Haverford College has significantly enhanced its capacity to keep students safe on campus. The tragedy at Virginia Tech this past spring and the recent shooting on the campus of Delaware State University underscore the importance of investing in campus safety and confirmed the value of the investments we've already made and continue to make.
A cornerstone of our effort is educating our campus about the importance of what we call 'shelter in place': stay inside, lock your door, stay away from windows - don't come out until told it is safe. We've also taken several additional steps to complement that most basic of responses in the event of an emergency:
Emergency Notification Systems - We have installed an audible alert system which is essentially a very loud siren. This system will only be used in life threatening emergencies and will be audible all across campus. Upon hearing the siren, students and the college community are asked to lock doors and windows and to shelter in place until they hear an all-clear signal. Verbal instructions will be announced over a public address system, which will be heard on all parts of the campus. The siren system will be tested soon - there will be plenty of campus-wide announcements beforehand.
In addition, we are in the process of finalizing the installation of an electronic notification network which will include E-mail, text messages, and voice messaging. This will be tested along with the siren soon.
In the meantime, we would use the public address function of the siren system to give alerts and instruction, send out campus-wide e-mails, and immediately update the campus website via a GoPage link as well as the Weather/Emergency Information Hotline at:
610-896-4299 (HAZY).
