Emergency Preparedness and Response

April 18, 2007

Dear Resident,

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 resident who lives with us is critically injured or dies. It affects our staff and our residential communities - where people 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 safety very seriously. Rather than process the events at Virginia Tech, I want to validate that you might be concerned about your safety while you 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 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 resident 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 residents from leaving the building.

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 residents and asking them to contact other residents with the information. At this time, our staff will inform residents 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 residents 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 response to new threats.

I have spoken with a lot of residents 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 resident with whom I spoke said that they felt safe on campus. What some residents 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 do not to allow strangers into the building and never prop an exterior door.

Counseling Services
If you would like to talk about the incidents at Virginia Tech, our residential life staff is always willing to listen. We can also connect you with a counselor at the counseling center. If you take medication for mental health reasons or depression, please continue taking these medications. The stress of college life can be difficult and it is not a good time to skip dosages even if you feel that ‘all is going well.’ On the same note, if you recognize that someone in your community has changed their behaviors, become withdrawn, or is acting out of character; please report this to your RA or RLC. (Please do not confront the situation on your 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 you ever feel threatened you can pick up the phone to call campus police (UPD). You can even use it to call for an escort. If, for some reason, you feel as though you need to keep moving, you can go from blue-light phone to blue-light phone and campus police will track the pattern and intercept you.

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 you would like to be a part of the team, please let me know.

I apologize for the lengthy email but I felt compelled to provide you with our plan of action and to reassure you that we take your welfare and safety very seriously.

Please feel free to contact me if you have further questions.

University Housing Services