Chancellor Michael Drake
Update Regarding Sept. 13 Incident
Sept. 15, 2009

Dear Colleagues:

Last night, as a follow-up to Sunday’s tragic incident in our graduate student apartments, we held a forum with Verano Place and Palo Verde residents. Student Affairs Vice Chancellor Manuel Gomez, Assistant Police Chief Jeff Hutchison, Graduate Dean Frances Leslie, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Counseling & Health Services Thomas Parham and I were present to facilitate processing of the incident, answer questions and address concerns. I would like to reiterate key points in our discussion.

First, UC Irvine is a very safe campus. Sunday’s regrettable incident was the first of its kind in our campus’s history, and we are located in one of the safest cities in America. We are extraordinarily fortunate to have a highly trained UCI police force; their response to and management of last weekend’s events – assisted by the Irvine Police Department and Verano residents – was immediate, effective and very professional. We are safe largely because we emphasize safety and we will continue to do so.

Regarding concerns about firearms on campus, it is forbidden by state law (it is a felony) and university policy to have guns or other weapons on campus. This is emphasized repeatedly on our Web sites and in materials distributed to campus community members. Although we cannot possibly know or control what every individual brings to campus, it is critical that we maintain a vigilant community, where violations of law or policy are brought to light and addressed before they escalate. We must all be active participants in the effort to keep our campus safe.

Second, questions were raised about the purpose and timing of ZotAlerts and ZotMail. Each serves a specific purpose: ZotAlerts – text messages to cellphones – are sent when there is an evolving situation with potential safety risks and immediate action is required, such as locking doors and remaining in place. ZotMails – messages to campus email addresses – are informational updates not requiring immediate action, even when the subject is very serious as it was earlier this week. On Sunday evening, there was no imminent danger to the campus community because the suspect had been apprehended within minutes of the incident and was in police custody; therefore we used Zotmail and the UC Irvine home page as our primary means of communication.

Third, some residents were concerned that news of Sunday’s events was appearing on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter before they received official notification or updates from the campus. While social networking sites may certainly post information more quickly than we do, the information is not necessarily credible. Our priority is getting accurate, verified information to the campus community as quickly as possible. We avoid speculation and do not amplify or spread rumors.

Finally, the campus recognizes that academic life can be stressful, particularly when compounded by personal circumstances. It is important that everyone realize that there is a wide range of campus resources – from counseling and mental health services to violence prevention – that are available to all. For information: www.chs.uci.edu.

I would like to thank the Verano and Palo Verde residents who participated in last night’s forum. Their concerns and insights are invaluable as we continually improve our strategies and procedures for keeping UC Irvine safe for all members of the campus community.