The events of the past few months have made it difficult to feel safe inside campus. On November 21, 2013, a student was kidnapped from the North parking lot. On February 13, 2014, three Ateneo employees received a bomb threat via text message. Three hours after the threat was received, the entire campus was evacuated—but most students only began to move once they were told, “This is not a drill.”
At first, the alarm went unnoticed by most of the Atenean population. This dismissal is typical; fire and earthquake drills are often seen as an inconvenience. So much so that it would not be unfair to say that most Ateneans don’t know the difference between the fire alarm and the earthquake alarm. Eventually, faculty, staff and students were systematically herded out of classrooms and buildings to the designated evacuation areas. From there, they were lead to pedestrian gates 2.5 and 3.5, where the flow soon bottlenecked.
Clearly, there are issues with the Ateneo’s protocol on bomb threat evacuation systems. However, there is also an issue with how the populace responded to the alarm.
It is often easier to blame our security agency, Megaforce Integrated Security Agency (MISA), for the lapses in security inside the Ateneo. But it is impossible to completely secure an 83-hectare campus that is home not only to the Loyola Schools, but also to the Ateneo Grade School and High School, as well as a number of other offices. The problem does not solely lie on MISA’s shoulders, however; the Ateneo population partakes in campus security as well.
This should not come as a surprise. Compliance to the security rules is strictly enforced on campus, and these rules are not arbitrary. For example, being required to wear an ID at all times is seen, more often than not, as bothersome. It is, however, one of the first lines of protection for the Atenean population. In the press conference held on the day the bomb threat was issued, Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ said: “I think we need to be more sensitive in the way we conduct ourselves when we are on campus.” He added that students should “be more aware of these realities.”
In the wake of security lapses on campus, the spotlight is always fixed on MISA and new security measures instead of the investigation. Though tightening security is important, the investigation often gets waylaid—police investigations are long and arduous. It will probably take months for any of leads regarding the bomb threat to come to fruition—if at all. When it comes to police investigations, it has become the norm to not expect any resolution. But when thousands of lives are at risk, shouldn’t catching the culprit be the main priority? Other than making the Atenean population feel safe once again, catching the person who made the bomb threat could also prove to be a preventive measure.
The administration has since made promises of increasing security on campus: More deployment of security guards and more security protocols. If the Atenean population should hope to feel safe on campus once more, they must partake in these security measures. It sounds simplistic to advise following the ID wearing rule, or taking evacuation drills seriously, but often it is the easiest and most miniscule things that are important.
