The police scanners at Binghamton University crackled with the news: a shooting had occurred near campus.

Three blocks away, 13 people lay dead at the hands of a gunman who burst into the American Civic Association building and opened fire.

Once they had the facts, university officials used the SUNY NY-Alert system, a Web-based emergency alert channel that relays messages via e-mail, cell phone texts, telephone and other outlets, to notify students and faculty that a shooting had occurred and police had secured the scene, said UUPer David Hubeny, Binghamton University’s emergency manager.

Message received.

“The big thing is emergency alerting,” Hubeny said. “Everyone has cell phone text messaging in place and many campuses have outdoor sirens to warn of emergencies. But it doesn’t stop there. It’s about reaching out to the community to let them know there’s a problem.”

Binghamton’s reaction is standard procedure these days for colleges across the U.S., two years after the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech University.

Campus safety. Always a prime concern for colleges nationwide, it takes on a heightened awareness when classes resume each fall. And the issue is very much on the minds of many UUPers, who are leading safety efforts on their campuses.

From training to use emergency alert systems such as SUNY NY-Alert and mass notification loudspeaker systems to assessing campus safety and updating emergency response plans, UUPers have helped SUNY make strides in keeping schools safe.

“I think it’s comforting to our staff and students that we have these safeguards in place,” said UUPer LouAnn Matthews-Babcock, co-chair of the Personal Safety Committee on Campus at Delhi. “I think there’s some peace of mind that we have these items to use if needed.”

“Virginia Tech was the catalyst that made every campus analyze what its emergency response would be,” said UUPer Eric Gullickson, director of media relations at New Paltz and a school Emergency Response Team member. “You try to be as prepared as you can. If you can save one life through your communications, it’s worth it.”

Emergency communications may have saved lives at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Mich., where a student was gunned down in a classroom in April. The school went into lockdown after the shooting, prompting college officials to alert students and faculty to immediately lock their classrooms and offices via its emergency notification system, according to published news reports.

“The whole idea is to be as quick as you can with your communications,” Gullickson said.

That was a strong focus of the Chancellor’s Task Force on Critical Incident Management, a panel convened by former SUNY Chancellor John Ryan a month after the Virginia Tech shootings to assess existing SUNY campus safety risk assessment practices and suggest ways to better prepare for and handle campus emergencies.

Recommendations now reality

In its 2007 report, the 23-member task force—which included seven UUPers—pushed campuses to beef up emergency response procedures, review campus firearms policies and provide training to handle aggressive acts reporting and mental health crisis intervention.

The panel concentrated on the issue of communicating emergencies, calling for the installation of mass notification systems, and setting up at least one communications channel using e-mail, sirens and instant messaging.

A number of SUNY schools have made some or all of these measures a reality. Binghamton, Albany, Delhi, New Paltz, Potsdam, Farmingdale, Canton and Old Westbury use SUNY NY-Alert, according to their Web sites. Others, like New Paltz, contract out for a private notification system service.

SUNY NY-Alert, which went live in September 2007, had registered more than 230,000 individuals last spring to receive emergency messages by e-mail, cell phone text message, telephone, paging, dial-out voice messaging, Web pages or fax, according to SUNY’s Office of Public Relations. As of September, 58 two- and four-year SUNY campuses were on SUNY NY-Alert, part of the NY-Alert emergency notification system used by police, fire, governments and other emergency service providers.

UAlbany was one of the first SUNY schools to use SUNY NY-Alert; close to 90 percent of UAlbany’s students and faculty are on the system, said UUPer Michael Christakis, UAlbany’s assistant to the vice president and a member of the school’s SUNY NY-Alert Administrators Group.

“SUNY NY-Alert made good sense for us,” he said. “For a campus of over 20,000 people, you’ve got to be able to get emergency messages out in very short order. This allows us to do that in a very seamless way.”

Public or private?

Binghamton University also uses SUNY NY-Alert, but it augments the system with a private alert service from Rave Wireless. The University at Buffalo and Oswego also use Rave Wireless systems.

Having twin systems lets Binghamton send emergency alerts to more people in more places. The systems send messages to electronic message screens in dining halls, at the main campus gates and in some classrooms, Hubeny said.

New Paltz had its emergency alert system in place before the Virginia Tech shooting and kept it because it works and staff know how to operate it. The school does not use SUNY NY-Alert; having to learn and maintain a second system would bog things down in an emergency, said Gullickson. About 5,000 of New Paltz’s 8,000 students and faculty are on the system, said UUPer Rachel Rubin, New Paltz’s director of Web communications.

The system is integrated with the college’s Blackboard system, and messages are automatically sent to the college’s Web site home page. Students can configure the system to have alerts sent to their Twitter and Facebook pages, she said.

Large loudspeakers

Because no single alert system can reach everyone, many SUNY schools have installed mass communication systems—usually a network of huge loudspeakers strategically placed around campus to broadcast emergency alerts.

Delhi’s system, a speaker array placed atop Evendon Tower, Delaware County’s highest building, was installed in January, said Matthews-Babcock. The school also uses the system to broadcast hourly tones and to play music, adding to the campus “aesthetic,” she said.

In September, New Paltz tested its system, a series of speaker arrays on three buildings. “It’s a (security) layer that we have and hope we never have to use,” said Gullickson.

Safety first

Campus security measures such as swipe card security systems at residence halls and some school buildings, well-lit campus areas, night student safety escorts, and emergency phones with highly identifiable blue lights have been part of life at SUNY campuses like Geneseo, Brockport, Albany, Binghamton and Fredonia since well before the Virginia Tech tragedy.

And some campuses, such as Delhi, are considering initiatives like upgrading video surveillance systems in high-traffic areas and installing cameras in some residence halls, said Matthews-Babcock.

“Like many other colleges, we’re very concerned with campus safety,” she said. “We want to make sure that our campus feels safe and comfortable.”

— Michael Lisi