ENDING CAMPUS VIOLENCE: NEW
APPROACHES TO PREVENTION
Dr. Brian Van Brunt, Ed.D
Director of Counseling
Western Kentucky University
NaBITA Advisory Board Member
www.nabita.org
brian.vanbrunt@wku.edu
Ending Campus Violence:
New Approaches to Prevention
www.amazon.com/Ending-Campus-Violence-ApproachesPrevention/dp/0415807441
www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415807449/
• A student posted the following last month…
•Today’s the day, I’ve been waiting for this for a
long time…I’ll be in the spotlight when the
room becomes all mine.
•I had a future and I still do if I play it right. No
fuck it, I had this plan its too late now, so say
goodnight.
•Every human contact that I’ve had always
awakens flight When I let my true self out so I
don’t instead I stay inside.
• Most wish that they were batman, I’m more
like the joker, to be honest.
• The sun is an illusion, but I’ll light up the world,
I’ll take out the men and the women and all the
boys and girls. The kids, they are just as bad, as
their parents they are just clones.
• I’m headed to the movies now this characters is
not scared. But the supporting actors might just
jump out of the chairs, not-nah, the jokers here
forget your meaningless prayers.
• Kent State sophomore and
computer science major, William
Koberna, was detected by
University officials monitoring
social media mentions of the
school when a profanity laced
tweet.
• The public tweet mentioned Kent
State, identified the university
president by name and included
a threat that he planned to be
“shooting up” the school.
7/25/2012
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/48406419/ns/today-today_tech/t/kent-state-studentcharged-threatening-school-twitter/
Understanding Why
• Seeking attention, expressing frustration: Some
students are frustrated and don’t have any other
outlet to express their frustrations. They turn to
social media as a voice for attention.
7
Understanding Why
• On August 30th and September 28th , the Des
Moines Area Community College Community
College (DMACC) detected two separate
threatening statements made about its school via
Twitter™.
• “Who wants to shoot up the DMACC Ankeny
campus the same time I shoot up the Urban
campus?” and
• “blow up DMACC”
Alex , T. ( 2011 , August 30 ). Threat to shoot up Des Moines college campus draws quick
response . www.desmoinesregister.com
8
Understanding Why
• On April 29th 2011, Taiwanese exchange student
Ching-Han Hu posted on her Facebook™ page “My
current wish is to take gun and shoot all my
classmates, enjoying their blood and scary."
• This followed an argument with another student
about a seating assignment in Orchestra class.
Ching-Han defended her actions explaining guns
are very difficult in China and this was not a
serious threat, but a moment of poor judgment.
Seigle , M. ( 2011 , April 29 ). UCA student threatens shooting on Facebook . www.todaysthv.com
9
Understanding Why
• On January 29, 2012, Umass
student Tyler Molander
distributed over 4000 letters
under the doors of students
living in UMass dormitories. The
odd letter was seen as
threatening by some and
necessitated a law enforcement
response.
www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/02/06/students-letter-causes-stir-umass
10
Understanding Why
• Trolling: The art of deliberately, cleverly, and secretly
pissing people off, usually via the Internet, using
dialogue.
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=trolling
11
Understanding Why
• Actual threat: A direct communicated threat that is
leakage for a potential plan they have to attack.
When violent writing or other content is discovered,
it should be explored.
• “Writings, drawings, and other forms of individual
expression reflecting violent fantasy and causing a
faculty member to be fearful or concerned about
safety, should be evaluated contextually for any
potential threat”
(O’Neill, Fox, Depue and Englander, 2008, 31).
12
Understanding Why
• Jared Loughner posted odd YouTube™ videos about
Pima College prior to his shooting in Tucson in
January 2011.
Couch , A. ( 2011 , January 12 ). Arizona shooting suspect Jared Loughner: 5 of his strange ideas .
13
Christian Science Monitor .
