Security on a college campus is important every hour of the day. It is Campus Safety’s number-one goal to make sure of this. We laud those efforts by Campus Safety, but last week’s events show there is still more work to be done. Students also need to be proactive in this movement.
According to the Keene State College Campus Safety website, “The Department of Campus Safety is committed to creating and maintaining a safe and secure environment by providing effective, efficient and consistent service to every member of the college community.” In order to maintain a safe environment, communication is crucial.
The Emergency Notification System (ENS) allows Campus Safety to communicate with students and faculty members through Dial-My-calls. Dial-My-calls sends messages, emails and makes phone calls of any alerts. The system prior to Dial-My-calls caused users to complain, as text messages were sent multiple times displaying the same message. However, complaints continue with the new system.
Erin D’Aleo / Graphics Editor
Some members of the KSC community say they have signed up for notifications and still do not receive alerts. These alerts are supposed to be sent to cell phones and email addresses. The recent snow days tested the effectiveness of the Dial-My-calls, and with some people still falling through the cracks, the system is failing.
Director of Campus Safety Amanda Guthorn reported to The Equinox that before December 31, 1,400 students had signed up. Now 2,909 students are enrolled in ENS. According to the KSC Admissions website, the total amount of students enrolled at KSC is 5,738. That leaves 2,829 students without notifications in the case of an emergency. Students and faculty should enroll in the ENS on Campus Safety’s website. Technology has enabled us to constantly stay connected—there should be no excuses. Whether it’s a school closing alert due to a snow day or an alert about a threat to safety on campus such as the presence of an armed person, it is important that everyone stay informed. Those 2,829 students who have yet to sign-up need to become involved, too.
KSC can be a safe campus if everyone does his or her part to stay informed. We must first start with fixing the flaws in the Dial-My-calls system communicating these notifications. Then the responsibility falls on students and faculty. Taking a few minutes to sign up for ENS is one of the easiest precautions members of the KSC community can take. There should be no flaws in the effort to keep KSC the safest campus it could possibly be.
