Planning for Crisis--minor or major

After the horrid shooting that took place at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA, many schools launched into crisis planning to figure out what to do if similar events happened on their campuses.

While many felt it was overreacting to a painful and scary event, it has proved to be very useful in lots of other minor crises since then.

At our school, committees were formed to draft policy for what to do if such a crisis as a shooter happened. Some felt like it was overkill--this would never happen here, right? But the policies were written and filed. Faculty and staff attended training sessions where videos were shown on how to act if there was an active shooter.

The university system implemented a new auto-response emergency notification system called Noti-Find. This computer generated messaging system simultaneously sends out messages to email, phone, and cell phones. At the time it was implemented, it was likely with the idea of such a crisis as Virginia Tech.

Since then, however, it has been used several times over this ridiculously long and frigid winter to notify employees and students of campus closings. This use in itself has been a huge plus for me.

In the past, I have made the treacherous drive into work in inclement conditions because if I did not, I would be required to take annual leave. On at least one occasion, I arrived only to find out the campus closed and I could go home. That drive home was not any nicer than the drive in.

So this winter when notifind called me to let me know the campus was closing, I was so grateful not to have made that drive in as I had done in the past. Thank you Noti-Find!!

After 9/11, another type of planning went into effect that I have never had to use--how to handle suspicious mail, telephone bomb threats, or abandoned luggage or suspicious cases in public areas. However, I have to say, every time I rip open an envelope and the paper dust floats around, I can't help but think of anthrax spores.

While we have not had the type of crisis that has been planned for, at least the measures taken have proved useful in other more practical and mundane areas. Hopefully, we will never need them for what they were actually designed for.