One university has decided to protect its students against school shootings by installing bulletproof whiteboards, according to CNN Money. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore has purchased 200 of the boards at a cost of $299 each.
The company that manufactures the whiteboards is Hardwire, the same company that provides the military with armor for vehicles, as well as other protective gear that has been used during the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"It's a writing tablet that doubles as a bulletproof shield," William Robinson, the spokesman for the university, told CNN. The boards were purchased using only money received from private donations.
The president of the university, Juliette Bell, "sees this as a proactive step that the university is willing to take to demonstrate to everyone that school security is an important part of what we do and who we are," Robinson continued.
This new type of security is another option in the ongoing debate about how best to deal with the increase in the number of mass shootings in recent years, such as the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut that resulted in the death of both teachers and students.
In addition to whiteboards, Hardwire sells bulletproof boards that parents can put in their child's backpack and bulletproof stickers that can be applied to classroom doors. The whiteboards, which are held by the handles, not attached to a wall, are made from Dyneema, a bulletproof material that was developed by the Pocomoke City Company.
"It will actually float," George Tunis, the Chief Executive of Hardwire, said. "It's extremely strong and extremely light."
Dyneema spreads out the force resulting from the impact of a bullet and was developed as a lightweight protection for vehicles in the military.
"For a soldier, weight is hyper critical," Tunis said.
Dyneema took years to develop and with the military set to leave Afghanistan in 2014, the company is looking for civilian applications for the technology.
"It's a great peace dividend," Tunis said. "As the wars wind down we can take some of the technology and put it to work."
News coverage of the whiteboards.
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