In light of the recent tornado damage to Union University, leaders at the three Georgia Baptist schools gave another look at what to do should rough weather bear down on their campuses.

“Our emergency response efforts have been revised after most major campus crises in the past ten years,” said Brewton-Parker president David Smith. “[Two weeks ago] all building managers and the student life staff met to discuss tornado preparedness. We held a similar meeting with the appropriate staff after the Virginia Tech crisis last spring. In each instance, we revised our plan in accordance to the crises experienced elsewhere.”

“Our general plan covers any type of campus emergency,” said Roy Hardy, interim vice president for administration at Truett-McConnell College. “We have a crisis management team and contact plan that extends to all employees and students. Safe zones have been identified for each building. Students are informed of the safe zone for their dorm during orientation.”

Notifying students of danger is key to preparations.

“[In an emergency] a message is sent out using our Shorter2U emergency notification system, which sends emails and text messages to faculty, staff, and students who have registered for the service,” said Dawn Tolbert, Shorter’s director of Institutional Relations. “The Shorter2U system also posts the alert directly to the Shorter.edu website. In addition, we also distribute alerts through our campus email system.

“We are currently investigating options for purchasing a campus siren that will have both siren and voice capabilities and should have this type of warning system in place within a few weeks.”

A similar process is taking place in Mount Vernon.

“We are currently working with companies to create a text communication system and to reinstate a local siren system,” said Smith.

BPC students are also kept up to date on emergency plans, said Kelley Arnold, the school’s director of News and Public Information.

“Faculty are reminded of safe zones,” she said Feb. 22. “Our residential life staff conduct drills and make sure students know where to go in case of an emergency.” An emergency response committee is established to explore other areas to increase campus safety.

“We use the Alert Now system,” said Hardy. “We have primary contacts for students and parents. Our director of safety, Jonathan Morris, can make one phone call to activate the system. Within minutes, all students, employees, and parents receive an automated recorded message.”

Schools also depend on local media and update their websites to reflect any preparations/responses to inclement weather.

Throw out the blizzard of 1993, and Shorter hasn’t been hit directly with a major weather event, said Tolbert. Truett-McConnell dodged a bullet in 2005 when an F2 tornado skipped across Helen ten miles away. A hurricane evacuation in eastern Georgia in 2000 led Brewton-Parker to partner with local government agencies and the Red Cross to become a refuge center.

 

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