The Lone Star College system has beefed up patrols around buzzing college campuses in preparation for the return to campus for faculty, students, and staff. LSC also approved additional officers beginning in August.

On Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, a call rang out across Lone Star College-Kingwood of a possible live shooter on campus. 

Immediately, students and employees acted with a lockdown. Classes were announced canceled for the remainder of the day online. 

An all clear from law enforcement came later that afternoon after a thorough search of the campus failed to uncover a shooter. It was learned that the gunshots came from off campus, but it was enough to send the campus reeling.

Dr. Melissa Gonzalez, current president of the college, has only been at the helm of the college for a year, but employees have told her stories of the incident.

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“A lot of the faculty and employees were here, and they remember that. They tell me how scary it was for them,” she said.

With a new set of students at the beginning of each semester throughout the year, and some new faculty and employees, Gonzalez knows the importance of training, the recent addition of safe rooms equipped with bullet-proof glass, and mental health assistance for stressed students and staff.

The life-saving response of students and staff at the 2020 live shooter event, Gonzalez said, was a result of training.

“We have a new student orientation that every student is required to attend, it's mandatory. We include some basic safety guidelines. It's not just for active shooter, but suspicious person or there's a power failure, severe weather or bomb threat, hazardous materials warnings,” she said.

Next week faculty and staff will be involved in an active shooter training, something that happens regularly throughout the year for all campuses and at associated centers.

“We're also partnering with Commissioner (Tom) Ramsey's office from Harris County Precinct 3, to hold a civilian active shooter training at one of our centers for the community. We want our community to know that we are aware of this concern, and we're providing this training for the community, so they can be safe too,” she said.

The campus lost seven of the nine buildings during Hurricane Harvey. Security features were part of the consideration when rebuilding including a PA sound system with speakers in every room in every building.

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“We have regular checks of the system to make sure the PA system is working correctly,” she added. Gonzalez didn’t reveal any signals or how students and faculty are notified of an issue but that they are familiar with any announcements.

An additional layer of notifying students and staff comes with texts and emails.

“A student is automatically included in those at registration unless they opt out, but that’s very rare,” she said.

They also post notices on their website and through various forms of social media including the student’s personal and school email.

The information is tailored for alerts of any kind including hurricane or storms, water damage, power outages at the campus and more.

“Some of our faculty move around to a different classroom or building each semester and they need to know where the closest exit is, or which parking lot do they go to, or the quad, so it’s important to have these drills regularly,” she said.

Gonzalez said it was a disappointment that so much attention had to be paid to security but realized it’s a product of the current environment.

“We are an institution of higher education, but we still have these threats upon us, unfortunately, and we need to be always ready. We want to make sure that our students, employees, families, and our community is aware with this information beginning with orientation, but also throughout the year,” the president said.

With the presence of mostly adults on the campus, there are rules concerning guns.

By law, open carry of guns is not allowed on campus. However, concealed carry is allowed for License to Carry (LTC) holders only except for certain gun free areas. More can be found at www.lonestar.edu/campuscarry.

Another layer of security for all came last semester when the LSC Police Department hosted classes on self-defense, one for students and another for faculty and staff.

“We’re going to do that again this fall semester,” she announced.

There is no one entrance, one exit policy for college campuses since so many students are coming and going from different buildings throughout the day based on their schedules. However, the new buildings were built with security in mind.

“Every building has rooms where there’s no windows and we can lock doors,” Gonzalez said. They are also instructed to shelter behind locked doors, stay away from glass, and hide where no one can see them.

Another feature in some of the newer buildings, left unidentified for security purposes, are safe rooms. One of those houses as many as 80 computers and has bullet-proof glass windows. Students in those buildings know they are able to go there for safety in the midst of an active shooter incident.

“I think anything can happen anywhere. We can’t put bullet-proof rooms everywhere, but we’re doing the best we can to provide the best security on campus,” she said.

There is also a larger law enforcement presence on the campus.

“I know more police officers were hired and they are making sure they’re present both inside and out. I see more and it’s a comfort.

They’re here before our doors open in the morning to after 10 at night making sure all the people when they arrive or leave can feel safe, especially walking to their cars late at night,” she said.

Additional upgrades were made including locks, signage, and outside lighting that has been considered to make sure everyone feels safe on the campus.

Gonzalez said after a recent drill, they recognized things that could have been better.

“That’s why I love the drills. It gives us a good gauge on where we’re at and how comfortable we are,” she said, and it also exposes weaknesses that can be corrected.

Lone Star College recently opened a Law Enforcement Academy at the East Aldine Center and the program begins in the fall semester.

Gonzalez, whose husband is in law enforcement, is aware of things that are happening around her in the world. She feels compelled to go back to the high schools, middle schools, and even the elementary schools to recruit and talk to students.

“We need to plant some seeds of hope, as far as careers and the future,” she said.

“You have these 14-and 15-year-old kids with guns and it’s just unfortunate, so I feel a responsibility to go out there in the schools to help them and guide them and let them know there’s some wonderful careers waiting for you,” the passionate president said.

Gonzalez said she feels sometimes it’s an act of desperation.

“We have a wonderful mental health program on campus that we offer to our students. It is about providing those resources at the campus for students that are going through some things. COVID really messed a lot of us up and I'm very vocal about it. You struggle to get through depression and some challenges,” she said.

On Aug. 4, 2020, Gonzalez lost her own mother to COVID.

“It’s hard. I had to visit a therapist because it was very, very difficult,” the president said. “We recognize the challenges that our students and our families are having, and even our employees. We promote these resources to make sure that they're ready, that they're 100 percent because we are facing a different environment than when I went to college, or even high school.”

Gonzalez said the college has licensed professional counselors on site. They also work with the nonprofit Communities in Schools, and community-based organizations in the area like FamilyTime, HAAM, and others who offer 24/7 counseling programs.

“Sometimes students may be embarrassed walking into our counseling office, or they may feel more comfortable going outside, and that’s okay,” she said.

Gonzalez said she believed the LSC system recently hired at least two more CIS counselors for each campus who can assist with weekend or evening students when they need it.

“We have our faculty referring students, or advisors referring students to counselors, or even themselves. May was Mental Health Awareness month, but for us, it's every month, so every month we have activities and events to promote this resource,” she said proudly.

The services are available to all employees, including part-timers, students, and future students.

David Taylor is the reporter/photographer for Houston Community Newspapers / Houston Chronicle and writes news, sports and investigative pieces. He is a member of the Texas Press Association and has won numerous state awards.

He attended Rice University and the University of Houston and has led the news rooms of several newspapers including The Sentinel Newspapers, The Pasadena Citizen, The Examiner Newspapers, and The Observer Group.

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