Ending Campus Violence: New Approaches To Prevention

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Ending Campus Violence New Approaches To
Prevention

• Dr. Brian Van Brunt, Ed.D
• Director of Counseling
• Western Kentucky University
• NaBITA Advisory Board Member
• www.nabita.org
• brian.vanbrunt_at_wku.edu
  

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• Ending Campus Violence
• New Approaches to Prevention
• www.amazon.com/Ending-Campus-Violence-Approaches-P
  revention/dp/0415807441
• www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415807449/

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• A student posted the following last month

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• Todays the day, Ive been waiting for this for a
  long timeIll be in the spotlight when the room
  becomes all mine.
• I had a future and I still do if I play it right.
  No fuck it, I had this plan its too late now, so
  say goodnight.
• Every human contact that Ive had always awakens
  flight When I let my true self out so I dont
  instead I stay inside.

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• Most wish that they were batman, Im more like
  the joker, to be honest.
• The sun is an illusion, but Ill light up the
  world, Ill take out the men and the women and
  all the boys and girls. The kids, they are just
  as bad, as their parents they are just clones.
• Im headed to the movies now this characters is
  not scared. But the supporting actors might just
  jump out of the chairs, not-nah, the jokers here
  forget your meaningless prayers.

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• Kent State sophomore and computer science major,
  William Koberna, was detected by University
  officials monitoring social media mentions of the
  school when a profanity laced tweet.
• The public tweet mentioned Kent State, identified
  the university president by name and included a
  threat that he planned to be shooting up the
  school. 7/25/2012

http//today.msnbc.msn.com/id/48406419/ns/today-to
day_tech/t/kent-state-student-charged-threatening-
school-twitter/
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Understanding Why

• Seeking attention, expressing frustration Some
  students are frustrated and dont have any other
  outlet to express their frustrations. They turn
  to social media as a voice for attention.

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Understanding Why

• On August 30th and September 28th , the Des
  Moines Area Community College Community College
  (DMACC) detected two separate threatening
  statements made about its school via Twitter.
• Who wants to shoot up the DMACC Ankeny campus
  the same time I shoot up the Urban campus? and
• blow up DMACC

Alex , T. ( 2011 , August 30 ). Threat to shoot
up Des Moines college campus draws quick response
. www.desmoinesregister.com
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Understanding Why

• On April 29th 2011, Taiwanese exchange student
  Ching-Han Hu posted on her Facebook page My
  current wish is to take gun and shoot all my
  classmates, enjoying their blood and scary."
• This followed an argument with another student
  about a seating assignment in Orchestra class.
  Ching-Han defended her actions explaining guns
  are very difficult in China and this was not a
  serious threat, but a moment of poor judgment.

Seigle , M. ( 2011 , April 29 ). UCA student
threatens shooting on Facebook . www.todaysthv.com
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Understanding Why

• On January 29, 2012, Umass student Tyler Molander
  distributed over 4000 letters under the doors of
  students living in UMass dormitories. The odd
  letter was seen as threatening by some and
  necessitated a law enforcement response.

www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/02/06/students-le
tter-causes-stir-umass
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Understanding Why

• Trolling The art of deliberately, cleverly, and
  secretly pissing people off, usually via the
  Internet, using dialogue.

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?termtrolling
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Understanding Why

• Actual threat A direct communicated threat that
  is leakage for a potential plan they have to
  attack. When violent writing or other content is
  discovered, it should be explored.
• Writings, drawings, and other forms of
  individual expression reflecting violent fantasy
  and causing a faculty member to be fearful or
  concerned about safety, should be evaluated
  contextually for any potential threat
• (ONeill, Fox, Depue and Englander, 2008, 31).

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Understanding Why

• Jared Loughner posted odd YouTube videos about
  Pima College prior to his shooting in Tucson in
  January 2011.

