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Author: Kimberly Benoit
Emergency Alerts Revamped for Faculty and Staff
With the arrival of winter – and the first weather-related disruption to University schedules happening this week – UConn faculty and staff members now have an improved way to get urgent updates from the University.
On the UConn Alert homepage – https://alert.uconn.edu – where campus status information is posted, and which houses any messages related to weather or other emergencies, a new link allows faculty and staff to choose how they want to receive communications.
Found on the main pages’ right-sidebar and under the “Resources” tab, the registration page allows faculty and staff members to choose multiple cell phone numbers and email addresses, along with a landline, as the preferred method of contact.
For the first time, too, the system can now accommodate phone numbers from outside the U.S., an important addition to a faculty and staff population as diverse as UConn’s.
The change comes as part of an overall revamping of UConn’s system of emergency communications, undertaken under the auspices of the Division of University Safety with assistance from University Information Technology Services.
“The technology has advanced since the time when the University first started offering registration for text messages and emails,” says Christopher Renshaw, UConn fire captain and the fire department’s liaison to the Office of Emergency Management. “We wanted to make this as streamlined and user-friendly as possible, while providing people with options that weren’t available before.”
Signing up for alerts by text and email is the best way to learn of University decisions regarding weather and other urgent situations that could affect scheduling, along with visiting the UConn Alert page and checking the University’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Based on the success of the faculty and staff version, an updated student interface is planned for the start of the spring semester via the PeopleSoft platform.
Renshaw notes that the new registration system features of this platform are a boon to the University’s University Safety communications effort. “It is a big improvement over what we’d been able to offer in the past,” he says.
DAILY CAMPUS ARTICLE: Campus safety practices and tools strengthened
Blue Lights can be found all around campus to help students in emergency situations. The university is currently searching for new alternatives including phone applications to replace the system. (Zhelun Lang/The Daily Campus)
The University of Connecticut Office of Emergency Management and the UConn Police and Fire Departments are increasing their efforts to protect students in times of an emergency, especially as new safety devices are becoming more popular.
UConn continues to use email crime alerts, Blue Light responders on campus, advertisements and other standard emergency procedures to alert students of crime reports and procedures, as well as assist students in times of emergency. UCPD is open to finding newer technological alternatives to the Blue Lights, but will continue to use Blue Lights until further notice, according to Police Chief Hans Rhynhart.
“We are still open to evaluating different technological solutions for replacement of the phones, however at this time have not found a suitable replacement,” Rhynhart said. “There are no plans, at this time, to remove the phones.”
In a Nov. 3 crime alert that was issued via email to the UConn community, UCPD reported that a man approached a woman outside of the Commissary Warehouse, touched her buttocks and then ran off. The email included a photograph of the perpetrator.
Within two hours, another email was distributed, thanking the community for the quick response to the first email and that the man had been identified and arrested.
“Based on the randomness and seriousness of the crime, the quick report to us, the fact the act was caught on camera and we had 100 percent confirmation that the person on the camera was the person who committed the crime, we felt it was important to include the photograph in the warning,” Rhynhart said. “The photograph and its dissemination led to the quick apprehension of the offender.”
Students appreciate the quick emails informing them of campus safety issues.
“Whenever there is a reported crime we get emails from the police department that detail what occurred and where, and the administration always advises us of health concerns like the gas leak in TLS,” seventh-semester biological sciences major William Carrion said.
Students may have noticed new advertisements on the shuttle buses instructing them what to do in case of an emergency. One such advertisement says during an active threat to run, hide and if all else fails, fight.
Ryhnhart said posters of these kinds have not been as widely used as they are now.
“Our Office of Emergency Management in conjunction with both the police and fire departments have worked extremely hard to increase the amount of community outreach we do and the posters and other information being disseminated is a result of those efforts,” Rhynhart said.
Blue Lights
In a Feb. 9 article by The Daily Campus, the UConn Police Department told the reporter that removing the Blue Lights was not far off.
The Blue Lights are spread across all UConn campuses. If a student finds him or herself in a threatening situation, they can push the “call” button on one of the 273 Blue Lights across the Storrs campus. Campus police will respond through the speaker on the phone and arrive at the location.
