2008 Woodie Awards
UGA Alert advances campus safety preparations
THE EFFECTS OF VIRGINIA TECH
AMANDA WOODRUFF
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: News
Editor's Note: This article is a part of a month-long series to recognize the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting and to highlight the University and state's efforts to change policy in response to the tragedy.
The University took a step "in the right direction" when it made the UGA Alert system mandatory in December for all students, faculty and staff, a security official said.
The mandate was implemented following a September recommendation from the Emergency Preparedness and Communications Committee, which was established following the Virginia Tech shooting.
Using the contact information registered by students through OASIS, security officials were able to initially enroll University students.
But MyID has been the "backbone of the system," said Steve Harris, operations manager for the Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness. Members of the University body with a MyID username and password are prompted twice a year to update their contact information, which in turn asks them to update their UGA Alert information, he said.
Prior to the mandate in December, 11,163 students, faculty and staff signed up voluntarily for UGA Alert, John Newton, emergency operations coordinator for the Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness, said.
In comparison to other universities, Newton said the low voluntary response rate was average.
"I don't think UGA is any more apathetic than other campuses," he said. "It's just the nature of the alert system."
More than 51,000 students, faculty and staff are enrolled, though the number also reflects participants that have graduated or are no longer employed by the University, Newton said.
He said the challenge for the system now is finding a way to "purge" such users.
"When you graduate and you're not in Athens anymore, you don't need to know if there's a tornado in Athens," he said. "The problem is we want to be very careful not to remove anyone who is still a student, faculty or staff member."
The University took a step "in the right direction" when it made the UGA Alert system mandatory in December for all students, faculty and staff, a security official said.
The mandate was implemented following a September recommendation from the Emergency Preparedness and Communications Committee, which was established following the Virginia Tech shooting.
Using the contact information registered by students through OASIS, security officials were able to initially enroll University students.
But MyID has been the "backbone of the system," said Steve Harris, operations manager for the Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness. Members of the University body with a MyID username and password are prompted twice a year to update their contact information, which in turn asks them to update their UGA Alert information, he said.
Prior to the mandate in December, 11,163 students, faculty and staff signed up voluntarily for UGA Alert, John Newton, emergency operations coordinator for the Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness, said.
In comparison to other universities, Newton said the low voluntary response rate was average.
"I don't think UGA is any more apathetic than other campuses," he said. "It's just the nature of the alert system."
More than 51,000 students, faculty and staff are enrolled, though the number also reflects participants that have graduated or are no longer employed by the University, Newton said.
He said the challenge for the system now is finding a way to "purge" such users.
"When you graduate and you're not in Athens anymore, you don't need to know if there's a tornado in Athens," he said. "The problem is we want to be very careful not to remove anyone who is still a student, faculty or staff member."
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 7
James
posted 4/11/08 @ 10:01 AM EST
Any new safety implementation is obviously welcomed but this particular one will be of little help if someone is actually shooting students and the police are still even just seconds away. (Continued…)
DawgBrain
posted 4/11/08 @ 12:47 PM EST
So.... the University can not protect the library from Football Fans, but they have a Good Security Plan for the rest of campus??
James
posted 4/11/08 @ 2:15 PM EST
I am still waiting after three hours for some reasoned comments. What is the PLAN for "active shooter, multiple students trapped and in the process of being shot, police not on scene yet". (Continued…)
James
posted 4/11/08 @ 4:34 PM EST
Students, faculty, staff, administrators, public safety officials - what is the plan ?
James
posted 4/11/08 @ 7:32 PM EST
W
posted 4/11/08 @ 6:02 PM EST
Speaking from a student's perspective, I'm glad I don't know what the plan is, because that means the terrorists don't know it either. (Continued…)
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