CINDY WOLFE
STAFF WRITER
On April 17 at 9 p.m. in the Gentile Gallery, students attended an emergency preparedness session presented by Jefferson Security Services.
Karen D’Anniballe, the president of Jefferson Security Services, led the presentation and Q&A session. The purpose of the event, according to D’Anniballe, was to raise “awareness of policies, procedures and resources that are available” should an emergency occur.
The presentation emphasized that “inaction is not an option … select a safe option based on the information you have at that time, your judgement and your ability to execute.”
D’Anniballe and John Pizzuti, director of campus safety and compliance, urged students to err on the side of caution rather than fail to report a possible security issue. Both stressed the importance of the phrase, “See something, say something.”
The presentation also covered the “run, hide, fight” response to an active shooter on campus. If students can, they should run. If running is impossible, hide. As a last resort, students may recourse to fighting and utilizing whatever weapons they can find at the scene.
According to D’Anniballe, the prevention and mitigation of any emergency begins with awareness. The focus of the night was mitigation, or minimizing loss, by informing students of their resources on campus and procedures in case of an emergency.
D’Anniballe announced, “A lot of work goes in emergency preparedness that students don’t see.”
She discussed the importance of evacuation and lockdown procedures and urged students to read the evacuation and lockdown guide available on the Jefferson Security website under campus security. The plan outlines possible responses to emergency events, emergency contacts and schematics.
After describing the emergency response guide, D’Anniballe posed several “what if” scenarios, questioning the students on their responses to given situations. Students offered suggestions and pointed out the situational nature of different responses to emergency occurrences.
Jefferson Security announced a mock drill that will be held on campus on April 25, 2019. No other information was provided. Students are recommended to read the evacuation and lockdown guide to determine how to respond.