“We had been working with different student and staff groups to evaluate the phones and various replacements to the phones,” Rhynhart said. “We found that the best solution, at this time, is to keep the phones in place.”
The phones were installed as part of the UConn 2000 plan, a 10-year $1 billion program to improve and revitalize the university.
“I don’t really know anything about the Blue Lights,” Carrion said. “I’ve never personally used one and I actually don’t know anyone who has so I think the system could use an overhaul. I like the idea of there being a smartphone app.”
No data is kept regarding how often the phones are used by the University Information Technology Services or UCPD.
Technological alternatives
As UCPD looks for other alternatives to the Blue Lights, the department is considering other devices to keep students, faculty and staff safe.
There are several apps and other safety devices on the market to help people if they find themselves in dangerous situations.
For example, about 100 UConn students are using a personal alarm made by ROBOCOPP, said Public Relations Director Jill Turner.
The PhoneFlare app works in conjunction with a users headphone jack. If a user is in trouble they can rip whatever they have in their headphone jack out to send a notification to a contact that something is wrong. (Amar Batra/The Daily Campus)
The devices, called Sound Grenade and ROBORanger, are small, battery powered devices that emit a loud alarm intended to startle a perpetrator and alert others in the area.
Sound Grenade, available for $16, clips onto a backpack or keychain. Powered by a watch battery, it emits a 120 decibel alarm that can be reset and reused.
ROBORanger, available for $100 plus a $7 monthly subscription, offers the same small size and alarm as Sound Grenade, only 10 decibels louder. It also alerts police, friends and family in the event of an emergency and sends its GPS location. It is the first connected personal alarm.
Turner said ROBOCOPP began like many other new safety devices, with the need for a woman to feel safe on her college campus.
“We think technology can be doing much more,” Turner said. “There are calorie trackers, fitness trackers, but there is nothing for your safety when you really need it. Through our research we found that alarms are one of the best possible criminal deterrents.”
Turner said the company has partnered with college campuses to offer bulk orders of the alarm devices as a discounted price.
A smartphone app called PhoneFlare alerts the police when a user is in danger and sends the GPS location. The app is free for all users.
Users can initiate an emergency in PhoneFlare by declaring an emergency manually, ripping the headphones out of the smartphone or failing to meet a check-in time that was previously scheduled.
There are also options to prevent false alarms, as well as features to address coercion. For example, “silent” alarms can be sent out by selecting a different color alarm, or using a different finger on Apple Touch-ID. To a perpetrator, the phone looks like it was disarmed, but the alert was indeed sent to police.
The app also has the power to record audio and gather Bluetooth data when it is armed.
“We wanted to create an app that would help litigation during sexual assault trials,” PhoneFlare founder Christopher Cinq-Mars Jarvis said. “Underreporting is such a huge problem. The app can gather empirical information and evidence that can help a victim feel a little more confident about being believed.”
The app gathers Bluetooth data to prove that the victim and the assailant were within 15 feet of each other when PhoneFlare was armed and activated.
When hearing about the new PhoneFlare app, ninth-semester chemistry major Alina Sherwani said she would consider using it. However, Sherwani said she never feels the need to carry pepper spray or any other protecting tools on this campus, because she feels safe.
As new technologies continue to make their way into mainstream media, it will be interesting to see how college campuses continue to keep their students and staff safe.
“We are always open to feedback as to how we can continue to deliver professional and efficient police services to the community… We provide a high level of service which we are always striving to make better,” Ryhnhart said. “Community involvement and feedback is critical to this desire to be better.”
Link to original article: Daily Campus
Do1thing: December
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Monthly ReminderSmall steps toward being prepared for an emergency Do 1 Thing is a 12-month program that makes it easy for you to prepare yourself, your family, and your community for emergencies or disasters.
