TOLEDO, Ohio — The lesson plan is simple. Run if you must, hide if you can and if you have no other options, fight.
It's all part of the University of Toledo's official active shooter training plan. The program, called Run-Hide-Fight, has been used by the school for over a decade. UToledo Community Engagement Officer Jeni Gerber has taught the same plan many times over, but she said the message continues to apply.
"I just want students to feel prepared and empowered, and to take away the mindset of 'freeze.' That should never come into play because freezing makes you a victim," Gerber said.
In the 90-minute presentation, the officers went over some of the biggest mass shootings in the country, discussing how they happened and which responses saved the most lives.
Then, they discussed when students should implement the three strategies.
Run-Hide-Fight instructor Doug Perry said running is smart if you think you can get away, hiding is crucial in a situation where you can't run and if you're discovered, fighting is a necessary last resort.
"When your life's on the line, when it's a life or death situation, they need to fight and they need to fight for their life," Perry said.
That lesson is implemented in hands-on safety training with Perry standing in for an active shooter.
Perry would enter a room with a toy gun with a light on the end, and students would throw plastic balls, substituting for heavy objects, at Perry's head. As he ducked for cover, the light at the end of the gun would wobble, demonstrating a person's aim can be affected if you fight back.
It's a lesson Gerber says is becoming only more valuable, as shootings become more and more frequent.
"Any time one of these events happen in the nation, we do get an influx of requests for this training, but we do this training throughout the years," said Gerber.
The university has added additional measures to help students be safe. The newest is the Rave Guardian app.
"It puts a blue emergency phone in the palm of your hand, and you can use it as a panic button or a timer. If you press the panic button, Rave Guardian is going to call you and ask what the nature of your problem is," Gerber said. "But if you don't answer, they will send police and contact your emergency contacts and send them to your GPS position."
There is a cost associated with the app, but if UToledo students sign up for it with their school email, it's completely free.