LMC president, Bob Kratochvil, is eager to begin some remodeling. Not the kind that we see taking place around LMC, but more so on how we do things. In his six months as president, he plans to start by reconstituting the Safety Committee. The Safety Committee is held on campus with faculty, staff and classified students welcome. It is then that any hazardous issues, drills or problems with violence may be addressed. LMC’s Safety Committee has been inactive for the past few semesters and Kratochvil is currently working with police services to bring it back.

“We want to make sure that managers and faculty are prepared for earthquakes, chemical spills and even behavioral issues.” Kratochvil has an idea of the guidelines in which the meetings will cover, however, there is no one who has been assigned to be in charge of the committee just yet.

“The head of the Safety Committee is usually a manager on campus.” Says Lt. Bob Huddleston, head of the campus Police Department. “…we haven’t had an active Safety Committee in at least a year.” Police services are not in charge of the Safety Committee, however, they support it and do their best to, “address issues and work with faculty and students in areas of concern,” added Huddleston.

Many students have no idea that LMC has such a committee.

“I don’t feel safe at LMC because I never see officers or any kind of security, I think a safety committee would be a positive addition around campus,” says student Gavahna Perez, 20. While some students are interested to see what the committee has to offer, others see things from a different perspective.

Student Thomas Pierson, 23, says “Committee members are people who usually have no insight on theft, violence or hazardous conditions, and are not familiar with ways to solve those issues. I feel that a safety committee is a cheap way of substituting for more campus police. Meetings and talk are cheap, we need action and more patrols.”

Neither Kratochvil nor Huddleston know exactly why the committee has been inactive, or how long to be exact, however, they are working together to get things moving.

Meetings are expected to be held at least once a month on campus. Once a head of the committee is selected, an announcement will be sent to faculty and staff with a date of the meeting and more details on the matter.