Students now have a way to stay informed about any emergencies that may occur on campus.
Lyndon’s e2 Campus Emergency Alert System allows you to access this information through your cell phone or e-mail quickly. This system was set up through Public Safety, and led by director George Hacking.
“After the Virginia Tech shooting a few years ago, a lot of systems came into play,” said George Hacking, Director of Public Safety. “We decided it was something we needed.”
The idea of the system is to get as much information to the students as possible, to allow them to react to the situation appropriately. A layered approach is what would be happening, where people who receive the information tell others who don’t have that information, and it continues until everyone is aware.
Once the emergency has identified by Public Safety, the system sends out a message, whether it is an email or text. This message will usually contain what the event is, where it is happening, and who to contact if necessary.
“Any college campus that doesn’t have any sort of system or plan for an emergency is acting irresponsible,” said Hacking.
Hacking is hoping to get more people to sign up for the service, particularly students.
“I think that it’s a great idea,” said Adam Mozisek. “I think people would like to know what to do in an emergency event, so who wouldn’t want to sign up for it?”
The e2 Campus Emergency Alert System has been in existence here on campus for about two and a half years, yet only 350 people are signed up for the service. Hacking says that more faculty and staff are signed up than students.
“Any system is only as good as the students that buy into it,” said Hacking. “And the system is very easy to sign-up for.”
Anyone who is interested in signing up for the service can go to the Public Safety webpage in the “About Lyndon” section on the school website. There is a link on the page, which brings you to the sign-up page for the e2 system. It asks for basic information such as your name and your cell phone number.
“It’s very easy to sign-up for,” said Hacking.
Although Hacking said it has only been used for test purposes, it is up and ready to go in the event that there is a serious emergency on campus.
For any or all information on the e2 Campus Emergency Alert System contact George Hacking.