People leave flowers and candles before photographs of three slain UNLV professors during a memorial vigil at UNLV Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023.
Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office is weighing possible steps to bolster security on campus across the Nevada System of Higher Education in the wake of an active shooter at UNLV earlier this month killing three professors and seriously injuring another, his staff told the Sun.
Elizabeth Ray, communications director for Lombardo, messaged the Sun that the Governor’s Finance Office is in conversation with higher education system officials, but has yet to receive any formal funding requests. She wouldn’t detail what might be considered.
She added that before evaluating further steps, Lombardo is also waiting for the end of the police probe into the rampage that started at the Lee Business School and ended with police killing the gunman. Classes won’t resume until mid-January following winter break.
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the business school building did not have interior security cameras, making it difficult for investigators to piece together the sequence of events. UNLV President Keith Whitfield has repeatedly said in the days after the shooting that the university will seek funds for enhanced security — such as cameras for all the university’s buildings.
“Our office will wait for the conclusion of the investigation before evaluating next steps,” Ray said. “We are grateful for the response of law enforcement at UNLV, and we are in communication with NSHE about their review process.”
Requests from the Nevada System of Higher Education (NHSE) were not returned.
On Wednesday, Ken Ervin and Doug Unger of the Nevada Faculty Alliance — the union that represents educators across the eight NSHE institutions — urged the state Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee to take immediate action to bolster security.
“It is inconceivable that we will return to campus with blood-stained halls, bashed-in doors, broken glass and triggering memories, but I know we must in January,” said Unger, the UNLV chapter president for faculty alliance and an English professor. “But our faculty are not going to feel safe, and our staff do not want to return to class, and our students don’t want to return unless there are serious safety improvements to our campus. And these safety improvements are going to cost far more than what the insurance will pay.”
Ervin, a legislative affairs liaison, asked the bipartisan panel of state senators and Assembly members to grant emergency funding to restore safe learning and working environments at the Maryland Parkway campus.
They urged legislators to use a reserve account within the state general fund often referred to as the “rainy day fund,” which reached a record balance of $1.2 billion as of September. But the laws that dictate how those account funds are used may not permit such a request.
NRS 353.288 states that the director of the Governor’s Finance Office may submit a request to transfer money from the rainy day fund to the state general fund, but only if revenues fall short by 5% or less, as determined by the Legislature (or the finance committee if the Legislature is not in session). The governor, however, can also declare a fiscal emergency and request funds that way.
Adam Garcia, director of university police services for NHSE campuses across Southern Nevada — which include the College of Southern Nevada, Nevada State University and the Desert Research Institute — said last week that UNLV plans to bring in an outside firm to evaluate its response to the incident.
Officials praised the timeliness of the university’s public safety alert system, which utilizes the RebelSAFE smartphone app as well as text message or email notifications used in incidents “that present an imminent threat to life, health or safety” to the campus community, according to the UNLV website.
“Once we have gotten past this event, the intent is that we will bring a group on board who will assist us in looking at this event: What do we do right? What needs improvement?” Garcia said. “And then we’ll be able to answer the question as to what we can do to improve safety on campus.
A petition started by UNLV freshman Lisandro Zamora a day after the Dec. 6 shooting proposing to make campus buildings accessible only by a school-issued ID has collected nearly 14,000 signatures. Zamora said she was in Beam Hall — the business school building — when the shooting started.
“How much more senseless violence will we face before coming together and fighting for something that actually matters,” she wrote on the petition.
She proposed keeping UNLV as an open campus but requiring a form of verification to enter individual buildings, saying the system is already being utilized in the on-campus gymnasium, where the Rebel Card identification is used to gain access.
She also noted that unhoused individuals often find their way onto campus to use the restroom, often leaving “a mess for the custodial staff.”
“That way instead of having designated checkpoints and entrances throughout UNLV, the building entrances will require anyone who wants to enter to provide some form of verification to access,” she wrote.
But Whitfield last week appeared to dispel calls to turn UNLV into a closed campus, emphasizing that the university remains committed to being a communal resource open to all.
“What I hear from fellow presidents is that they don’t feel that closing the campus actually ends up becoming a deterrent when there’s an evildoer that wants to get in.” Whitfield said. “We’re Las Vegas’ university, we have to make sure that we have access for you all to come and go and to be able to take the enrichment things that come from our fine arts, from the STEM programs, for all of those sorts of things.”
UNLV canceled in-person final exams last week. Classes are scheduled to return Jan. 16, giving officials a short window to make changes to enhance safety.
“Our colleagues and students are in pain, dealing with trauma, sadness, anger and fear,” Ervin told the finance committee. “After these events, our faculty, staff and students do not feel safe. Across all NHSE institutions we see safety deficiencies.”
In a prepared statement, the university said: “The safety and security of the UNLV community is our highest priority. The university is actively assessing impacts to buildings on the Maryland Parkway campus following the incident on Dec. 6, with repairs to some impacted facilities already underway. The university also continues to review security infrastructure and practices at all of our campuses to ensure the continued safety of the university’s students, employees, and visitors.”
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