McCarthy’s new bill protects students
April 9, 2008 by Michael H. Samuels
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy today introduced a bill before Congress requiring universities to notify students of emergencies on campus within 30 minutes of it being confirmed by state or local police.
The bill, called the Virginia Tech Victims Campus Emergency Response Policy and Notification Act, is a direct result of the massacre that occurred on the Virginia Tech University campus last year.
McCarthy spokesman Ray Zaccaro said students at Virginia Tech were not informed of the shootings on the campus until two hours after the first shots were fired. He said many of them would not have attended classes and their lives could have been saved if they knew what was going on sooner.
The bill also requires that the emergency response and evacuation procedures are publicized to students and staff and tested annually.
