Shannon Berry
How prepared is Pierce College for an emergency situation on campus?
More safety resources are being developed and implemented in an effort to effectively respond to emergencies on campus.
Emergency blue phones, classroom call boxes and the Pierce Alert text messaging system have served as important safety resources for students and faculty alike.
“There are approximately 20 or more blue emergency phones throughout the campus,” said Pierce College Sheriff Deputy Al Guerrero. “All a student has to do is press the red button and state their emergency. Units are sent out to the blue phone location immediately. They are effective.”
The emergency blue phones are located in well-lit areas. They are conveniently located
near the main entrances, parking lots and the campus mall.
Pierce is home to more than 23,000 students this semester.
“Every day somebody has an emergency,” Guerrero said. “However, an issue that we often encounter is when students press the call button and just walk away. The phones operate like a 9-1-1 call. The emergency is still registered in the system and units are sent out.”
Acts like these affect the sheriff’s department because they are potentially taking away
from real emergencies that require units to be sent out.
“I think it’s messed up and wrong because the phones are providing a service and safety on campus,” said Pierce student Eliel Chavez. “If I were to see someone do that and help came, I would point out who it was.”
In the case of a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, the sheriff’s department is prepared to protect the safety of the students. “Our initial role is safety of the students. We would dispense throughout the college and assess each building on its own,” Guerrero said. “Our main concerns are life and property.”
In Guerrero’s three years at Pierce, the most major campus emergencies have been the smoke from the surrounding brush fires and the suspicious package that was found in Parking Lot 7, both of which were contained.
Guerrero labeled the call boxes located in some classrooms
“a work in progress.”
The call boxes are supposed to be used in the case of a classroom emergency. There is a button on the box that alerts the sheriff’s department of a potential emergency.
According to Guerrero, not all of the call boxes are activated in the classrooms yet, as there are some wiring issues being worked out.
The Pierce Alert text messaging system sends a text message to students regarding a current campus emergency.
“The text alert is going to be useful if you are not watching
the news,” said Melat Deribe, business student. “It is a good idea, however, how many people have unlimited text messaging plans? That might be a problem because not everyone is able to receive them.”
Although, not all of Pierce’s emergency resources are up and running, the plan to keep the campus safe is in full effect.
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Security Officer Todd Hoyle patrols Parking Lot 1 during his normal schedule. (Gerard Walsh / Roundup)
