Heading To College
College - Weather Safety
College students are hit with a lot of new information all at once when they get to campus. Being away from family for the first time, they may be more excited about independence and not thinking about personal preparedness. So, it’s important for families to make weather safety and awareness a part of their education at the start of each semester
Location and Alerts – Going to college sometimes means students live in or commute to a new environment. National Weather Service warnings are issued by geographic area, and many alert systems are triggered by the county. Know the town and county of your home and school to sign-up for life-saving alerts. Students AND parents should sign up for alerts from the National Weather Service. Often, the college offers weather alerting services as part of a campus-wide alerting system or application. Reach out to the school to learn more.
Get the Plan – Many schools have a safety or emergency guide summarizing the institution’s protocol for what the campus community should do in the event of an emergency situation (e.g., weather event, fire, active shooter, etc.). This guide is a good starting point for students and their parents to review to gain an understanding of what to do in these situations
A few extra tips about on-campus safety:
- Emergency Phones/Callboxes – e.g., Bluelight phones (strategically placed around campus) connect directly to campus police, know the location of phones and how to use them.
- LiveSafe APP (or similar) – many colleges utilize an APP for smartphones allowing students to have a “panic button” on their phones, call campus police with a touch of a button, and/or track the student via GPS (on the phone) when activated. These apps connect directly to campus police and are monitored.
- Campus Police – Know the campus police phone number and have it on speed dial.
- Campus/Text Alerts – To better disseminate emergency information, most colleges offer an emergency text messaging system that will alert students, parents, faculty and staff of a campus emergency or weather alert. This mass notification system can alert you with a notification to your smartphone and email, as well as posting to university social media accounts. This service is optional and usually requires a student (or parents) to sign-up. No advertising or non-emergency alerts are sent to you, but you must be registered to receive alerts. All campus community members are strongly urged to sign up to receive these alerts.