JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Today parents all across the country are questioning whether their child's dormitory is safe. At UNF, officials say they're doing everything in their power to make sure students here are protected.
It's an eerily quiet day on the University of North Florida's campus. Most have skipped town for spring break. But while school safety may be the last thing on students' minds, those behind the scenes are using this time to re-evaluate procedures in place here. I've learned there are already several in place at UNF's dorms.
"Every four to six weeks, we do health and safety inspections in the rooms just to make sure the overall health of the room is appropriate, there's an appropriate level of cleaning as well so if we see other violations we can call it out at that time," said Director of Housing/Residence Life Bob Boyle.
Boyle says from what he's learned so far, UCF did everything right Monday when an evicted student pulled a gun on someone in his dorm. They learned later that officers' quick response likely foiled a planned campus attack.
At UNF, guns and explosives aren't allowed. But the question many parents are asking is how can you really prevent it? We took that question to Boyle who says it's partly up to the school and partly up to the students.
"There is some personal responsibility upon our students to watch out for one another and their own personal safety and their surroundings, so hopefully if they see something they are going to speak up so we can help," he said.
Action News is told housing officers from colleges statewide get together once a year to share feedback. UNF's officers are looking forward to discussing UCF's response and what can be learned from it.
