Emergency Preparedness and Response

April 18, 2007

Dear Families,

Greetings from University Housing Services at San José State.

As with many of you, I am sure, the shootings at Virginia Tech are on my mind. Those of us who work in higher education, and the housing field in particular, feel a tremendous sense of loss when any student who lives with us is critically injured or dies. It affects our staff and our residential communities - where students often become ‘family’ to one another. I can only imagine the immense sense of loss and sadness that the students, faculty and university staff of Virginia Tech must be feeling.

As housing professionals, we take your students’ safety very seriously. Rather than process the events at Virginia Tech, I want to validate that you might be concerned about your student’s safety while they live with us here on campus, and I’d like to explain some of our security strategies.

Emergency Preparedness and Response

Probably our most important safety strategy is preparedness.

The University Housing Services department is integrated into the university’s emergency response team. We are trained in the national emergency response model(s) and are involved in the regular campus emergency operations training and emergency evacuation drills. We also provide emergency response training for our residential life staff. Our Community Handbook [for students] provides emergency response information and each bedroom door provides evacuation instructions.

Please see the following link for the campus emergency response information:

http://www.sjsu.edu/emergency/

University Housing Emergency Response – In Brief

Our department has an emergency response protocol which includes response strategies for a variety of issues from earthquakes and fires to civil protests and high level threats to student safety.

In a case like that of Virginia Tech, we would initiate a “Civil Disorder - Level Four” response. This would involve transferring decision-making responsibilities to our University Police Department. We would secure all of our buildings by dispatching professional staff and live-in staff to public areas of each residential lobby to prevent students from leaving the building.

Since our high-rise buildings have public-address systems, we would notify the students about the situation and give them instructions. At the same time, posters and flyers would be disseminated, emails via the campus MYSJSU system would be sent, and "news flashes" would be sent via the cable TV and / or lobby LCD flat screen televisions.

Our most powerful tool, as you might imagine, would be “word of mouth.” News travels fast. With this in mind, we are always conscious of providing clear, accurate and timely information. In this sort of event, the campus would also have initiated a hot line.

Residential Life Training

Another core of our security program is our live-in residential life staff, consisting of Residential Life Coordinators (who have master’s level training in Higher Education); Assistant Residential Life Coordinators (graduate students) and RAs (Resident Advisors – student staff who live and work in the residence halls and apartments). Each summer and during the winter break these staff members undergo intense training in many areas. Those related to security involve community building (which I will explain in a moment), counseling skills, and emergency response, (including information dissemination).

Community Building

Our intense emphasis on building community is based upon research (and common sense) that suggests that we will defend and protect our community, our family and friends – those we care about. Our residential life staff plans programs and facilitates relationships within their areas with the intention of instilling a ‘sense of belonging’ so that students feel engaged in campus life and their community. When we have strong communities students tend not to allow strangers into the building, they tend not to prop doors open, and they report suspicious behaviors and concerns about the welfare of other residents – which could include a student that might hurt themselves or others. (We also have less vandalism). Students are our ‘eyes and ears.’

Emergency Response: Critical Thinking Skills

Our residential life training includes basic counseling skills (including when to refer to our counseling center), emergency response, building systems and security, and when to request assistance from emergency response personnel (University Police, Fire Department). Beyond the formal training that includes the relay of information, our Resident Advisors participate in a role-playing exercise called “Behind Closed Doors.” In these sessions, the RA enters a room or apartment not knowing what situation they will confront. It could be a student in the process of committing suicide, a domestic dispute, a fire – or maybe an angry parent. The RA responds to the incident based on what they have learned in their training. After the role-playing scenario, the group ‘debriefs’ with a professional staff member – critiquing the response of the RA, what they might have done differently, etc. This emphasis on critical thinking skills is the cornerstone of our emergency response plan. There is no way to anticipate every incident that might occur – our intention is to assist our staff to make the best decision possible with the available information with the foremost intention of keeping our students out of harm’s way.