Understanding Why
• In 2009 at Henry Ford
Community College, Anthony
Powell fired a shotgun at a
black female college student
before using a handgun to kill
himself. He had posted a
series of hate-filled You Tube™
videos about atheists prior to
the shooting.
• YouTube clip: “I’m really thinking about killing myself. I
think I am going to do it. I’m just scared.”
Chicago Tribune staff ( 2009 , April 11 ). Two Shot At Michigan Community College . 14
Understanding Why
• Matti Juhani Saari wrote of his hatred for mankind
and posted several threatening YouTube™ clips prior
to his 2008 Finland shootings.
Charter , D. ( 2008 , September 26 ). Finland: classroom killers conspired to slaughter
schoolmates . The Times , UK
15
Understanding Why
• Kazmierczak came into Cole hall in 2008 and killed 5
students and injured over 21 and then killed himself.
Vann , D. ( 2008 ). Portrait of the School Shooter as a Young Man . Esquire , 150 ( 2 ): 114 .
16
Understanding Why
• Kimveer Singh Gill
(Payne, 2006) posted
on a social media site
the day before his
attack: “People are so
ignorant - September
12, 2006, 12:56:am
Fuck people Fuck Life
Fuck god.”
Doug , S. ( 2006 , September 15 ). Gunman’s Writings Presaged Rampage . The Washington17Post .
Understanding Why
• Seung-Hui Cho brought a hunting knife to a party and
proceeded to stab the carpet repeatedly prior to his
2006 shootings.
18
Understanding Why
• In a note left after the 2002
attack he writes, “I guess
what it is about is that it is a
reckoning. A settling of
accounts . . . and arrogance
of authorities. The University
is filled with too many people
who are filled with hubris.
They feel untouchable.”
New York Times ( 2002 , October 31 ). Gunman in Arizona Wrote of Plan to Kill . The New York
19
Times , p. 18 .
Understanding Why
• Luke Woodham wrote in his
suicide note, “It was not a cry
for attention, it was not a cry
for help. It was a scream in
sheer agony saying that if I
can’t pry your eyes open, if I
can’t do it through pacifism, if
I can’t show you through
displaying of intelligence, then
I will do it with a bullet.”
Chua-Eoan , H. , & Monroe , S. ( 1997 ). Mississippi gothic . Time , 150 ( 16 ): 54
20
Understanding Why
• Marc Lépine wrote in his
suicide note, “Would you note
that if I commit suicide today
89-12-06 it is not for economic
reasons (for I have waited until
I exhausted all my financial
means, even refusing jobs) but
for political reasons. Because I
have decided to send the
feminists, who have always
ruined my life, to their Maker.”
National Post Staff ( 2006 , December 8 ). Lone gunman: The Ecole Polytechnique massacre was
21
a freak tragedy. So why is every man made to feel guilty for it? National Post .
Understanding
Given… Why
• Rise in social media usage (62% of adults) *
• Millennium generation, students feel unique and
entitled to express their opinion
• Schools overwhelmed with the prospect of
monitoring social media through conduct
• Freedom of speech concerns
• Missing something and tried in the court of the
media (University of Colorado and Pima)
* Connecting and Communicating Online: State of Social media (2012). Harris Interactive.
22
We Need BIT/TAT
• A Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) or Threat
Assessment Team (TAT) is a group of college staff
and faculty who assess at-risk situations on their
campus and develop action plans to remediate the
situation.
• Teams are typically made up of 5-7 members and
meet weekly for 1-2 hours.
