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Question and Answers about GW's Emergency Preparedness Plan
The University has taken a proactive role in safeguarding the GW community through our emergency preparedness plans. While we cannot anticipate every emergency situation, the University has an Incident Response Team and a Crisis Action Team that can be activated in a matter of minutes when situations warrant such action. The Crisis Action Team has been in place for years and has served the University well in dealing with emergencies on campus in an efficient and effective manner.
The decisions made by senior management who lead the institution are always based on a prioritization for personal safety. Decisions are guided by informed personnel and accurate and factual reporting -- not by unconfirmed media presumptions about threats to personal safety. In addition, the experienced staff of the University Police Department (UPD) who respond to emergencies on campus are trained to deal with emergencies such as building evacuations.
The following Q & A is a list of actual questions raised by GW community members:
Does GW have an evacuation plan for the residence halls and academic buildings?
In the event of an emergency, is there a designated area or facility where students should congregate?
How is evacuation plan information shared and communicated with students?
Is Washington, D.C. less safe than other parts of the country?
Can you give examples of heightened security on the GW campus?
What, in the future, is going to dictate emergency closings and re-openings?
What is the best way to obtain information in a crisis situation?
Should anyone involved in an internship at the State Department or other government department or agency be concerned about going to his or her job in a government building?
I am concerned about bioterrorism based on news reports I've heard. Has GW even considered how to deal with this threat?
Does GW have an evacuation plan for the residence halls and academic buildings?
Yes, GW does have current evacuation plans for the residence halls and all of the academic and administrative buildings in preparation for the various types of emergencies that can occur on campus.
In the event of an emergency, is there a designated area or facility where students should congregate?
This depends on the emergency circumstances. If a residence hall or any other building on campus needs to be evacuated, and depending on the length of the evacuation period, the plan includes relocating occupants to a 1) specific area outside of the building on a short-term basis or 2) to various buildings on campus that are designated as potential long-term emergency gathering locations.
How is evacuation plan information shared and communicated with students?
The students and staff in the residence halls go through emergency evacuation drills every semester and learn the locations of the emergency exits in the buildings and where to go for a short-term building evacuation. We do not tell them in advance about the designated locations for long-term evacuations because those decisions are affected by time of day, location of the building being evacuated, the availability of the various designated emergency gathering locations on campus, and other factors such as the location and nature of the threat. In both cases, The UPD and CLLC staff on the scene communicate information to students regarding the developing situation or any evacuation status changes.
In addition, the University has various systems in place for communicating information to all the offices, phones, and computers on campus. These methods of communication include network emails, faxes, voicemail messages, Web site updates at www.gwu.edu/~gwalert, UPD vans equipped with Public Address systems, and a recorded information line that members of the University community can call (994-5050) to obtain the latest news.
Is Washington, D.C. less safe than other parts of the country?
Here in Washington, D.C., constant air surveillance by the U.S. Air Force and the Air National Guard is quite visible, even to the casual observer. The bottom line is that Washington D.C. is protected by more law enforcement agencies than any other city in the nation. It is probably one of the safest cities in America.
Can you give examples of heightened security on the GW campus?
First, to prematurely divulge all of our security precautions could jeopardize the success of these safety measures. When the University is in a state of heightened security, there are various actions taken depending on the nature of the threat. These can include additional police and security officers patrolling the campus and changes to the access policies for various buildings. For instance, the University sometimes imposes a no guest policy for some or all of the facilities on campus.
What, in the future, is going to dictate emergency closings and re-openings?
Our number one concern is the safety of the members of the GW community. Once that has been evaluated and secured given the broad range of emergency situations, our responsibility is to ensure that the students get full value for their educational investment. This means rescheduling canceled classes, minimizing disruptions to normal student life, and adding enrichment programs such as live broadcasts of CNN Crossfire on campus, interfaith prayer services, candlelight vigils, and counseling services to help students cope with stresses, anxieties, and fears.
What is the best way to obtain information in a crisis situation?
As most of us saw reported on network news, an unprecedented number of the telephone lines into D.C. and New York were jammed on September 11th, and even cellular service was interrupted in many areas of the country. As we all learned, this is a natural occurrence when the volume of calls exceeds the capacity. As always, we encourage parents to check the Campus Advisories Web site at www.gwu.edu/~gwalert for the latest emergency information about developments on campus. In any emergency situation, we will post updates on the Web site throughout the day. The Parent Services and CLLC Web site on the GWired Student Network (gwired.gwu.edu) are also great resources for student services related responses and activities during an emergency situation.
Should anyone involved in an internship at the State Department or other government department or agency be concerned about going to his or her job in a government building?
One of the reasons students choose GW is that they can expand their academic pursuits beyond the classroom into the city. Students will inevitably participate in the workings of government in ways that are essential for future leaders and in which their expectations of a GW educational experience are materialized. There is no reason to believe that students interning at the White House, Capitol, State Department, FBI, and U.S. Department of Transportation are in any special danger with regards to their personal safety.
I am concerned about bioterrorism based on news reports I've heard. Has GW even considered how to deal with this threat?
Even now, this threat represents what is beyond a typical student health concern. However, as you might have seen on various television programs, GW Hospital has a premiere decontamination unit designed to handle the aftermath of bioterrorism and hazardous material spills. It is currently rated as the best in the United States and the biggest in the District of Columbia, and can handle large numbers of patients at a time. GW doctors and researchers piloted the first mass decontamination unit in Washington, D.C.
To date, there has been no indication of any bio-agent release or bioterrorism event. GW Student Health Services professionals are in communication with the District of Columbia Department of Health and the National Center for Disease Control. We are following their guidelines, should it become necessary, to respond to this potential threat.
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