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Do1Thing in December: First AidBe prepared to give first aid while waiting for an ambulance. Know what to do while waiting for an ambulance to arrive.Call 911 instead of trying to take an injured or ill person to the hospital yourself. It seems like waiting for an ambulance will make it take longer to get help, but ambulance crews can start providing care as soon as they arrive. Make or buy first aid kits for your home and car.Ready-made first aid kits are available at most department stores or your local American Red Cross chapter. Take training in first aid, CPR, AED, or pet first aid.Knowing how to apply a bandage, identify the signs and symptoms of shock, perform CPR or use an automatic external defibrillator (AED) can save a life. News from the 12/01/2016 edition: |
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First AidBe prepared to give first aid while waiting for an ambulance. |
UConn OEM Announces Partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – “If You See Something Say Something™” Campaign
Release Date: 11/2016
For Immediate Release
The UConn Office of Emergency Management is proud to announce our partnership with the public awareness campaign of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), “If You See Something, Say Something™.”
“If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign materials will be visible throughout the UConn community, which includes the regional campuses. Community members are encouraged to contact the UConn Police Department with information on suspicious activity at 860-486-4800. For an emergency, dial 911.
The “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign—originally implemented by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and now licensed to DHS for a nationwide campaign—is a simple and effective program to engage the public and key frontline employees to identify and report indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime to the proper law enforcement authorities.
The Department launched the “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign in conjunction with the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative—an administration effort to train state and local law enforcement to recognize behaviors and indicators related to terrorism and terrorism-related crime; standardize how those observations are documented and analyzed; and ensure the sharing of those reports with the Federal Bureau of Investigation-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces for further investigation and fusion centers for analysis.
For more information on the campaign, visit http://publicsafety.uconn.edu/emergency/resources/see-something-say-something/. All UConn campaign materials are available for download on our website.
Do1thing: November
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Monthly ReminderSmall steps toward being prepared for an emergency Do 1 Thing is a 12-month program that makes it easy for you to prepare yourself, your family, and your community for emergencies or disasters. |
Do1Thing in November: Emergency SuppliesRemember important items that may be overlooked when leaving your home in a disaster. |
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Remember important items that may be overlooked when leaving your home in a disaster. |
Annual Letter to the University
To the University Community:
With the winter storm season approaching, we’d like to refresh your knowledge about UConn operations during inclement weather.
The safety of our students, faculty, and staff is paramount. At the same time, the University has important teaching, research and service missions to carry out, and must maintain effective operations. With all due consideration to safety, the University’s goal is to maintain normal operations to the greatest extent possible.
We therefore make decisions about cancelling classes or curbing business operations very carefully, with full consideration of all available information about weather predictions and road conditions.
We encourage you to read UConn’s Emergency Closing Policy for details about how these decisions are made, expectations of employees, and other information.
The following guidance applies to all UConn locations except UConn Health.
How you’ll know the status of the University during inclement weather:
- In the rare cases when we determine it is necessary to cancel or delay classes or to close business operations at the University, the community will be notified as quickly as possible.
- When storms occur overnight, we aim to make this notification by 5 a.m. Sometimes conditions change rapidly, however, and we may need to adjust decisions about class schedules and business operations on short notice.
- UConn’s Alert webpage (http://alert.uconn.edu) is the definitive source of information about the University’s operating status and should be your primary source.
- UConn community members at all locations, excluding UConn Health, are encouraged to also check the University’s 24-hour emergency closing information number: 860-486-3768.
- Although the University makes every effort to notify the news media about operating changes at UConn’s campuses, we cannot guarantee that details provided by news outlets represent the most current or complete information.
What closes, what stays open:
- UConn acts accordingly if the governor closes state agencies, releases state employees from work, or restricts road travel due to weather conditions.
- Certain operations must continue even in severe weather, including University Safety, residential and dining services, health services, animal care, facility maintenance, and other critical services.
- Decisions about whether to continue or cancel particular services, such as transportation, are made on a case-by-case basis depending on existing conditions and needs.
- The Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, UConn Athletics, and other units that sponsor events and activities decide independently whether to continue or cancel their events, and you should contact them directly with questions.
Who reports to campus, and when:
- Emergency Support Services/Essential Staff are expected to remain at or report to work as directed. Supervisors must make themselves aware of and follow the applicable policies and procedures for their units. Guidance in the University’s emergency closing policy will be particularly helpful in understanding these expectations.
