By Tristan Weisenbach and Rebecca Heath
Managing Editor and News Editor
The College released its first mandatory online safety training for students on Feb. 12 after it received requests from students and faculty for additional safety resources.
Vice President of Operations Sharon Blanton announced the training, which is also mandatory for all College employees, in an email to the campus community on Feb. 7. The safety program consists of four courses for students and employees to complete by March 29.
“This training initiative is a crucial step towards equipping each member of our community with the knowledge and skills necessary to respond effectively to potential emergencies and maintain a secure campus environment,” Blanton wrote in the Feb. 7 email.
Awareness of campus safety protocols was called into question last semester after both studentsand faculty told The Signal that they largely lacked knowledge of what to do in various threatening situations, such as an active shooter or extreme weather event.
According to Blanton, a team extensively researched available online training platforms before selecting Vector Solutions. The College’s Emergency Response Team then spent months examining and testing the materials to ensure the training effectively covered the topics requested by the campus community, which include active shooter preparedness, campus fire safety, emergency and disaster preparedness, and health and safety awareness.
“They're just general information for what the CERT team is going to do or may do during an emergency, so these are some of the things we're looking at in the general terms of what you can do to assist that,” said Emergency Preparedness Manager Dan Posluszny in an interview.
After students and staff complete the training, Blanton said a feedback form will be sent out to evaluate whether it “hit the mark.”
“This isn't a one and done kind of thing,” Blanton said. “This is really about, you know, a more continuous process of increasing the knowledge and awareness throughout the campus community.”
The mandatory training is one of several new initiatives aimed at strengthening campus safety. Last semester, the College introduced mobile ID cards, which can be added to a digital wallet and allow students and employees to easily control their access into spaces, Blanton said.
Within the next few weeks, the College will alter the hours that academic buildings are unlocked. Chris Nitti, associate director of Campus Police services, said one tentative plan would keep buildings unlocked from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and would require swipe access to enter outside of these hours. However, buildings would remain unlocked after hours for events and performances.
“Everybody has been used to the open campus concept and everybody enjoys that,” said Nitti. “But the reality of it is, it's a safety and security concern for the campus.”
Campus Police will also continue providing in-person, on-site safety training customized to a specific building or department upon request, according to Nitti.
Blanton said it is unclear whether students and employees will be required to complete mandatory safety training every year. Administration emphasized that addressing campus safety concerns will be an ongoing, collaborative process.
“We're confident that because faculty, staff and students requested this, that they're going to be participating and really joining us as a community to try to figure out what other ways we can move forward in helping people feel safe on campus,” Blanton said.
