Letter to the Editor

Robert Garber

I’m writing in response to your editorial, “Inform, then contain” that was critical of how the college handled communication regarding several incidents that occurred in recent weeks.

While I could dispute the completeness of your facts, and how you’ve interpreted them, I basically agree with your conclusion that better communication would benefit all of us in the Pierce community.

Effective communication poses particular challenges for a campus as large and complex as Pierce. This has always been a concern, but the need for a means of informing faculty, staff and students of emerging situations has become much more clearly focused in the aftermath of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. As a result, we are actively pursuing a solution that would provide emergency communication links between the Sheriffs Office and all campus classrooms and offices.

With more than 250 locations on campus that need to be connected, the task is substantial but the potential benefits make this effort a priority.

In addition to establishing a new emergency communication system, the college is also reviewing its Emergency Operations Plan to incorporate lessons learned from Virginia Tech and other incidents, including our recent power outage and bomb scare.

Once our plan is revised, we will conduct training and practice operations to insure that everyone is prepared to act in an emergency.

I appreciate the Roundup’s efforts to keep the campus informed and hope that this vital campus link will continue to be a partner with the college as we seek to respond to emergencies and prepare for planned changes that will inevitably impact all of us in the future. Thank you for your involvement.

Robert Garber, Pierce President

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