ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The SUNY
College at Oneonta has taken a number of measures recently to
enhance campus safety and security in light of the tragedy at
Virginia Tech. The College worked closely with the SUNY Chancellor's
Task Force on Critical Incident Management, as well as police and
safety agencies on and off campus, in developing the enhancements.
Over the summer, SUNY-Oneonta undertook a complete review of risk
assessment and mental health issues, emergency response procedures,
and communications technology.
In its review of risk assessment and mental health issues, the
College assessed the adequacy of its licensed mental health staff on
campus, reviewed risk assessment practices to ensure that a
comprehensive prevention program is in place, and created a
multi-disciplinary behavior assessment committee to identify
individuals who are potential risks.
In its examination of emergency response procedures, the College
reviewed its Immediate Action Rapid Deployment plans, updated its
Emergency Response Plan, reviewed protocols for violent critical
incidents, and conducted training in the National Incident
Management System for senior officials and staff involved in
emergency/crisis response. The College's emergency response team
reviews and updates campus plans annually and conducts quarterly
exercises to simulate actual emergencies. The College has also
expanded its emergency communications capability, reviewed
agreements with external first responders, and addressed
shelter-in-place, evacuation strategies, medical aid locations, and
availability of trained staff.
SUNY-Oneonta has ensured that emergency communication systems are
in place, including an active broadcast siren, a passive broadcast
system using closed-circuit television and online communications,
and an individual system to provide information through cell phones,
instant messaging, and text messaging.
The College is participating in NY-ALERT through the New York
State Emergency Management Office. The system enables campus
officials to send emergency and safety information and protective
action messages to the cell phones of registered members of the
campus community.
The College has also begun working on safety and security
enhancements in a number of other areas:
- A siren capability is being added to the College's carillon
on the roof of the Milne Library.
- The College is developing a campus policy on the use of
video surveillance for safety and security.
- The College is implementing a campus workplace violence
prevention policy and program in accordance with Section 27-b of
State Labor Law.
- The College has begun installing automated external
defibrillators in buildings and training volunteers to use them.
- SUNY-Oneonta has begun a search for an Emergency Management
Coordinator to provide leadership, strategic planning, and
coordination of the emergency preparedness and emergency
operational systems of the College.
University Police officers at SUNY-Oneonta have full New York
State police powers, and the campus serves as a training site
for various area police agencies. The
University Police
Department works closely with the
Office of Facilities, Safety
and Physical Plant on initiatives such as card-key access to
buildings, emergency blue lights on campus, fire detection and
suppression, and access to keys.
The campus is also in full compliance with the Clery Act, which
requires higher education institutions to give timely warnings
of crimes that represent a threat to the safety of students or
employees, and to make public their campus security policies.
The act also requires that crime data be collected, reported,
disseminated to the campus community, and submitted to the
Education Department. The act is intended to provide faculty,
staff, students, and their families with accurate, complete, and
timely information about safety on campus so that they can make
informed decisions.
The enhanced safety and security measures were communicated to
the campus community at the start of the new academic year in a
memo from Dr. Steven Perry, Vice President for Student
Development, and Dr. Leif Hartmark, Vice President for Finance
and Administration.
|
