More than three months after the tragic nursing college shootings, the Dean of Students Office has enacted new policies for dealing with student behavior problems.

Many professors are demanding interactive training sessions.

The guidelines are a long-needed step in the direction toward campus safety, but these latest procedures would have done nothing to prevent the shootings that left three professors dead last semester.

Words on paper are no defense in a tense situation. University professors, many without formal classroom management skills, need hands-on professional guidance on how to deal with disturbing and violent behavior.

Many professors are demanding interactive training sessions. Judith Berg, faculty chair of the nursing

college, said that the key to curbing violence in the classroom is to teach instructors to recognize violent behavior before an incident occurs.

These faculty members are not quiet voices in the dark. Rather, they are individuals who must deal with students in potentially tense situations on a daily basis ÷ some are in the nursing college and know first hand what they did not know months ago.

Administrators must listen to the requests of these professors and take necessary action to prepare faculty and staff to prevent future violent situations. No preparation or procedural paperwork can defend an educator against a gun. But professional training and effective policies can filter out dangerous students before the breaking point. Our faculty deserves such attention.