For the next few weeks, construction will be going on in various areas around campus. Director of Emergency Management Stephen J. Abrams has been working with numerous campus organizations to put in a multi-siren speaker array system around campus; it is in the process of being installed and will be for the next few weeks. The purpose of the sirens is to alert the RPI community of emergency or “life and death” situations where, as Abrams said, “students need to be notified immediately. This is not for your typical fire alarm system conducted in your residence halls.”
The emergency speaker system will have four positions throughout campus. The first siren will be located around East Campus at the Houston Field House. The second siren will be at the Mueller Center, and the third will be installed on top of the Center for Industrial Innovation to reach the core campus. The last one will be at Folsom Library to reach the Materials Research Center, Voorhees Computing Center, Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, and other buildings lining the outskirts of campus. These systems are not designed to penetrate buildings, but are meant to get the campus population into the buildings in case of an emergency.
If an emergency happens, the siren will sound an alarm followed by a voice message telling students and faculty what to do. The voice message will be simple and direct. Abrams said, “The system is designed to be straightforward and direct.”
Abrams also mentioned that Public Safety will be using their radio communications to help conduct the process in an orderly fashion, “which is always the first priority” he stressed.
Abrams also wanted to ensure the campus community that “This is not something that was just recently thought of or a system purchased on a whim; this system has been in the procurement process for quite some time.” Other colleges in the area that have already installed this system include Union College and Skidmore College.
In the development of the system, Abrams and those working with him looked at the most successful practices of other schools.
The installation will be completed by the end of May. Soon after there will be a test of the system. “We do not have a specific date yet, but we are not going to interfere with finals,” said Abrams. “At this point, the new system will most likely be tested after Commencement. People may hear some squeaks and noises during installation and construction over the next couple of weeks, but that should be it.”
Abrams and the emergency management department have been working to couple this system with various other vessels of communication. The new alerts will be incorporated into the already present RPIAlert. Abrams said, “Students will receive a text message, a voicemail, and an e;-mail. The alert will also appear on Concerto, as well as on the closed-circuit RPI TV channels.” Automatic updates to http://alert.rpi.edu/ will occur if there is an emergency.
Abrams is also looking at other ways to contact students and is even considering Twitter and Facebook as sources of communication. Before initiating testing, these methods of communication will be used to notify the campus community in advance. This should only affect people who will be on campus over the summer. Once the initial testing has been done, Abrams will be utilizing all of the sources of communication to educate students about the new system throughout the coming fall and spring semesters.
The biggest hindrance to the new system, as well as the current RPIAlert system, according to Abrams, is the lack of enrollment from students. Beginning with the Class of 2012, all students are automatically enrolled in RPIAlert. However, Abrams is concerned with upperclassmen. Students can enroll in RPIAlert or update their contact information at http://alert.rpi.edu/ as well.
Abrams has also been working with the student government, particularly the Web Technologies Group and the Finance, Facilities, and Advancement Committee. “I want to work with students to see how we can get the word out and how to get people enrolled with the RPIAlert system,” he said.
When the new system is installed, Abrams will continue to look at other systems from across the nation to make sure RPI continues to utilize the most successful methods for ensuring safety.
Abrams also plans to capitalize upon his time here since last October, along with seventeen years of experience in emergency management, ranging from the University of Florida in Gainesville to all 23 campuses of Pennsylvania State University, encompassing 90,000 students.
On a larger community scale, Abrams is maintaining the “professional prerequisite” of maintaining positive and interactive relationships with local law enforcement as well as Samaritan Hospital and other smaller organizations surrounding campus to educate and help ensure the safety of students, particularly those living off campus.
