Stony Brook Building Alert Systems for Campus Emergencies
By Alex Berkman Stony Brook has developed a text and voice messaging alert system, instructional signs and a siren on top of the Frank Melville Jr. Library, according to university officials. According to Richard W. Reeder, 8,000 people have signed up for text and email alerts as of Sept. 27. “It’s moving slower than I’d like,” said Reeder, Stony Brook’s chief information officer, about the amount of people signing up. The new alert messaging system is coordinated with the New York State Emergency Management Association. The siren will be the first of many to be erected on campus along with digital signs in high traffic areas such as bus stops. The “digital signage” will be similar to the television sets in the Student Activities Center. It will be capable of delivering instructions in emergency situations, according to Reeder and Pat Calabria, the university’s media relations officer. Potential problems with the text messaging system are also being addressed by the university and SEMA. The thousands of messages to be sent out could overload the system and cause it to crash, according to Calabria. The university will implement a tiered system of alerts to deal with this problem. The system will use the siren atop the library, a current project. “Not all cell phones have text messaging,” said Reeder. Students who do not have text messaging will receive a voice message with emergency instructions to their cell phone, or a landline. The University Police Department also has the “full resources of the Suffolk County Police Department,” said Gary J. Kaczmarczyk, director of environmental health and safety. Further precautions being taken by the university include police training regiments with the county police. University police officers now undergo “active shooter training,” Calabria said, “to deal with situations like Virginia Tech.” “We’re using the same radios the cops are using,” said Reeder about having direct contact with county police. The work will be ongoing. Kaczmarczyk said campus security and emergency management is “a continuous improvement process.” |
We were told all you need to do was include contact info for your phone and email on SOLAR
Good Idea
I'm glad to hear SBU is doing this, after I heard St. John's has the same thing in effect, especially after that possible shooter was arrested on the Queens campus. Where do we sign up for it?