Throughout our precious years of existence, we have learned to appreciate the concept of self-preservation. Pain sucks, and that's that. There's no reason why protecting ourselves shouldn't be at the top of our list of personal priorities.
That's why the Editorial Board is torn on today's issue.
Former officials from the U.S. Department of State and FBI created an if-something-goes-down-then-here's-what-you-do video for students and faculty who find themselves in the line of fire on campus. The instructional video is available to universities for purchase, and 500 universities nationwide have already picked up a copy.
UF is not on that list.
Don't worry just yet. Yes, your school still loves you and cares about your safety. They just haven't bought the video because the University Police Department already has an in-case-of-emergency video.
The difference is that the federally distributed video teaches tactics for a face-to-face confrontation with an assailant, whereas UPD prefers that we choose our flight reflex rather than give into our urge to fight, except as a last resort.
Here's where we can't quite make up our minds.
We would like to think that, when presented with a deadly situation, we would have a primary option besides desperately searching for an escape route because that may not be the best reaction given the circumstances.
Instead, the video recommends that we employ a physical defense only when given an opportunity to disarm the shooter.
Well, that sounds all fine and dandy, but there are holes in that kind of logic. How the hell would we disarm the gunman?
Obviously, if some maniac busts down a classroom door wielding a rifle straight from Rainbow Six, we aren't about to try to disarm him. We're jumping lecterns and sliding between desks to get the hell out of the nearest window.
The video instructs us to utilize our surroundings. If we're backed into a corner and staring down a gun barrel, a hot cup of coffee is the last thing that we would think to use as a weapon.
MacGyver may have been able to take down an armed assailant with only a spiral notebook, a mechanical pencil and his shoelaces, but the Editorial Board lacks his level of improvisational training.
We understand UF doesn't want to show a video that may give its students any ideas about how to be the hero when lives are at stake.
After all, nobody wants a high-strung undergrad on a steady balance of Red Bull and insomnia to spring to action when a door slams too loudly, causing him to revert to his video training and bludgeon an unsuspecting freshman with his organic chemistry textbook.
Maybe we're misunderstanding the situation because we haven't seen the video.
Still, the thought of turning to a cell phone or a flimsy used textbook to save our lives isn't exactly comforting.
Students' safety should always be a top priority, so we're happy that UPD has some sort of plan for us, but it isn't hard to doubt the effectiveness of random classroom items against a crazy with a gun.
