Evening PVCC Lockdown Drill

Bryn Dotson, assistant editor

Campus was quiet at 6:55 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 18. Some students mingled in small groups outside of Perk Up cafe, a few focused on their screens in the Bolick center, and others hastily walked to class. In the library, it was silent. The second PVCC lockdown drill of the day was just about to happen. While students clicked away on their keyboards and scribbled with their pencils, the librarians prepared the library for the drill.

“All of the students in the library stay pretty composed,” one of the librarians explained, motioning at the quiet room. “It’s just business as usual here.”

As 7 p.m. approached, the energy in the room remained the same. The librarians flanked the opposing sides of the library, locking doors and turning off lights as they went.

One student tried to leave but realized they were locked in; another rushed from a study room into the main room. The librarians nestled into their chairs and waited.

After a few minutes, a sharp alarm sounded over the speakers and every cell phone and computer in the room chimed. The first text message came in stating, “DRILL-LOCKDOWN immediately. Stay in a secure location until further notice. Disregard alarms.” Following directly after was the message that there were gunshots heard and an active shooter on campus. The monitors of the school’s computers first went blank, then displayed the message “WARNING” in red and “ACTIVE SCHOOL SHOOTER ON CAMPUS” in bright yellow letters. Many people’s faces scrunched as they stared at the words displayed on the screens, and others frantically grabbed their phones.

As soon as the drill began, it was over. The alarms ceased, screens returned to their original state, and students settled back into their chairs. Hissing whispers circulated through the room as students began packing up. A couple of students inquired about the nature of the drill; others asked if the active shooter message was intentional.

Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services Kim McManus explained that an error had been made when sending out the drill messages. The active shooter message went out instead of the planned drill message.

“Thanks to our social media team, we were able to quickly respond to people’s concerns,” McManus said. “That said, we do empathize with the people that were scared or frightened.”

The morning drill was carried out without a hitch.