By Laura Quain

The KU police department has been requested to instruct over 900 people in its active shooter program in fall 2016. Active shooter training, offered on campus, trains individuals how to react in an active shooter situation.

Requests have significantly increased over the past year, although, the program has been available in previous years upon request, according to Sgt. Barry Althouse of the KU police department.

KU health professor Bernadette Bamberger has her classes educated on how to act in an active shooter situation. “I feel it is important for students to have an understanding of an active shooter situation and how to respond to it, especially with what has happened in our country over the past few years,” said Bamberger.

The hope is to include this education as part of KU’s orientation process, with the intention that students will have this knowledge early and will then be able to apply it in both on and off campus situations. “You’re getting everyone on the same page from the get-go, and that’s important, especially for freshmen coming in,” said Althouse.

Althouse also said that being a freshman is an experience where students are coming into a new environment and it’s important to have the information to look at that new environment from the corner of the spectrum that thinks, ‘What would I do if something terrible happened here?’

The intent is to educate everyone on things that can be done to protect those involved before police are able to arrive, according to Althouse, who leads the classes.

The knowledge gained through the training is applicable to a variety of threatening events, which all require individuals to remain aware of their surroundings and to plan ahead in the event that a compromising situation may arise.

“If you cover that, you cover anything in between. If you look at the worst-case scenario and you’re prepared for that, everything else is easier on the spectrum of coming up with options on what to do,” said Althouse.

Select departments have chosen to have their faculty and staff educated on what to do in these situations. Training has also been offered on a class-to-class basis by the request of individual professors.

Anyone wishing to inquire about Active Threat Training Presentations, please contact 610-683-4002 or email publicsafety@kutztown.edu