The Griffon News

In hopes of improving the safety of Western, the Board of Governors approved the purchase and installation of an emergency safety plan estimated to cost $203,010. Ron Olinger, vice president for financial planning and administration, and Mark Mabe, the director of Information Technology presented information regarding the emergency safety standards of neighboring schools to the Board at the meeting on Jan. 4. The plan is comprised of four parts: A text message alert system, an indoor beacon system, an outdoor public address system and a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) system.

Ten out of ten regional universities and several private schools presently rely on a text message alert system that informs faculty of the type of emergency and of its location. The projected cost of installing this safety feature is $6,900.

     Two out of ten schools report having and indoor beacon system. The beacon system has visual and auditory cues that alert the building of the emergency and would be installed in the fire alarm system. The cost of placing one of these in each of Missouri Western’s halls is estimated at $143,000.

     Unique to Missouri Western would be an outdoor public address system installed in the clock tower, parts of the residence halls and Spratt stadium. Potentially, this outdoor system will be a very effective way to get timely information out to all parts of campus in case of an emergency. This part of the plan will cost an estimated $20,000.

     The final stage is the VOIP system.  Once installed, the university will use the Ethernet network connection in each classroom to install telephones.  This will allow two-way communication across campus during emergencies.

     The cost of implementing all phases of the system is $203,010 and an annual service and maintenance fee of $11,900. At the request of the faculty senate sources of funding were checked. Presently there are no federal grants available for the improvement of emergency alert systems in higher education institutes so the money to fund the plan will come from the university’s reserve fund.

 “The text message system that all colleges are using is a real quick fix; in my opinion we need to do this and do it now,” Olinger said after presenting this information to the board.

     In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy last spring, Governor Matt Blunt appointed Ron Olinger, to the statewide Campus Security Task Force.

The goal of the task force is to evaluate campus emergency response plans and insure close communications between higher education and public safety officials.

“I feel safe on campus, but any improvements couldn’t be a bad idea,” said junior Aaron Young. Presently the Missouri Western police department protects the campus 24 hours a day with the help of seven officers and six administrators. Courtesy Patrol escorts are available to students during certain hours. There are also nine emergency phones located across campus, some of which are damaged, and need repaired.

“We are very interested in the safety of our students; especially with the library being open so many hours, students and staff leave here very late at night,” said Circulation Coordinator Sandy Phillips. “I feel the public safety department does a very good job given what they have to work with; but in light of happenings on other campuses, the new system would be a great addition.”