Mike Celeste has been Skyline College’s new Chief of Security since July 2, 2007. His main philosophy is community policing, which he says is “a partnership between the Skyline Community and the Campus Security”. He is especially qualified for this position because he was a Colma police Sergeant before an injury forced him into retirement. After a hiatus, Celeste worked for the San Mateo County Police Academy for three years, where he was in charge. “Celeste was a good candidate for the job of Chief of Security because he has a lot of knowledge of the law, and many contacts,” says Lori Adrian, vice president of student services. “It is important to have someone who understands the law outside of our community, as well as within our community.”

Since Celeste has worked at College of San Mateo, he is used to being around students and in the campus atmosphere.

Since the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech, campus safety became more of a concern. The security personnel on campus are not armed; however, they are trained in how to react to an active shooter or a natural disaster, and are certified in first aid training.

To make sure that they stay up to date the security will be attending a presentation put on by Pacifica Sergeant Dave Bertini, who is an active shooter trainer. Meaning he will give security tips on what should be done if the situation should arise. For example how to effectively evacuate a building and how to keep people calm in a crisis.

Skyline currently has policies in place on how to handle an active shooter. The first thing they would do is call the San Bruno Police, who would then come and assist them. Because such matters would need to be handled quickly they have also improved the communication between the two. All of the security guards that work on campus carry two-way walkie-talkies, which offer them better response times than the one-to-one Nextel’s that were previously used.

Celeste also currently has maps of all the buildings on campus, so he can make sure that the emergency plans were up to date, and that all security guards will be knowledgeable with the layout of the buildings to better assist students.

Skyline administrators are also looking ahead to possibly having an emergency drill in the next year so that students will know what to do. They are also trying to get better lighting for the parking lots, especially lot two.

Along with the lighting the administration is looking to add blue phones in the parking lots and near the light poles, which would be phones that could be used in an emergency just by picking it up. They are also hoping to get a public announcement system in place so that students can be notified easier and quicker.

Adrian said that “the direction that [Celeste] is taking is really what the administration has been looking for, and that things are going in the right direction”.