Whether it is a text message confirming that classes are canceled due to weather or an email notifying the presence of a moose on campus, the University of Idaho Vandal Alert system keeps students, faculty and staff up to date.
“Since people are out and about on campus, walking between classes, going to the commons, they’re even out in town, it’s a good idea to get this information on their mobile device,” said Patrice McDaniel, UI emergency manager.
McDaniel oversees the Vandal Alert system as part of her duties. Vandal Alert is an emergency communication system that notifies students and staff of dangerous situations on campus, as well as information about class cancelation and non-immediate dangers. Vandal Alert contacts students through UI email accounts, phone messages and text messages.
“The Vandal Alert system is used to notify the campus community of any type of dangerous situation or timely warning,” McDaniel said. “It’s basically a device to let people know if there’s any type of evacuation, shelter and place, temporary closure.”
McDaniel said UI is required under the Clery Act — a federal campus safety law — to send out a timely warning to students concerning immediate and dangerous crimes.
“Homicide, sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson.” McDaniel said. “Those are the seven main crimes from the uniform crime report … that we’re mandated to send out a timely warning.”
Emergency management often decides which form of communication to use based on the situation circumstances.
“Last year there was a moose on campus, and it wasn’t an imminent danger, so I didn’t want to bother people with a text,” McDaniel said.
Students can register their cell phone numbers through VandalWeb to receive text messages or automated phone calls.
McDaniel said there was a glitch in the Vandal Alert system that prevented new students from registering with the system before school started, even though UI had been encouraging new students to sign up during campus events like Palousafest.
“For new students and incoming freshman — transfer students and incoming freshman — since it was prior to the first day of school those people were not in the system yet,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said when a dangerous situation does arise on campus the decision to send a Vandal Alert message goes through multiple administrators including herself, Matt Dorschel, the executive director of public safety and security, and the university president.
“I just want the students to know that we are not going to be sending out anything that’s going to not be emergency related,” McDaniel said. “We’re going to use good judgment as far as what method to contact them.”
McDaniel said although this system is in place, Moscow is a safe town where many dangerous situations do not occur.
“Moscow is a very safe place, so it’s a reflection of the local community, and since we live in a very safe area, we haven’t had to use the system very often,” McDaniel said. “But it’s always good to have it just in case something does come up.”
Ryan Tarinelli can be reached at [email protected]