Spring Break
Siren Tests First Step In Emergency Communication
Lindsay Larsen
Issue date: 6/11/07 Section: News
The recent shootings at Virginia Tech have alerted other colleges and universities to the need for a communication system in case of an emergency. Some students at Virginia Tech felt that there should have been more warning besides an email message.
UConn tested its emergency siren May 30 as part of a possible emergency alert system.
"The sirens were installed a number of years ago to be utilized for air raids," said Michael Kerntke, chief information officer at UConn. "They have not been activated for many years so we have scheduled a test of the complete siren infrastructure."
The siren was tested first at 11 a.m., and then subsequent tests were scheduled for the course of the afternoon, until 3 p.m., in case the siren needed to be fixed, according to Kerntke. The test was conducted by the Department of Public Safety, and future activations of the siren will be handled by them, according to Kerntke.
"The sirens will be the first alert that will be utilized in the event of a dire emergency that needs to be communicated to the community," Kerntke said.
UConn has formed a committee that is considering other forms of communication, such as text messages, instant messages, transmitting messages on the blue phones on campus and on screens in high-tech classrooms, Kerntke said. The siren will provide early warning in case of an emergency, and the committee is creating a plan that will use different technologies to provide members of the university community with more information.
"We intend to have to plans in place and the technologies activated by the Fall 2007 semester," Kerntke said.
"I think that it is good that they are making an effort to improve campus safety, especially after what happened at Virginia Tech," said Sarah Morris, a 5th-semester political science major.
However, some students believe the siren is not enough.
"I think that the siren system is worthless without some form of education about what to do if the siren goes off," said Seth Hosmer, a 5th-semester biology major. "It is not necessary to merely send a message, recipients must know what the message means."
"I had no idea that there were sirens on campus, and I'm not sure how much good just sirens would do unless they could make some type of announcements over them too," said Nicole Vezina, a 5th semester accounting major. "I think the text messaging systems would probably be best to get specific information to the largest group of people."
UConn tested its emergency siren May 30 as part of a possible emergency alert system.
"The sirens were installed a number of years ago to be utilized for air raids," said Michael Kerntke, chief information officer at UConn. "They have not been activated for many years so we have scheduled a test of the complete siren infrastructure."
The siren was tested first at 11 a.m., and then subsequent tests were scheduled for the course of the afternoon, until 3 p.m., in case the siren needed to be fixed, according to Kerntke. The test was conducted by the Department of Public Safety, and future activations of the siren will be handled by them, according to Kerntke.
"The sirens will be the first alert that will be utilized in the event of a dire emergency that needs to be communicated to the community," Kerntke said.
UConn has formed a committee that is considering other forms of communication, such as text messages, instant messages, transmitting messages on the blue phones on campus and on screens in high-tech classrooms, Kerntke said. The siren will provide early warning in case of an emergency, and the committee is creating a plan that will use different technologies to provide members of the university community with more information.
"We intend to have to plans in place and the technologies activated by the Fall 2007 semester," Kerntke said.
"I think that it is good that they are making an effort to improve campus safety, especially after what happened at Virginia Tech," said Sarah Morris, a 5th-semester political science major.
However, some students believe the siren is not enough.
"I think that the siren system is worthless without some form of education about what to do if the siren goes off," said Seth Hosmer, a 5th-semester biology major. "It is not necessary to merely send a message, recipients must know what the message means."
"I had no idea that there were sirens on campus, and I'm not sure how much good just sirens would do unless they could make some type of announcements over them too," said Nicole Vezina, a 5th semester accounting major. "I think the text messaging systems would probably be best to get specific information to the largest group of people."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Chris
posted 6/13/07 @ 8:26 AM EST
The sirens are pretty much worthless, we couldn't even hear it inside the chem building...they better have a really good backup plan.
Jim Loftus
posted 6/13/07 @ 2:09 PM EST
While I applaud a university's plans to respond to emergency incidents, I would like to discuss with you the proactive rather than the reactive response. (Continued…)
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