Rohan Rajogopalan ’14: Episcopal Academy conducted a test of the emergency mass communication system on November 25th at 6:00 PM. The school sent out a pre-recorded message to the home and cell phones of most members of the Episcopal community currently within the communication system.
Over 3,700 people received the message between 6:00 and 6:35 PM. 657 text messages were also sent out the next morning. The security staff conducted a survey after the test and found that almost 80% of people received the message on one of their phones.
Joe Shanahan, Manager of Campus Safety, described the test as “a good starting point.” However, he noted the test was not perfect.
“It did not hit on all the texting as it should have, and an electronic voice went out instead of my voice,” he explained. “This is why we test systems to make sure we know what we are doing. If we are going to make a mistake, that is where I want to make it.”
Shanahan stressed the importance of combining Episcopal’s multitude of technology systems.
“Whether it is the blackboard connect system we used on the twenty-fifth [of November] to send the message out or the inform cast systems which makes up the speakers in the buildings our goal is to get the systems integrated and to talk to each other,” said Shanahan. He emphasized that his ultimate goal was “to get our message out as quickly and as cleanly as we can.”
Photo Courtesy of Amanda Paolino ’15
Although this is the first test of the emergency communication system this year, the security system has existed previously at EA. Its exact function varies and it can be used for anything from severe weather alerts to campus emergencies. Shanahan said, “The snow day is an easy [situation] when you could imagine us using this system.” In fact, on December 9, Episcopal used the emergency communication system to notify students and faculty about a two-hour delay through automated phone calls and text messages.
Because Shanahan has recently been installed as Head of Security, campus security is gradually undergoing some changes. Shanahan described the process, noting, “The first step for us is to take a look at the plans we have and tailor them to fit EA. We want our emergency plans to make sense for the school itself.”
In addition, Shanahan mentioned plans for a possible ID system to secure buildings. This would represent a major change to the current situation where campus access does not require any sort of identification.
Despite the potential changes, Shanahan stressed the importance of ease. He noted, “We don’t want to make any left turns. We don’t want to make any rash changes based on things going on in the world.” He finished by stressing any changes or decisions would be made, “by looking at Episcopal and seeing what makes sense here.”