- If the University has not announced a delay or cancellation of classes, faculty are expected to hold classes as scheduled.
- In exceptional circumstances when a faculty member determines he or she is unable to travel safely to campus, the faculty member must notify his or her dean and department head, and must also notify all students in the class. Faculty must not, however, cancel class prior to the University’s decision about whether the University will alter its normal schedule.
- Faculty may elect to hold classes virtually using online methods at any time.
- Faculty should respect the decisions of commuting students who decide not to travel to campus, or to leave class early in order to get home safely, and provide options for them to make up missed work.
- Students should contact their professors as soon as possible if they must miss a class or other activity due to weather conditions.
Keep safety first when traveling:
- Always consider your safety first. Weather and road conditions may vary considerably across the state, so all members of the University community must evaluate the circumstances they face, plan extra time for their commute if necessary, and take other common sense measures.
- Even when the University remains open for business, individuals may appropriately decide not to come to campus or to leave campus early.
- In these situations, employees may use a vacation day, personal time, or other accrued time without advance approval, but they must notify their supervisors that they are doing so.
The University continues to emphasize the paramount importance of safety. Faculty, staff, and students should evaluate their own circumstances carefully, exercise appropriate judgment, and take responsibility for their safety when making decisions during inclement weather.
We wish you a productive semester.
Sincerely,
Mun Y. Choi
Provost and Executive Vice President
Scott A. Jordan
Executive Vice President for Administration and CFO
Gov. Malloy – Interagency Drought Workgroup
Friday, October 28, 2016
Gov. Malloy: After State’s First-Ever Drought Watch Issued, Residents Asked to Voluntarily Reduce Water Use When Possible
Drought Watched Issued for the First Time Ever in Six of Connecticut’s Eight Counties
(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that in response to the decision made by the Connecticut Interagency Drought Workgroup to issue the state’s first-ever Drought Watch, he is advising residents to be mindful of their water consumption and to limit unnecessary water usage when possible.
“After three years of precipitation shortfalls, we are moving to a Drought Watch and it would be extremely helpful if residents could be mindful of their water consumption and take sensible steps to help stretch our water supply,” Governor Malloy said.
The Drought Watch applies to counties in western and central Connecticut, including Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, and Tolland Counties. The Interagency Drought Workgroup is requesting residents, businesses, and local governments in these counties to voluntarily reduce their water use by around 15 percent. The previously announced Drought Advisory that went into effect statewide in June will remain for New London and Windham Counties, where residents, businesses, and local governments are asked to reduce usage by around 10 percent.
The Governor has directed the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services to review and implement areas where water usage among state government facilities can be reduced when possible.
Unlike a Storm Watch that is issued when bad weather is possible, a Drought Watch means that the state is already experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions. A decision to issue a Drought Watch is based on an assessment of indicator data monitored by state and federal agencies, including precipitation, stream flows, groundwater levels, reservoirs status, soil moisture, vegetation, and fire danger conditions. This data is available to the public on the Interagency Drought Workgroup’s website.
Paired with historically warm temperatures, precipitation in Connecticut ranged from 60 percent to 73 percent of normal conditions between June and September. Drinking water reservoirs have continued to decline, and average levels statewide were at less than 80 percent of normal as of the end of September, with some reservoirs less than half full.
Residents and businesses served by public water suppliers are urged to follow any advice or requests from their supplier and municipalities, as conditions will vary across the state. Residents and businesses supplied by groundwater wells should be aware of any local ordinances in place regarding water usage restrictions, and should conserve water to reduce the potential stress on their wells, neighboring wells, and on the environment.
To date, 20 water companies have requested voluntary conservation or imposed mandatory restrictions. A continually updated list of these water companies is available on the Department of Public Health’s website.
While this is the state’s first Drought Watch, lower-level Drought Advisories were previously declared in 2002, 2007, 2010, and earlier this year. A Drought Watch is the second of four stages of drought defined in the Connecticut Drought Preparedness and Response Plan.
The Connecticut Interagency Drought Workgroup consists of state officials from the Department of Public Health, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Department of Agriculture, Office of Policy and Management, and the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. It will continue to monitor conditions across the region and will provide updates as needed.
