Governor Will Hold Campus Safety Event at VCU on December 11th
Declares December 13th as a Day of Mourning in the Commonwealth to Remember Those Lost at Sandy Hook Elementary
RICHMOND - Citing the critical importance of maintaining safe environments for learning at Virginia’s schools and campuses, Governor Bob McDonnell has proclaimed the week of December 9-13 as School and Campus Safety Week in the Commonwealth.
To mark School and Campus Safety Week, the governor will speak to students and state and local officials at a special event at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Student Commons Theater on December 11 at 10:30 a.m. The event will also feature remarks by VCU President Michael Rao, the University’s Associate Provost Charles Klink, and VCU student Brendan Hood.
The governor has also declared December 13th as a Day of Mourning and called for a moment of silence and reflection at 9:30 a.m. on that day to honor those innocent students and teachers who lost their lives in the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, last December.
The governor’s proclamation touches upon the work of Virginia’s School and Campus Safety Taskforce, appointed by the governor in the wake of the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and mentions the positive changes that have resulted from the group’s 61 recommendations. The proclamation also states that “…protecting the more than 1.3 million students in Virginia’s schools is a top priority of state government…,” and “…we must continue to ensure our law enforcement officials and school administrators have the necessary tools to combat any potential violence.”
Many of the Taskforce members will be in attendance when the Governor speaks at VCU on December 11th, as will Virginia’s Secretaries of Education, Javaid Siddiqi, and Public Safety, Bryan Rhode.
The governor’s full proclamation can be read here: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/OurCommonwealth/Proclamations/viewproc.cfm?id=452.