On Tuesday, Longwood tested its emergency alert system across the university. The system emitted a public address/ siren warning and sent out emails to the campus community. Text messages also were distributed to students who are signed up for the text message alert system. The transmitted siren tone was followed by a voice message stating that a hazardous material incident has occurred on campus.
According to the press release on Longwood's website, the siren and message are transmitted through three "strategically placed speaker arrays across campus and Longwood's off-campus apartment complexes [Lancer Park and Longwood Village] and the athletic fields at Johnston Drive." According to officials, the siren tones can be heard within a half mile of the main campus and a a quarter mile of the off-campus residence locations.
Longwood University Police Chief Bob Beach explained how the system was first adopted onto Longwood's campus. "We've had it for awhile now, around 2007 I believe. We acquired the system not long after the events of Virginia Tech. Most universities adopted a mass alert system after those happenings."
One of the factors in placing the sirens on campus involves the size of Longwood. Beach said, "Unlike secondary education with only a couple of buildings, this place is too big. The best thing is to quickly notify everyone somehow, and give them some direction as to how to respond."
According to Beach, the system has four elements as to how everyone on campus is notified. The first element is the siren which notifies everyone present outside on main campus. The second element is the text messages which are sent out to every student's phone who has signed up to be a part of the alert system.
The third element is an email that is sent out to everyone in Longwood's system, which notifies them about a problem in case they cannot hear the siren or did not receive the text message. Finally, the fourth element is word of mouth, which Beach hopes everyone takes part in. He explained word of mouth a top factor in helping people know in case the first three elements do not succeed.
"We have levels for the system, obviously, and ways for people to not be involved with the system as well," Beach said. "There is no drawback, I can think, of why anybody would not sign up for the system."
After the siren went off at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Beach said, "Everything went great. We didn't have any trouble with it at all." Some students reported that they had not received an alert via text message, but Beach recommended them to visit the website and ensure they are signed up to receive the alerts.
To sign up for the text message alert system or for more information regarding Longwood's Crisis Communication Center, visit http://www.longwood.edu/crisiscomm/.
