College rolls out safety enhancements Sept. 5, 2008
An unusually powerful siren sound will echo across the LaGrange College campus this fall during a test of the school’s new outdoor warning system, which is part of a $500,000 plan to enhance security and safety on the Hill.
“We haven’t picked a date yet, but the test will take place this semester,” said Bob Vitale, Campus Services Director and Chairman of the College’s Safety Committee. “We’ll send out e-mails and give plenty of notice before the test.”
In late August, crews installed two multi-directional speakers on campus: one above Henry Hall and one near the Nick Allen Pavilion on the southern portion of campus. Somewhat resembling giant tiered birdfeeders, the speakers are actually sophisticated pieces of equipment capable of delivering voice messages as well as siren sounds.
“We could have purchased a tone-only system, but this gives us another option,” Vitale said. “This also gives us the ability to have multiple control points to activate the siren.”
Vitale explained that the new outdoor warning system complements the college’s emergency notification system, e2Campus, which was installed last fall.
“Now if there is some type of disaster or emergency affecting the campus, everyone will hear the siren, and if they’re signed up for e2Campus, they’ll get a text message, an e-mail and a voice mail to let them know what’s going on and what they need to do.” (Sign up for e2Campus online.)
In addition to the outdoor warning system, the College is currently making several other safety and security improvements.
“We’re about 90 percent finished with phase one of a major outdoor lighting upgrade,” Vitale said.
He explained that every outdoor light on a pole on campus is affected. In the parking lots, several 10-foot poles are being replaced with 25-foot poles. Elsewhere, new globes with brighter lights are illuminating the campus at night.
According to Vitale, the new lights not only cast a stronger glow, but they also provide sustainability benefits.
“All the new lights that we’ve put up on the Hill are night-sky friendly, which is an environmentally preferred practice,” he said. “These lights have a lunar shield that doesn’t throw light up into the sky.”
Students returning to campus this fall have probably noticed that card-access scanners have been installed in several facilities, including Smith Hall and the Manget, Callaway Academic and Callaway Science Buildings.
“This allows us to program these doors to be open or closed at particular times,” Vitale said. “For example, during the weekend, only faculty and staff cards will open certain doors. But if on occasion a student group needs to get into a building, we can give access to those students just by plugging their names into the system, and their cards will work.”
Another enhancement added this summer was the installation of a natural gas-powered generator to Turner Hall.
“We now have an emergency generator that will run everything in Turner—except the elevators— in case of a power outage,” Vitale said. “In times of emergency, Turner would make a great sheltering area, and it has everything needed to cook and refrigerate food.”
In addition to the improvements mentioned above, Vitale said the College has plans to install seven or eight emergency call boxes throughout campus before the end of the academic year. Plans also are in the works for an upgraded safety Web page that will highlight locations of fire extinguishers, emergency exits, smoke detectors, assembly areas and shelter-in-place locations across campus.
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“This allows us to program these doors to be open or closed at particular times,” Vitale said. “For example, during the weekend, only faculty and staff cards will open certain doors. But if on occasion a student group needs to get into a building, we can give access to those students just by plugging their names into the system, and their cards will work.”