Jacob Dodson
Staff Writer

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On Nov. 15 and 16, NMC was put into lockdown from 10:44pm to 1:30am after shots were fired in a larceny turned police chase near the college. That night, I wasn’t thinking about violence or crimes—just feeding a cat and worrying about daily life. That’s when I thought I heard five sharp booms. Usually, when you hear loud popping sounds or noises, you think of fireworks, but these were unmistakably gunshots, confirmed when I glanced out the window of my girlfriend’s apartment near NMC’s campus and saw a police car park at the intersection of Front and Fair Street. My initial thought was that it was the police officer who fired shots, not a citizen, and thinking nothing else of it, I walked back to student housing like normal. But as more and more police began streaming in, covering Front and Fair, and setting up a perimeter on every street connected to it in the area, I realized that this was very different.

There must have been at least 10 cars in total in view, including state police. While walking, I saw a security guard sitting in a car and asked him what was happening. As became a pattern through the night, he was not forthcoming with information. All he said was that the campus was locked down and to “get wherever I was going.” I didn’t know what that really meant at this point, but as it turns out, it’s quite literal what that means in practice: during a lockdown, there is no entry to buildings, nor exit—and I experienced this first hand.

My keycard didn’t work when trying to enter the dorm, and no one would answer the call button, either. Eventually, after five attempts, I got somebody on the line who said I couldn’t go in the building. Asking where I should go instead, they asked if I had a car to sleep in, which I didn’t. After further conversation and a mumbling reply, I heard the words “Innovation Center,” and promptly walked there instead.

The feeling of tension and danger was palpable at this stage, and after I walked there, I almost didn’t knock on the door out of fear, but I did anyway, and the security guard thankfully let me in, though a bit begrudgingly. Inside, I found another student locked out of the dorm with nowhere to go, as well as hectic commotion.

The Innovation Center felt more like a command center, with security coming back and forth, and President Nick Nissley at the center, who had a grave look on his face. Security fluttered by, busy with new information and updates from the police, moving in and out. We students got no information besides to just stay put, and after about an hour of waiting, they eventually let us into our dorms.

This entire misadventure begs the question: What is the purpose of a lockdown? To prevent a shooter from entering campus buildings? Sure, but what about the students left on the outside, then? What if I had a car to go to, slept there, and the culprits decided to steal that car?

A student, who wishes to remain anonymous, told me that they had trouble getting into their apartment that night, with police having closed the road with sentry cars and yellow tape, actively searching with flashlights and dogs right in their backyard. They eventually did get in, but only after getting permission from the police to move forward, and after they called security to open their doors for them. If there are murderers nearby, shouldn’t the goal be to get people inside as soon as possible?

At the end of the day, these buildings require an ID. Technically, it is safer for the students already in these buildings to have the security of knowing that no one will be coming in. But what about the students left outside? All it takes is a moment for violence to strike, and whatever justifies the current system does not take this into account.

Upon receiving an email from the aforementioned student, President Nissley had this to say about protocols now and into the future.
“Our Security team will review this incident with our local law enforcement partners to identify any opportunities to improve how we prepare for and communicate in emergencies.”

This was followed by a recommendation to contact NMC counseling services if they found the event to be stressful or traumatizing, which is similar to what Marcus Bennett, Associate Dean of Campus Life, wrote in an email he sent after the incident, too.
Regardless, it’s clear that some codes and protocols need to be updated, and college faculty at least are aware of that. It’s a miracle no one else was hurt that night.

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