News Conference: Protecting Schools and Children

BUFFALO, N.Y. – More than 1,400 school administrators, anti-bullying experts and law enforcement officials from throughout New York State will meet on the University at Buffalo’s North Campus Friday, March 15, to look for solutions and ways to protect children from school violence.  

Kicking off the Tenth Annual Safe Schools Initiative Seminar is a news conference featuring some of the leading voices in this statewide campaign to stop and prevent attacks on school children.

WHEN: News conference is 9:30 a.m. Friday, March 15. The seminar is from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WHERE: The Center for the Arts on UB’s North Campus.

WHO: Scheduled to speak at the morning press conference are: William J. Hochul Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York; Dennis R. Black, UB vice president for university life and services; Amanda Nickerson, associate professor of counseling and director of UB’s Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention; Tracy A. Gast, special agent in charge, U.S. Secret Service, Buffalo Field Office and Ed Suk, executive director of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, New York branch.

The speakers will address the goals of the safe schools seminar and address some of the issues impacting school safety throughout the state.

WHAT: The Tenth Annual Safe Schools Initiative Seminar for law enforcement and school officials. This year’s seminar, “Understanding Human Aggression and Making Our Schools Safe,” will be led by retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, director of the Warrior Science Group and one of the world’s foremost experts in human aggression and the roots of violent crime.

A former West Point professor of psychology and military science, Grossman has trained educators and law enforcement professionals in the field of school safety, making presentations at the state and regional level in all 50 states and more than a dozen foreign nations.

WHY: Community members concerned with school safety will recall with horror the nightmare of Newton, Conn. However, less known is the fact that there have been eight incidents of school shootings reported nationwide so far this year. More can be done to reduce or prevent gun violence on school grounds.

“Each year, through unfortunate tragedies, we come to better understand the need to make our schools and our children safer,” says Black. “As a result, each year we seek to better understand the risks to control school violence.

“The Safe Schools Seminar provides a forum for educators and law enforcement personnel to come together and assist each other in their important efforts to serve and protect our children and our communities.”

Related information:

UB to host 10th annual Safe Schools Initiative Seminar March 15
http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2013/02/025.html