Couch , A. ( 2011 , January 12 ). Arizona
shooting suspect Jared Loughner 5 of his strange
ideas . Christian Science Monitor .
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Understanding Why

• In 2009 at Henry Ford Community College, Anthony
  Powell fired a shotgun at a black female college
  student before using a handgun to kill himself.
  He had posted a series of hate-filled You Tube
  videos about atheists prior to the shooting.

• YouTube clip Im really thinking about killing
  myself. I think I am going to do it. Im just
  scared.

Chicago Tribune staff ( 2009 , April 11 ). Two
Shot At Michigan Community College .
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Understanding Why

• Matti Juhani Saari wrote of his hatred for
  mankind and posted several threatening YouTube
  clips prior to his 2008 Finland shootings.

Charter , D. ( 2008 , September 26 ). Finland
classroom killers conspired to slaughter
schoolmates . The Times , UK
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Understanding Why

• Kazmierczak came into Cole hall in 2008 and
  killed 5 students and injured over 21 and then
  killed himself.

Vann , D. ( 2008 ). Portrait of the School
Shooter as a Young Man . Esquire , 150 ( 2 ) 114
.
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Understanding Why

• Kimveer Singh Gill (Payne, 2006) posted on a
  social media site the day before his attack
  People are so ignorant - September 12, 2006,
  1256am Fuck people Fuck Life Fuck god.

Doug , S. ( 2006 , September 15 ). Gunmans
Writings Presaged Rampage . The Washington Post .
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Understanding Why

• Seung-Hui Cho brought a hunting knife to a party
  and proceeded to stab the carpet repeatedly prior
  to his 2006 shootings.

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Understanding Why

• In a note left after the 2002 attack he writes,
  I guess what it is about is that it is a
  reckoning. A settling of accounts . . . and
  arrogance of authorities. The University is
  filled with too many people who are filled with
  hubris. They feel untouchable.

New York Times ( 2002 , October 31 ). Gunman in
Arizona Wrote of Plan to Kill . The New
York Times , p. 18 .
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Understanding Why

• Luke Woodham wrote in his suicide note, It was
  not a cry for attention, it was not a cry for
  help. It was a scream in sheer agony saying that
  if I cant pry your eyes open, if I cant do it
  through pacifism, if I cant show you through
  displaying of intelligence, then I will do it
  with a bullet.

Chua-Eoan , H. , Monroe , S. ( 1997 ).
Mississippi gothic . Time , 150 ( 16 ) 54
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Understanding Why

• Marc Lépine wrote in his suicide note, Would you
  note that if I commit suicide today 89-12-06 it
  is not for economic reasons (for I have waited
  until I exhausted all my financial means, even
  refusing jobs) but for political reasons. Because
  I have decided to send the feminists, who have
  always ruined my life, to their Maker.

National Post Staff ( 2006 , December 8 ). Lone
gunman The Ecole Polytechnique massacre was a
freak tragedy. So why is every man made to feel
guilty for it? National Post .
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Understanding Why
Given

• Rise in social media usage (62 of adults)
• Millennium generation, students feel unique and
  entitled to express their opinion
• Schools overwhelmed with the prospect of
  monitoring social media through conduct
• Freedom of speech concerns
• Missing something and tried in the court of the
  media (University of Colorado and Pima)

Connecting and Communicating Online State of
Social media (2012). Harris Interactive.
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We Need BIT/TAT

• A Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) or Threat
  Assessment Team (TAT) is a group of college staff
  and faculty who assess at-risk situations on
  their campus and develop action plans to
  remediate the situation.
• Teams are typically made up of 5-7 members and
  meet weekly for 1-2 hours.

