WHAT PARENTS CAN DO

Here is a place to start. If you are getting ready to send your daughter or son to college, part of your selection process should be to familiarize yourself with the prospective school’s security procedures, policies, and emergency plans.

For those of you sending your daughters and sons to school in Virginia these questions are extremely important. I have lived in Virginia for over forty years and all three of my sons went to Virginia colleges and universities. If I were selecting schools for my children today, I would probably not select a Virginia school because of the poor state of campus security—compared to other states. Compounding the problem in Virginia is the fact that the state’s legal system operates under the doctrine of Sovereign Immunity—meaning you have little or no legal recourse against a state school even in cases of gross negligence.

Parents also need to know that if their child is killed or hurt by someone on school grounds in The Old Dominion, Virginia is one of the most difficult states to prove premises liability or hold anybody liable for incompetence.

As noted in an earlier posting, the Virginia Supreme Court, time and time again, refuses to recognize the responsibility of a business proprietor to protect “its invitees from unreasonable risk of physical harm.” The whole question of “foreseeability” is hard to pin down. But the Supreme Courts of other states do recognize that there is a point where a proprietor can be held responsible for not taking action to protect “its invitees.” Courts in other states do recognize that there comes a point when violent behavior is predictable and a proprietor can be held responsible for ignoring the warning signs.

If you are sending a son or daughter to a college or university, you may be doing so at a terrible risk. (I will be posting a set of questions parents can ask schools. To be continued)