A "SOFT" LOCKDOWN of the school was started today in the middle of second period. All the exterior doors, except for the south entrance, were locked.

Earlier this morning, a call from University of Illinois police advised Director/Principal Steve Epperson to take precautions for the safety of the school. There was a possible security situation at Champaign Central High School, and it was not clear what was going on.

“We decided that because we are just down the road from Central that we would watch the doors, locking two of them and being visible in the halls during passing time,” said Assistant Director Sue Kovacs.

However, Epperson said he does not believe that the lockdown will last very long. Kovacs agreed, saying that the lockdown would last only for the rest of the day.

A “soft” lockdown consists of limiting access into the school by locking the outside doors, but students are able to move freely within the building and attend classes at Kenney Gym.

A “hard” lockdown is a code red situation where all doors are locked and students cannot leave the classroom.

“We wish we had doors we could lock and that [the students] would have proxy cards to come in,” Kovacs said.

All faculty members have been notified and an e-mail was sent to the parents. Epperson said he believes that it is important to keep the Uni community informed of such situations.

As for future incidents, Kovacs said circumstances will dictate what action the administration takes in terms of locking down the building.

“Each incident is taken on its own,” she said. “We act on the information we have.”