The deadly shootings that killed 32 people and wounded many more at Virginia Tech University last year left many college students and their parents worried about campus safety. I always felt, though, that I had nothing to worry about. After all, I attend Amherst College, where people are accepting of different lifestyles and people. The campus is well protected­-the police patrol our campus all the time. However, two students were shot last week at Delaware State University because of an argument between several students. In The New York Times article on the incident, parents of a freshman at Delaware State spoke of how they had been assured of the safety of their daughter because of the high level of security around campus. If a shooting can happen at the well-prepared Delaware State, it can happen at Amherst.

The difference between Virginia Tech and Delaware State was the time it took for authorities to respond and the community to be notified. After talking with the Chief of Police John Carter, I have been reassured of my safety at Amherst. Campus Police works in collaboration with Amherst Police Department in the event of a shooting, with officers from both departments responding to the emergency. And, if further assistance is required, state troopers or officers from other nearby towns stand ready to offer their assistance.

The network of responders is comforting. In addition, Campus Police also has two plans to notify the campus immediately after a shooting occurs: The Emergency Preparedness Plan and The Emergency Notification Plan. The former plan notifies the senior management of the College, including the President, the Dean of Faculty and the Dean of Students. The latter focuses on informing the community of the events taking place on campus, through landline messages, e-mail messages and a Web site default notification. There is also an audible emergency horn being installed and, as we all know, the College is collecting cell phone information from students in order to send a text message warning to all students in the event of a shooting. With so many lines of communication, I think Amherst is prepared and will, like Delaware State, be able to effectively stop the situation from escalating and protect the students.

I wonder, though, what is being done to prevent a shooting? At Delaware State, the shooting was caused by an argument that escalated into a dangerous situation. The college cited the background of many of their students as a cause of the problem-many of them come from cities where violence is commonly used to settle disagreements. At Amherst, there are many places students can go to get help. The Counseling Center and Center for Religious Life are two options. But official channels can only do so much. Are we as Amherst students aware enough of our peers to notice an argument that might develop into a crisis situation? Would anyone reach out to a student who, like Seung-Hui Cho, is struggling on personal and emotional levels? We can't just rely on the police to protect the campus. Faculty, administrators, and students alike must pay attention to their friends, classmates and students in order to mediate or give help before a shooting takes place.