From Bruce Shepard: Message on campus emergency preparedness
Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard sent the following email message to Western faculty, staff and students on Monday, Oct. 13:
Dear Western students, faculty and staff:
As the fall quarter gets under way, and everyone is very busy with classes and a host of many other activities, I’d like to urge you to pause during your hectic day and take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with an important topic: emergency preparedness on Western’s campus.
We have all seen too many grim reminders that violence knows no boundaries, whether off- or on-campuses across our region and nation. This summer there was a deadly shooting at Seattle Pacific University. We can’t eradicate violence but we can prepare for its possibility.
Too often I have heard from well-intentioned people on campus that a shooter or other potential act of violence is the sole responsibility of University Police. Our well-trained and dedicated campus police and other law enforcement personnel will respond accordingly and professionally to safeguard our campus, but these events happen very quickly and it is everyone’s responsibility – student, professor and staff member – to understand the basics of how best to protect yourself.
On Wednesday, Oct. 15, the university will hold a drill of the Western Alert emergency notification system. Please learn and understand the various ways – audio messages in buildings, text messages, email and homepage – that we will alert you in an emergency. If you haven’t already done so please sign up via Web4U to receive Western Alert text messages on your cellphone. Ninety-four percent of Western students have provided their cellphone numbers for Western Alerts. Thank you. We’d also like to see similar numbers for faculty and staff. We will only use your cellphone number for Western Alerts texts.
Once you receive a Western Alert message, knowledge of how best to respond during an emergency on campus may save your life or the life of a colleague or fellow student. I strongly urge you to watch these videos so you will know how to respond:
Western’s emergency management video (scroll down) will give you important campus safety tips;
The video “Run.Hide.Fight” describes what to do if confronted by a shooter;
And a video titled “Flash Point” will help you recognize warning signs of potentially dangerous people.
University police also can provide violence prevention training to groups on campus.
As members of the Western community, please prepare to protect yourself even in the worst possible scenarios. The life you save could be your own. Please have a great – and safe – fall quarter!
Thank you,
Bruce Shepard
President