom while she barricaded the door. She was also killed.

These are just some of the stories found in the news of faculty protecting the students, and they struck a chord for Winthrop faculty as well.

Howell was one of those touched by the stories.

He recounted the story of yet another professor at Virginia Tech who pushed a table against the classroom door.

"The professor was killed, but none of the students were," he said. "The shooter did not get in."

Though many other professors are also choosing to lock their classroom doors, Campus Police Chief Frank Zebedis said there are no plans for a "locked doors" policy to be implemented.

If such a policy were enforced, students aren't sure if it would be safe or just a distraction.

"It's not a bad idea, as long as the option to unlock is there," said Maree Carway, freshman early childhood education major. "But not everyone would follow it and it might get annoying with people coming in late."

Continued...

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