THE LOYOLAH’S TAKE:
WE DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY.
TRANSPARENCY AND THAT THE VOICE
OF THE STUDENT BODY BE A PART
OF THE REVIEW PROCESS.
SEE BOARD EDITORIAL,
PAGE 5.
WWW.LALOYOLAN.COM
NOVEMBER 14, 2018
EST. 1921
LOYOLAN
Kellie Chudzinski
Editor-in-Chief
@LALoyolan
Police swarmed campus and an LAPD
helicopter circled over Del Rey North on Friday
evening as authorities responded to a report of
an active shooter on campus.
LAPD, which responded around 5:50 p.m.,
determined that there was no evidence of a
threat and cleared the area around the freshman
dorms at 6:34 p.m. However, the Department
of Public Safety’s (DPS) first alert to students
and community came at 6:51 p.m, well after
LAPD cleared campus.
The incident prompted an outcry from
students, parents, staff and faculty who
were upset and angered by the lack of
communication from DPS during the
potential threat and search, which was the
result of a prank.
In a community -wide email sent Tuesday
afternoon, President Snyder said, "the
university failed to alert [students] about
a potential threat in a prompt manner,”
and that he “recognize [d] and regret[ted]
the anxiety and traumatic experiences
caused by a reprehensible and potentially
dangerous prank.”
Snyder included the ways LMU is
responding, which include hiring law firm
Musick Peeler & Garrett to investigate
the failure of the alert system and provide
suggestions. The Loyolan has learned that the
investigation is expected to be concluded in
one week.
See Hoax shooting | Page 2
Students impacted by Southern
California wildfire
VOLUME 97
ISSUE 12
Students
welcome LMU's
newest culinary
addition, The
Habit Burger. For
the full story, see
page 9.
Literally in
the dark
A first-hand account of a fearful
Friday in Del Rey North.
Dai-sy-me
Bolin
Daisy Bolin
Opinion Intern
@LALoyolan
Making my way out of the Del Rey North
main entrance on Friday, I hung up
the phone call I had just had with my
grandma and finally glanced at texts that had
been vibrating on my cheek.
“Active shooter. Stay in your room,” was the
first text I saw from my friend. It was sent to me
at 5:50 p.m.
The moment I read this text, LAPD officers
armed with guns the size of my arm demanded
I go to my room and lock the door.
fust before 6 p.m. on Friday, LAPD was
already deployed on campus and actively
searchingforareportedpotentialactiveshooter,
yet students heard nothing from the school —
not a text, automated call or announcement.
The Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) lack
of communication regarding what was going
on during the potentially lethal situation, what
to do and how to stay safe was a critical failure
for ensuring the safety of our students— one
that could've cost lives.
See Active shooterj Page 6
The L.A. Fire Department (LAFD) has
been working hard to contain the Woolsey
Fire, and has succeeded in containing
around 25 percent of it at the time of
production on Tuesday night. However, it
is predicted to get worse as the Santa Ana
winds continue to blow into the area and
humidity remains low, according to Curbed
Los Angeles.
The fire has affected hundreds of LMU
students' families from outside the L.A.
area. Currently, the fire is affecting the
entirety of the city of Malibu and parts
of Thousand Oaks, Topanga, Calabasas,
the Santa Monica Mountains and other
surrounding areas. The current location of
the fire can be tracked on the Google Maps
crisis map.
"My house burned down, we lost almost
everything [and] a few of my neighbors
and friends also lost part [or] all of their
homes," said Savannah Slattery, a junior
marketing major from Malibu. "I just really
wish I could have my home back."
Thousand Oaks was also affected by a
shooting on Wednesday at the Borderline
Bar and Grill, where 12 people were killed.
“This last 48 [to] 72 hours in Ventura
County have been a difficult time,” said
Ventura County Supervisor Peter Foy
on Friday. “People lost their lives in the
shooting and now people have lost their
homes [in the fire].”
See Wildfires | Page 2
The Woolsey fire is affecting
the Malibu, Topanga and
Thousand Oaks areas.
Isabella Murillo
Asst. News Editor
@LA Loyolan
Jason Munoz | Loyolan
The Woolsey Fire smoke can be seen from LMU's bluff, on Friday. The latest alert sent
out by LMU said that the smell of smoke has reached campus and air quality levels were
"moderate," according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
Active shooter hoax riles campus
INFORMATION COMPILED BY KAYLA BROGAN. NEWS EDITOR: GRAPHIC DIANA RAYNES. PHOTOS VIA LAUREN HEMS. AUSTIN WOffiS I LOYOLAN. PHOTOS VIA MARY HENDERSON AND VIA LMU
ELLIE GRIFFIN
FRESHMAN FILM & TELEVISION PRODUCTION MAJOR
£Г
1
4
“I think [Public Safety] messed
up ... maybe their goal was to
not cause mass panic, but
when people are getting their
information from Twitter
instead of someone official, it's
worse. I think that made them
look bad.”
TIMOTHY LAW SNYDER
PH.D.
"I apologize for the disruption
and for our lack of communica¬
tion. Your safety and security are
my top priorities — we must and
will do better."
VIA EMAIL
LUKAS WOOD
FRESHMAN ENGLISH MAJOR
- ^ J
jk ' V’
"I didn’t care about [Public
Safety's] late response. It's
understandable that it
happened the way it did,
because there was so much
uncertainty already. Nobody
knew what was really
happening. I understand why
people were worried though."
ALO COLEMAN
SLMU PRESIDENT 2018-11
W "^ T
"ASLMU will be meeting with
the Chief of Public Safety and
other relevant heads of
departments to ensure that our
university better handles
possible threats in the future."
VIA EMAIL
MICHAEL P. WONG
VICE PRESIDENT. CAMPUS OPERATIONS
“From my perspective,
we have a protocol for
communication that
for whatever reason
didn't work for us.
Whether we didn't
follow it or it just didn’t
work, it failed us and it
failed the campus.
From my perspective,
we have a protocol for
communication ... It
failed us and it failed
the campus.”
MARY HENDERSON
Late alert of situation by DPS
has led to student anger and an
investigation into process.
"We hid in our closets.
We contacted everyone we
knew. Even when it was all clear,
we were scared."
