Sent: 2009-08-31
From: Dr. Daniel P. Nadler - Vice President for Student Affairs
To: Students, Employees
Subject: Campus Safety – Notification Testing
Members of the Campus Community:
On Tuesday, Sept. 1, sirens will sound on campus.
Expect the first at 10 a.m. Expect the second at 10:30 a.m. Do not be alarmed, as they are only tests. But do listen carefully and learn to identify their distinctive sounds; they could someday help save your life.
You will hear these sirens being tested on the first Tuesday of every month.
The 10 a.m. siren is a singular continuous tone used by the Coles County Emergency Management Agency to alert the EIU and Charleston communities about severe weather (e.g., a tornado) in the immediate area. Please be prepared to take appropriate cover should you hear this siren sound outside the regularly scheduled testing period.
The 10:30 a.m. siren, recognized by its distinctive "pulse tone," is designed to alert the university community about potentially dangerous non-weather-related threats (e.g., an active shooter situation, bomb threat, hazardous material spill, etc.) Students, faculty and staff hearing this tone (outside of a testing period) should check their EIU assigned e-mail accounts and/or EIU's Web site (http://www.eiu.edu) for important information. Details concerning the emergency will be posted/updated as soon as they become available.
(Please Note: Those of you who are familiar with campus and who think you know what to expect from the sirens might be in for a surprise. An additional siren/public address speaker was installed over the summer. The addition, installed on the north side of campus, has enhanced the effectiveness -- and volume -- of the overall system!)
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Also on Tuesday, Sept. 1, subscribers to Alert EIU will receive a test message -- the only test planned for Fall 2009. Alert EIU is Eastern Illinois University's text-messaging system that alerts subscribers, via their cell phones, to life-threatening non-weather emergency situations. Messages are short -- no longer than 160 characters -- and focus on possible threats to EIU's main campus.
The system will only be used for notification of emergencies requiring immediate action. It will not be used for any commercial purpose.
For additional information, please see the following Web site: http://www.eiu.edu/alerteiu
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Many of you have seen copies of the red/black 20-page EIU Emergency Handbook distributed in public areas around campus. These booklets were created with the intent of assisting the EIU community in responding to potential and/or actual environmental and public safety hazards that may occur on campus.
President Bill Perry asks that you all take the time to become familiar with the content of this handbook. While he is hopeful that none of you will ever have need of the information contained within its pages, he also knows that no community -- or campus -- is immune from hazards, be they natural or man-made. He trusts that this publication -- especially if read and studied prior to an emergency -- will help all of us be prepared for whatever might come.
Sincerely,
Daniel P. Nadler, Ph.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs
and Associate Professor