Information Dissemination

In the event of an emergency on campus that might present a harmful situation, we will attempt to contact students in the following ways:

“Word of Mouth”
Residential life staff (and all available housing staff) will go out into the residential community posting flyers, talking with students and asking them to contact other students with the information. At this time, our staff will inform students when it is ‘safe’ to leave the building. RAs will also attempt to connect with all of the residents for whom they are responsible. Rosters are updated on a regular basis and ‘attendance’ is taken in the event of an evacuation.

Public Address Systems
We will announce instructions over the public address system every several minutes until the situation is resolved. In the buildings that do not have public address systems, live-in staff will use bullhorns or student ‘runners’ to convey information.

LCD Screens
We will provide emergency information on lobby LCD television screens and cable channels as it becomes available.

Hotline
We will coordinate with campus to set-up a hot line for students and families to call for information.

Evacuation

If a situation requires evacuation, the campus has designated evacuation strategies and locations. We will provide that information via the hotline (and campus website if appropriate.) We are in the process of posting all possible designated locations on our website.

These are just a few informational items that I am hoping will assure you that we have emergency preparation and response plans that are continually updated to respond to new threats.

As you can imagine, I have spoken with a lot of students over the past few days. Most feel a vague sense of loss because this tragedy hasn’t directly affected them. Others acknowledge that the Virginia Tech shootings could have happened anywhere - in a grocery store, at a restaurant, and that “this is just part of life.” Luckily, every student with whom I spoke said that they felt safe on campus. What some students did indicate was a desire for more emergency response information so that they will know what to do during an emergency. We are working to get this information posted on our website.

Please feel free to forward any question that you might have about our safety and security protocols to me.

Just some reminders

Building Access
The front doors of all of our buildings are only accessible via access card. Please remind your student not to allow others into the building and to never prop an exterior door.

Counseling Services
If your student is feeling unsafe or needs to talk about the tragic incidents at Virginia Tech, our residential life staff is always willing to listen. We can also direct them to our counseling center. If your student takes medication for mental health reasons or depression, please encourage them to continue taking these medications. The stress of college life can be difficult and it is not a good time to skip dosages when they feel that ‘all is going well.’ On the same note, if your student recognizes that someone in their community has changed their behaviors, become withdrawn, or is acting out of character; encourage them to report this to their RA or RLC. (They should not confront the situation on their own).  The counseling services website can be found at the following link: http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/counseling/

Blue Light Phones
SJSU has a blue-light phone system all around campus. If a student feels threatened they can pick up the phone to call campus police (UPD). They can even use it to call for an escort. If, for some reason, they feel as though they need to keep moving, they could go from blue-light phone to blue-light phone and campus police will track the pattern and intercept the student.

University Police Department
Just as a reminder, the campus has its own police force. These are trained police officers that are highly visible on campus and in the residential community. They can respond to incidents in minutes. The University Police Department website can be found at: http://www.sjsupd.com/

Safety & Security Team
University Housing Services has a Safety & Security Team comprised of professional staff, student staff and residents. We discuss safety and security concerns, conduct safety walks throughout the residential complex and continue to address concerns that arise. If your student would like to be a part of the team, please let me know.

One last thing.

As much as the vast majority of students with whom I have interacted over the past several days have indicated that they ‘are fine,’ and not concerned or affected by the events at Virginia Tech, the research suggests that this might not always be the case. While this generation of students, (The Millenials) is described as very confident and independent, they are also a generation that values ‘connections.’ They value mentors and advisors, and many even like their parents! They are also very busy being students and might not communicate with you as often as you would like or expect but they still need your support. If you don’t already do this, our students tell me that a ‘text message’ from home is a preferred way to connect. This allows you to send your thoughts… without setting up an expectation for immediate response or discussion. This allows the student time to reflect on their feelings, which could result in a more genuine response. Just a thought [they say email is passé… it is not ‘immediate enough.’]

I apologize for the lengthy email, I do like to keep these “short and sweet” but I felt compelled to provide you with our plan of action and to reassure you that we take your student’s welfare and safety very seriously.

Please feel free to contact me if you have further questions. Our next ‘blog’ will address THE END OF THE SEMESTER….

University Housing Services