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We Need BIT/TAT
Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) Student
Crisis Action Team (SCAT) Communicating Action
Response for Emergency (CARE) Care and Action
for Students Team (CAST) Student Protection
Response Team (SPRT) Action for Students in
Suffering Team (ASIST) Ensuring Action for
Students in Emergency (EASE) Action Crisis Team
for Students (ACTS) Care Team, Campus Partners,
Networks
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We Need BIT/TAT

• Deans of Students (114 teams), often synonymous
  with Vice Presidents of Student Affairs (61)
• Counseling Center Directors (153 teams)
• Directors of Departments of Public Safety (139
  teams)
• Housing Directors (125 teams)
• Student Conduct Officers (112 teams)
• Health Services Directors (81 teams)
• Faculty Representatives (72 teams)

University of Louisvilles 2010 survey
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Reduce Silos
We Need BIT/TAT

• Increase information sharing
• Walk in each others shoes
• Task/goal oriented to solution
• More cooperation
• Go beyond basic department responsibilities

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Improve Communication
We Need BIT/TAT

• More frequent interaction
• Understanding different perspectives
• Knowing other departments
• Cross training/conferences

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Mitigate Risk
We Need BIT/TAT

• Collective identification of at-risk student
  behaviors
• Careful analysis and understanding the context
• Group approach to developing action plan

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Identify Threat
We Need BIT/TAT

• Identify threatening and dangerous behavior,
  thoughts and attitudes
• Develop threat assessment techniques to assess
  threat

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Connect to Resources
We Need BIT/TAT
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We Need BIT/TAT

• Ability to be connected to campus
• Quick response to high risk concerns
• Delegation of tasks on team for follow-up
• Clear documentation to create paper trail
• Stance on sensors vs. open referrals
• Stance on advertising vs. star chamber
• Behavior based, not diagnosis or opinion
• Commitment to meet, train, review, improve
  (faster, better, stronger)

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Understand Cognitive Aggression

• Rampage shooters dont just snap
• There is often a long history of planning and
  developing their agenda, mission, revenge or
  larger purpose to their attack.
• BIT and TAT teams have an opportunity to gather
  information and hopefully identify an at-risk
  student as they escalate on the path to violence.
• This isnt done to target and neutralize risks,
  but instead to indentify potentially concerning
  behavior and connect them to services and
  supports in order to build connection and reduce
  the potential risk.

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Understand Cognitive Aggression

• Need an Example? Look to Anders Breivik in
  Norway
• Planned his attack over 10 years
• Painstakingly detailed his acquisitions of
  weapons, bomb making materials
• Developed an exercise, nutrition and drug
  enhancement program
• Conducted test runs
• Buried weapons and ammo
• Protected plan from friends
• Practiced skills on simulation games
• Investment in daily rituals

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Understand Cognitive Aggression

• Early stages of the cognitive aggression model
  point toward behavioral symptoms to identify
• Level One Hardened Point Of View
• Level Two Harmful Debate
• Level Three Action versus Words

www.aggressionmanagement.com/
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What should we do?

• Initial Response Make it conservative based on a
  worst case scenario
• Threat Assessment Interview Build rapport and
  connection, following principles
• Is this a direct communicated threat?
• Is there an action and time imperative?
• Are there organized or disorganized thoughts?
• Is their a focus or fixation to threats?
• History of instability, impulsive action

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What should we do?

• Asses if he has the plans, tools, weapons,
  schematics and materials to carry out an attack
  on a potential target.
• (e.g. he has begun to acquire weapons, make lists
  of weapons or objectives)

• US Post Office (2007) ATAP (2006) Turner and
  Gelles (2003)

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What should we do?

• He increases his perseveration on the person or
  object he is targeting.
• (e.g. talking incessantly about person or place,
  borders on ranting)

• Meloy et al. (2011) ASIS and SHRM (2011) ATAP
  (2006) Turner and Gelles (2003)

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What should we do?

• Determine if there is an action and time
  imperative to complete an attack on a target.
• (e.g. indication of impending action such as
  They are going to be sorry if they give me a
  poor evaluation. or Im going to take care of
  them this weekend.)

• Meloy et al. (2011) ATAP (2006) Turner and
  Gelles (2003)

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What should we do?