We Need BIT/TAT
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT)
Student Crisis Action Team (SCAT)
Communicating Action Response for Emergency (CARE)
Care and Action for Students Team (CAST)
Student Protection Response Team (SPRT)
Action for Students in Suffering Team (ASIST)
Ensuring Action for Students in Emergency (EASE)
Action Crisis Team for Students (ACTS)
Care Team, Campus Partners, Networks
We Need BIT/TAT
• Deans of Students (114 teams), often synonymous
with Vice Presidents of Student Affairs (61)
• Counseling Center Directors (153 teams)
• Directors of Departments of Public Safety (139 teams)
• Housing Directors (125 teams)
• Student Conduct Officers (112 teams)
• Health Services Directors (81 teams)
• Faculty Representatives (72 teams)
University of Louisville’s 2010 survey
We Need BIT/TAT
Reduce Silos
•
•
•
•
•
Increase information sharing
Walk in each other’s shoes
Task/goal oriented to solution
More cooperation
Go beyond basic department
responsibilities
We Need BIT/TAT
Improve
Communication
• More frequent interaction
• Understanding different
perspectives
• Knowing other departments
• Cross training/conferences
We Need BIT/TAT
Mitigate Risk
• Collective identification of atrisk student behaviors
• Careful analysis and
understanding the context
• Group approach to
developing action plan
We Need BIT/TAT
Identify Threat
• Identify threatening and
dangerous behavior,
thoughts and attitudes
• Develop threat assessment
techniques to assess threat
We Need BIT/TAT
Family
Connect
to
Resources
Staff/DOS
Therapy
Student
Health
ADA/Tutor
Conduct
Faculty
We Need BIT/TAT
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ability to be connected to campus
Quick response to high risk concerns
Delegation of tasks on team for follow-up
Clear documentation to create “paper trail”
Stance on “sensors” vs. open referrals
Stance on advertising vs. “star chamber”
Behavior based, not diagnosis or opinion
Commitment to meet, train, review,
improve (faster, better, stronger…)
Understand Cognitive Aggression
• Rampage shooters don’t just “snap”
– There is often a long history of planning and
developing their agenda, mission, revenge or larger
purpose to their attack.
– BIT and TAT teams have an opportunity to gather
information and hopefully identify an at-risk student
as they escalate on the path to violence.
– This isn’t done to target and “neutralize” risks, but
instead to indentify potentially concerning behavior
and connect them to services and supports in order
to build connection and reduce the potential risk.
32
Understand Cognitive Aggression
• Need an Example? Look to Anders Breivik in Norway…
– Planned his attack over 10 years
– Painstakingly detailed his acquisitions of weapons,
bomb making materials
– Developed an exercise, nutrition and drug
enhancement program
– Conducted test runs
– Buried weapons and ammo
– Protected plan from friends
– Practiced skills on simulation games
– Investment in daily rituals
33
Understand Cognitive Aggression
• Early stages of the cognitive aggression model point
toward behavioral symptoms to identify:
– Level One: Hardened Point Of View
– Level Two: Harmful Debate
– Level Three: Action versus Words
www.aggressionmanagement.com/
34
What should we do?
• Initial Response: Make it conservative based on a
worst case scenario
• Threat Assessment Interview: Build rapport and
connection, following principles:
– Is this a direct communicated threat?
– Is there an action and time imperative?
– Are there organized or disorganized thoughts?
– Is their a focus or fixation to threats?
– History of instability, impulsive action
35
What should we do?
• Asses if he has the plans, tools, weapons,
schematics and materials to carry out an
attack on a potential target.
– (e.g. he has begun to acquire weapons, make lists of
weapons or objectives)
– US Post Office (2007); ATAP (2006); Turner and Gelles (2003)
36
What should we do?
• He increases his perseveration on the person
or object he is targeting.
– (e.g. talking incessantly about person or place, borders on
ranting)
– Meloy et al. (2011); ASIS and SHRM (2011); ATAP (2006); Turner and Gelles
(2003)
37
What should we do?
• Determine if there is an action and time
imperative to complete an attack on a target.
– (e.g. indication of impending action such as: “They are
going to be sorry if they give me a poor evaluation.” or “I’m
going to take care of them this weekend.”)
– Meloy et al. (2011); ATAP (2006); Turner and Gelles (2003)
38
What should we do?
