10 Most Read Campus Safety Stories from October 2020
A wide variety of topics were of interest this month, including the Clery Act, campus police, tabletop exercises and the upcoming election.
For K-12 schools and college campuses, the month of October has been quite a roller coaster. Many campuses reopened for some form of in-person learning for the first time in nearly seven months only to be forced to go completely remote after a few weeks as coronavirus numbers spike.
However, our analytics show that this month, Campus Safety readers were interested in much more than just campus reopenings and closures. Many seem to be fatigued — both personally and professionally — by discussions of the virus since none of October’s top 10 stories revolve around the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whatever the case may be, we’re happy to see safety professionals paying attention to other important campus safety and security topics. Campus police reform and the Clery Act seem to still be of significant interest. The latter topic is likely receiving more attention due to the fact that the deadline for submitting Annual Security Reports (ASR) is quickly approaching on Dec. 31.
View this month’s most popular stories
We were also pleased to see that the first-ever installment of our multi-part scenario-based training series made the list. Guy Bliesner, an analyst for the Idaho Office of School Safety and Security, has graciously provided Campus Safety with a wide array of incidents that actually happened at Idaho schools within the last five years.
We will be releasing a new scenario every other week, which will provide details on the incident along with the actual outcome and findings from an after-action review. The second installment went up on the site yesterday and can be viewed here.
The remaining stories cover a plethora of topics, including a hospital shooting, the potential for campus unrest during the upcoming election, swatting, and a bizarre incident involving a machete and a sorority house.
And last, but not least, our fun article showcasing animals caught on video surveillance doing hilarious things made the cut. A little comedic relief once in a while can go a long way, especially during challenging times like these.
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About the Author
Amy Rock, Executive Editor
Amy is Campus Safety’s Executive Editor. Prior to joining the editorial team in 2017, she worked in both events and digital marketing.
Amy has many close relatives and friends who are teachers, motivating her to learn and share as much as she can about campus security. She has a minor in education and has worked with children in several capacities, further deepening her passion for keeping students safe.
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