• Ascertain the degree he is fixated and focused on
  his target in his actions and threatening
  statements.
• Everyone is causing me to fail at college
  versus
• Its Becky, that bitch, from the KGA Sorority
  that is going to pay

• Meloy et al. (2011) OToole and Bowman (2011)
  ASIS and SHRM (2011) US Post Office (2007)
  Turner and Gelles (2003)

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What should we do?

• DMACCs marketing department used a company
  called radian6 out of Nova Scotia, Canada
  (www.radian6.com) to detect the threat and notify
  authorities. Other companies that offer this type
  of listening platform include
• Cisionpoint www.cisionpoint.com
• Vocus www.vocus.com ,
• Sysomos www.sysomos.com

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What should we do?

• Break, Arson, Blow up, Kill, Payback, Weise,
  Fire, Shooting, Kaczynski, Virginia Tech, Hurt,
  Mayhem, Unibomber, Eric Harris, Ted Kaczynski,
  Die, Kazmierczak, Rape, Assassinate, Gun,
  Provoke, Carl Roberts, IED, Hit list, Fight,
  Seung-Hui Cho, Northern Illinois University,
  Shoot, Hitler, Shoot up, Slaughter, Destruct, Red
  Lake, Bomb, Hatred, VT, Violate, Bombing, Weapon,
  Destroy, Bombs, Plotting, Steven Kazmierczak,
  V-Tech, Maim, Manifesto, Branch Davidians, Jihad,
  Stab, Unabomber, Lash out, Cho, Massacre, Crush,
  Guns, Roberts, V Tech, West Nickel Mines,
  Explosives, Klebold, Rape, Attack, Anger, Trench
  coat mafia, North Hollywood Shootout, Loughner,
  April 20, Columbine, Waco, Wound, Oklahoma City,
  Adolf Hitler, Punch, Jeff Weise, Dylan Klebold,
  Murder, Jared Loughner, Suicide, Weapons,
  Bloodshed, Assassinate.

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What should we avoid doing?

• Under-reaction Following a boys will be boys
  kind of attitude to avoid potential threat
• Over-reaction zero-tolerance policies make it
  worse
• College administrations under-react, downplay
  threat and adopt a students are experimenting
  and finding their voice---missing a potential
  threat.
• College administrations over-react, employ
  knee-jerk zero tolerance polices ---exacerbating
  the threatener and running the risk of making the
  situation worse.

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What should we avoid doing?

• Do not rely on expulsion except as a last resort
  and unless absolutely necessary to ensure campus
  safety authorities should avoid the temptation
  to simply expel students of concern to quickly
  resolve a risk. Isolated from other contingency
  and safety planning, this strategy sometimes can
  worsen matters. The final humiliation of
  expulsion may serve as a precipitating, or
  triggering, stressor.
• Scalora, Simons and Vansly (2010, FBI Bulletin
  p.7)

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What should we avoid doing?

• Let the media drive the train Use solid threat
  assessment principles---not statements like
• Were not playing games, Mansfield (Kent State)
  said. When someone posts something like this,
  were going to respond immediately to make sure
  our campus is safe.

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Final Thoughts

• Respond quickly to potential threat
• Build connection, establish rapport
• Assess nature of threat
• Develop next step plan to mitigate risk
• Counseling
• Parent contact/involvement
• Conduct meeting/probation
• Avoid knee-jerk, one-size-fits-all approach

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Final Thoughts

• Attend to bullying behavior (both sides)
• Ensure access to counseling
• Attend to leakage of potential attack
  (manifestos)
• Avoid under/over reactions- Goldilocks
• Attend to conflicts with supervisor/authority
  figure
• Those feeling trapped and hopeless
• Obsessional hate toward others
• Sociopathic taking pleasure in harm
• Reaction to conduct decision

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Final Thoughts

• Ending Campus Violence New Approaches to
  Prevention
• www.amazon.com/Ending-Campus-Violence-Approaches-P
  revention/dp/0415807441
• www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415807449/