Sirens, text messages among security measures to be tested
Expect to hear a siren that sounds like a jet plane at least once this semester. Two 130-decibel sirens are part of a comprehensive security plan – along with text messages, desktop-alert messages and alert e-mails – that VCU has scheduled to test for the first time Sept.
Expect to hear a siren that sounds like a jet plane at least once this semester.
Two 130-decibel sirens are part of a comprehensive security plan – along with text messages, desktop-alert messages and alert e-mails – that VCU has scheduled to test for the first time Sept. 19.
The sirens have been installed on the Monroe Park and MCV campuses, and they are designed to immediately notify students, faculty and staff of an imminent threat, said John M. Bennett, senior vice president for Finance and Administration.
“(The siren) will be audible probably for a half a mile beyond the Cabell roof in every direction,” Bennett said. “You’ll hear it better outside than inside, but there won’t be any question that it’s going off.”
Following the deaths of 33 students shot at Virginia Tech last spring, VCU is making sure that its 31,300 students are as safe as possible, Bennett said.
“What we’ve got in place now, which (Virginia) Tech didn’t have in place, is a way to communicate very rapidly,” Bennett said. “If something extends for a period of time, we’ll send out updates.”
This rapid communication is highly dependent on a free text-message alert service offered to students, faculty and staff. Since VCU announced the new security measure Aug. 17, only 4,500 people have signed up for the service, he said.
“I would like it if we could get 40,000. It’s only as good as it is complete,” Bennett said.
Text messaging is a more efficient form of communication than e-mail, which can take time to reach inboxes, said Larissa Chan, a freshman in the Art Foundation program.
“The only problem I feel, though, is that not everyone has text messaging,” Chan said. “That might be a problem for those people. It might exclude them.”
To ensure text messaging is a viable security measure, faculty has been recommended to follow one of three options during lectures, Bennett said. Instructors may leave their cell phones on to receive emergency text messages, a select group of students may leave their cell phones on during class, or all students may set cell phones on vibrate.
Freshmen Quiana Potter, an education major, and Kristina Sarulla, a business management major, have already signed up for the text-message service, which they said makes them feel safer.
“I think it’s a great idea that when you’re off campus or on campus you’ll hear about (an emergency),” Sarulla said. “As soon as everybody gets a text message, they’ll pick it up … And anybody who doesn’t have texting probably has a good friend who has texting.”
Digital screens, which will broadcast alerts in the event of an emergency, are currently being installed in major university facilities. The project is scheduled for completion in October.
In addition to implementing its own text-message alert service, Virginia Tech has installed locks designed to lock from the inside of all its classroom doors. VCU has not followed suit, Bennett said, because this strategy might not work for some emergencies, like a hostage crisis.
“Before we do anything universally, we need to be convinced it will work in all situations,” he said. “We haven’t made an ultimate decision about it … It all comes down to ‘It depends.’ ”