DRILL BY THE BOOK—Aries Vergara, 19, and her friends hide in the hallway between bookshelves and study rooms to stay out of sight of the windows during the active shooter drill on November 4, 2015.

In 1999 Southwestern College dodged a bullet when Norman Burkett was arrested at a gas station across the street with an assault rifle and 265 rounds of high velocity ammunition. SWC Police Chief Michael Cash said it was time to prepare for the unthinkable.

Cash coordinated a district-wide drill he said tested the preparedness of the students, faculty, campus police and emergency technology. Emails were sent to students and staff informing them of the drill time. At 10:30 a.m. the drill began. Blue emergency pole sirens and their flashing lights alerted students. Amanda Mosure, 21, marine biology, was participating in a Dance Club fund raiser outside the Student Center during the drill.

“I saw lights flashing from the pole down by the buses,” she said, “but the blue pole in front of the ASO building didn’t go off at all.”

Mosure and other members of the Dance Club said they knew about the drill, but were not forced to participate. They stood outside and continued to fund raise. Some employees said they were concerned about the amount of information provided before the drill. Professor of French Nora Portillo said she was disappointed in the drill.

“The information sent to us was on a short notice and it was not very detailed,” she said. “I did not think that I was well prepared, nor informed to guide my students.”

Benny Pastrana, bookstore operations assistant, agreed. Pastrana said the bookstore has its own emergency procedure, but he was not sure if the employees there should follow that procedure or do something else. He said he was not instructed on drill procedures, so the store continued its normal operation. In the Learning Resource Center Kimberly Bedolla, 19, business law, reported a different experience.

“They announced when the drill was about to begin,” she said. “They instructed us to stay away from the windows and told us the doors were going to be locked.”

Bedolla said it was an effective drill and now she knows how to react if there was an active shooter on campus. SWC President Dr. Melinda Nish said she told Cash the phones and emergency communication worked well, but classroom locks were a major issue.

“The doors have to be locked from outside with a key,” Nish said. “There was no way to lock the doors and get back inside.”

California Assembly Bill 211 passed in 2010 states that any new classrooms built after July 1, 2011 must have the ability to lock from the inside. Most of the campus was built before 2011, but the new classrooms in DeVore Stadium, finished in 2014, cannot be locked from the inside, a violation of the law. Nish also said she was not completely satisfied with the blue poles.

“In the 1600 building we didn’t hear anything, we didn’t see anything,” she said. “That’s why we needed this drill.”

Cash said he was pleased with the initial feedback from the drill, but was waiting to receive the surveys sent to the faculty and students.

“We are going to get together with the ASO and the safety committee and see how well we did and what we need to change,” he said.

Cash said another purpose of the drill was to train the students and staff on how to react during an active shooter scenario, but not everyone was willing to participate.

“People are going to be people and do what they want to do,” he said. “Our job is to get the information out to our students and staff, and give them the best tools.”

Alerts were sent via email, text and phone prior to and during the drill, but not all students received warnings or information about the drill.

Cash said he urges all students to login to WebAdvisor to verify and update personal information so they can be notified of future drills or real emergencies on campus.