UConn Emergency Operations Plan
On Wednesday, September 28th, 2016, UConn’s President Susan Herbst signed the new UConn Emergency Operations Plan, authorizing its implementation throughout the University. The Office of Emergency Management has spent the last two years completely revamping the emergency management program at UConn, which included rewriting the Emergency Operations Plan. To develop this new plan, the Office of Emergency Management met with planning teams from many essential divisions, departments and offices at UConn, all regional campuses, UConn Health and John Dempsey Hospital. In addition, the Office of Emergency Management met with local emergency managers across Connecticut and state-level emergency management officials.
The Office of Emergency Management maintains UConn’s Emergency Operations Plan with active involvement from the UConn community. The Plan is an all-hazards based which details the procedures for planning, response, recovery and mitigation of hazards and threats to the University of Connecticut at all campus locations, including considerations for Education Abroad programs. Essential University of Connecticut personnel should review the document to become familiar with its guidelines prior to an incident or event. The EOP is reviewed and tested annually to ensure effectiveness and compliance with state and federal regulations.
For more information and to view the EOP, visit www.publicsafety.uconn.edu/emergency/uconn-emergency-operations-plan/.
DAILY CAMPUS ARTICLE: Extinguishing Danger
The Emergency Operations Team shares the preparation that goes in to producing major campus events such as the Jon Bellion concert. (Zhelun Lang/The Daily Campus)
The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and the UConn Fire Department (UCFD) had no emergencies at the Jon Bellion fall concert last Friday, accredited to the coordinated efforts of the Emergency Operations Team (EOT).
The EOT is a preparation coalition that plans for large events taking place on UConn campuses.
“This planning [for Bellion] has been very similar to the planning we have done under the new OEM model in the last year and a half,” UConn Fire Department Liaison Captain, Chris Renshaw said, “and that is a collaborative planning process with all of the stakeholders at the operations level for the university come together for the actual concert.”
There are three phases for UCFD and OEM when preparing for such an event: Planning, implementation and reflection.
Planning meetings include multiple different representatives from operations personnel, such as student affairs, UCFD, UCPD, parking services and transportation. These are times when units can work out their different goals to ensure the safety and enjoyment of those participating in the event.
After planning is completed, the event happens. Each arm will perform their job as discussed in the planning meeting, and they will come together and reflect in an “After Action Review” meeting, no more than a month after the event.
“This [the After Action Review] was implemented to capture what went well and what didn’t work as well as we had hoped,” Renshaw said, “this helps for us to identify gaps and create the means to rectify mistakes for future events, capturing the lessons learned.”
The UConn Fire Department and OEM are not always the ones who initiate this process, as it is the organization planning the event, such as UConn Athletics for a sporting event, or Jorgenson for a theatrical performance, who start the process with UCFD and OEM as stakeholders.
There are many different events outside of the fall concert that require these stakeholder coloration meetings.
“There are roughly 12 significant events a year,” UCFD Chief John Mancini said: “They include: Move-In weekend, Halloween, the fall and spring Concerts, what was formally known as spring weekend and commencement. The other events can be big games at Gampel, shows at Jorgenson or major weather events.”
The response to weather events is similar to those pre-planned events but requires a different form of planning.
“For something like weather, it does come down to how quickly we see a reliable forecast,” said Renshaw. “We gauge our response as the weather become more accurate as the day’s progress. And if it’s a hurricane that is three days out, we then have those three days to prepare. We can then gear up that same mechanism [for more planned events] of those folks who are involved with a response on campus.”
When the event is too large for the forces at UConn, OEM will reach out to local and state bodies to assist with UConn’s response. If the services provided by the state and local municipalities are needed elsewhere, UConn will then hire out contractors to complete the job.
“If there is a big snowstorm, they have to know we don’t have access to those outside resources and have to think outside of the box,” Mancini said. “We had contactors on stand-by and they got here right away, which was pre-planning on their part.”
“Our main goal is to keep our venues safe, keep our staff and faculty safe, keep our visitors safe, our students safe and keep our performers safe,” Mancini continued. “This is a big university and things do happen, but we would like to stay on top of them.”
Link to original article: Daily Campus