After class, Nguyen realized the classroom where that discussion took place likely could be locked only with a key — something that made her somewhat nervous in light of Wednesday’s dramatic alerts telling students and staff to shelter in place.
“We don’t have access to keys,” said the third-year student, who lives in Westwood. “If that were to happen again, I would feel pretty unsafe knowing it’s not something that I would be able to control.”
While Nguyen said Wednesday’s episode was handled well and she generally feels safe on campus, the dramatic turn of events raised questions about what more could be done to better protect students and staff on a sprawling public campus like UCLA. During those terrifying moments following Wednesday’s killing of mechanical and aerospace engineering professor William Klug, several students reported trying to keep doors closed with belts, chairs and whatever else they could find.
Andrew Chang, a fourth-year physiological science student, said Thursday that he feels “pretty safe” on campus. While many classrooms can only be locked by a key that custodians and perhaps a few others have access to, Chang believes it would be safer to keep the rooms unlocked.
“Most classes have more than one entrance, but it’s better to barricade it from your side of the room with a measure that you can control,” Chang reasoned.
All doors were designed to be compliant with building and safety codes, a UCLA official said in a statement Thursday.
“We will evaluate whether changes are appropriate as we continue to assess campus safety,” the official said.
While there are many facets to that issue, it will certainly be a topic of discussion in follow-up meetings with school officials, said Nancy Greenstein, a spokeswoman for the UCLA Police Department.
UCLA routinely holds trainings and drills to prepare students, faculty and staff for a wide range of emergencies, including active shooting scenarios, according to the university.
Campus security was beefed up Thursday in an effort to help people to feel secure again, Greenstein said.
“We have extra personnel working,” she said. “We are doing additional patrols,” including those of off-campus housing for students.
The department, which has more than 65 officers, also saw a spike in requests for security surveys, whereby campus police staff examine a room or office and offer recommendations on how to improve security there, as well as presentations, such as active shooter or personal safety presentations, Greenstein said.
Salar Parast, an electrical engineering senior, said he thinks that security on campus is good but could perhaps be better if students and staff had to use their key cards every time they enter a building with classrooms or offices. While many buildings on campus have keypads with that capability, Parast said the doors are left unlocked during the day.
“Maybe making that active would help, so only students and faculty can get in,” he said. Because the gunman in Wednesday’s incident was a former student, “he wouldn’t have been able to get in” had that been the case, he added.
Meanwhile, counseling services were offered to shocked and grieving students and staff on Thursday and there were opportunities for people to leave condolence notes and prayers at and near the campus.
Eric Pan, a bioengineering sophomore, left a yellow Post-it note on a “Post a Prayer for UCLA” board put up by Jews for Jesus in Westwood near the campus.
“It’s a really tough time for everyone, especially the families affected,” Pan said. “We need to stay strong and I just wanted to show support.”
Asked whether he felt safe as a student at UCLA, Pan responded without hesitation.
“Definitely,” he said before scurrying off to class.
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