My Employer Advises Flee or Hide in an Active Shooter Situation

by Kim D.

Last week I received an email from my employer with the subject line "Emergency Planning: Active Shooter Response Training."  I'll admit the subject matter grabbed my attention, and I was curious to see the advice offered.  The email claimed:

In recent years, reports of workplace violence and mass shootings have dominated the news, leaving many looking for answers. In response, we’ve identified several training resources developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for use in increasing awareness, enhancing preparedness and responding to active shooter and workplace violence scenarios.

Since 2002 I have worked as an online instructor for The Apollo Education Group which has allowed me to work from home, taking contracts and teaching courses for The University of Phoenix to facilitate adult educational needs. I do not report to a traditional UOP campus so I knew the advice the email offered didn't apply to me; nevertheless, I was curious to know what steps the company was taking to ensure the safety of employees and students on campus.

Included in the email was a link taking me to a message from Apollo's VP & Chief Ethics Compliance Officer, who basically offered a two-step action plan in the event of an active shooter situation: 1) flee or 2) hide. The video message also included a simulated action plan created by the Department of Homeland Security. 

Curiously, one piece of advice portrayed in the video was missing from Apollo's training instructions: fight back if directly confronted with a shooter. Red flags immediately began flying and I wondered what was the company's on-campus gun policy.

Like most college campuses nowadays, the policy promotes a gun-free zone which is potentially dangerous. Criminals and mentally disturbed people hell bent on causing mass casualties do not follow the law. Why would they follow a college campus policy? And why would an institution like The University of Phoenix be broadcasting that its campuses are gun-free zones? 

It would be nice, for once, if a large corporation acknowledged that the only true action plan against a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Banning weapons and restricting Second Amendment rights will never effectively reduce the potential of an active shooter situation.