Students and staff should ‘be prepared for demonstrations and the potential for confrontations,’ university states
George Washington University in Washington, D.C., will lock down its campus and implement new safety measures in anticipation of election violence.
“Reacting to the growing number of predictions of serious violence following Election Day… [GWU] has already coordinated additional campus safety and preparedness measures with District, state, and federal agencies,” John Banzhaf, a well-known activist professor of public interest law at GWU, stated in a news release Monday.
Banzhaf stated the school will “completely close some campus buildings and lock down all others, establish an emergency operations center to deal with outbreaks of violence, and possibly return to online classes.”
He also stated that while GWU warned of chaos in previous elections, this year’s is expected to be “far more contentious and violence prone.”
Experts predict violence regardless of who is elected, the professor added, noting the school implemented these measures following recommendations from Banzhaf, a former security officer.
In a news release on the university’s website, officials stated the campus community should “be prepared for demonstrations and the potential for confrontations that can result among protesters, counter-protesters, and law enforcement.”
Further, GWU’s Office of Emergency Management will send text and email alerts to students and staff if necessary.
GW Today, the school’s newspaper, sent a newsletter to students, including links to articles such as “How to Cope with Election Stress” and “What You Should Know about Election Day Preparedness and Safety.”
In one article, GWU Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology Katherine Woods states that stress levels are heightened this election season.
“It is different than elections of the past. Individuals are much more galvanized about what these politicians are going to bring to their lives—or take away from them,” she states.
Woods also states that students and staff should give themselves “time to mourn” if they are not happy with the election outcome.
In another article, Vice President for Safety and Operations Baxter Goodly states the school will “ensure full staffing of our GW Police Department and additional security personnel” and “lock buildings to restrict access to only GW community members.”
“Finally, given the complexity of Election Day and all the partners involved, the university continues to stay in close coordination with our local, state, and federal partners,” Goodly states.
MORE: GWU’s Election Day warning to students: stockpile ‘food, supplies, medicine’
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