• Ascertain the degree he is fixated and focused
on his target in his actions and threatening
statements.
– “Everyone is causing me to fail at college” versus
– “It’s Becky, that bitch, from the KGA Sorority that is going to
pay”
– Meloy et al. (2011); O’Toole and Bowman (2011); ASIS and SHRM (2011); US
39
Post Office (2007); Turner and Gelles (2003)
What should we do?
• DMACC’s marketing department used a company
called radian6 out of Nova Scotia, Canada
(www.radian6.com) to detect the threat and
notify authorities. Other companies that offer this
type of “listening platform” include:
• Cisionpoint www.cisionpoint.com
• Vocus www.vocus.com ,
• Sysomos www.sysomos.com
40
What should we do?
Break, Arson, Blow up, Kill, Payback, Weise, Fire, Shooting,
Kaczynski, Virginia Tech, Hurt, Mayhem, Unibomber, Eric
Harris, Ted Kaczynski, Die, Kazmierczak, Rape, Assassinate,
Gun, Provoke, Carl Roberts, IED, Hit list, Fight, Seung-Hui Cho,
Northern Illinois University, Shoot, Hitler, Shoot up, Slaughter,
Destruct, Red Lake, Bomb, Hatred, VT, Violate, Bombing,
Weapon, Destroy, Bombs, Plotting, Steven Kazmierczak, VTech, Maim, Manifesto, Branch Davidians, Jihad, Stab,
Unabomber, Lash out, Cho, Massacre, Crush, Guns, Roberts,
V Tech, West Nickel Mines, Explosives, Klebold, Rape, Attack,
Anger, Trench coat mafia, North Hollywood Shootout,
Loughner, April 20, Columbine, Waco, Wound, Oklahoma City,
Adolf Hitler, Punch, Jeff Weise, Dylan Klebold, Murder, Jared
Loughner, Suicide, Weapons, Bloodshed, Assassinate.
41
What should we avoid doing?
• Under-reaction: Following a ‘boys will be boys’ kind
of attitude to avoid potential threat
• Over-reaction: zero-tolerance policies make it worse
• College administrations under-react, downplay
threat and adopt a “students are experimenting and
finding their voice”---missing a potential threat.
• College administrations over-react, employ knee-jerk
zero tolerance polices ---exacerbating the threatener
and running the risk of making the situation worse.
42
What should we avoid doing?
“Do not rely on expulsion except as a last resort and
unless absolutely necessary to ensure campus
safety; authorities should avoid the temptation to
simply expel students of concern to quickly resolve a
risk. Isolated from other contingency and safety
planning, this strategy sometimes can worsen
matters. The final humiliation of expulsion may
serve as a precipitating, or triggering, stressor.”
Scalora, Simons and Vansly (2010, FBI Bulletin p.7)
43
What should we avoid doing?
• Let the media drive the train: Use solid threat
assessment principles---not statements like:
– “We’re not playing games,” Mansfield (Kent State)
said. “When someone posts something like this,
we’re going to respond immediately to make sure
our campus is safe.”
44
Final Thoughts
•
•
•
•
Respond quickly to potential threat
Build connection, establish rapport
Assess nature of threat
Develop next step plan to mitigate risk
– Counseling
– Parent contact/involvement
– Conduct meeting/probation
• Avoid knee-jerk, one-size-fits-all approach
45
Final Thoughts
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Attend to bullying behavior (both sides)
Ensure access to counseling
Attend to leakage of potential attack (manifestos)
Avoid under/over reactions- Goldilocks
Attend to conflicts with supervisor/authority figure
Those feeling trapped and hopeless
Obsessional hate toward others
Sociopathic; taking pleasure in harm
Reaction to conduct decision
46
Final Thoughts
• Ending Campus Violence:
New Approaches to
Prevention
www.amazon.com/EndingCampus-ViolenceApproachesPrevention/dp/04158074
41
www.routledge.com/books/
details/9780415807449/
47