RALEIGH — The University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA) has completed its review of an active shooter training conducted in September that drew controversy from students.
Around 50 student employees of UNCA’s Highsmith Student Union participated in the training led by UNCA Director of Emergency Management David Weldon.
One student who spoke with North State Journal said participants were very upset and that Weldon had told them to “sacrifice themselves.”
“The fact that [Weldon] told us that we should ‘sacrifice ourselves’ like Riley Howell at the UNCC campus … that was what kind of sent everyone off the edge,” the student said in an interview with North State Journal.
An Oct. 7 email sent to students and staff from UNCA Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Meghan Harte Weyant listed the review’s findings, which included the miscommunication about the training, lack of reasonable or responsible preparation, and improper implementation. The findings also acknowledged that the training “occurred in an open, public building without advance warning to building staff or patrons.”
While this training’s content was largely consistent with active shooter training presented by UNC Asheville since 2012, the program needs to be fully reviewed to determine what is best practice and how trainers and staff can best assess and determine the learning outcomes and impact.
“The end result of all of these issues together was that a critical training topic was implemented for student employees without the necessary care or consideration that is required for such content,” Weyant’s email states. “The staff involved did not reasonably or responsibly prepare and implement the training in a student centered or trauma-informed manner, thereby causing ongoing distress and concerns for the students impacted.”
Weyant also wrote that “Based upon these determinations, I am proposing for continued conversation the following recommendations and action items regarding active shooter training. Moving forward, I plan to work directly with a group of identified students who have asked to be part of the advisory board and with the Student Government Association to review, revise and implement these recommendations as necessary.”
Action items included in Weyant’s email include creating a Public Safety Advisory Board, a comprehensive set of policies and procedures for Active Shooter Training, as well as determining recommended spaces for hosting Active Shooter Training.
Weyant’s Oct. 7 email can be viewed here: https://nsjonline.com/weyent-email-oct-7-2022/
