American crisis such as the Katrina Hurricane, the 9/11 attacks and Columbine shootings might leave many students wondering what their school might do in such a crisis situation. Similar to other campuses, there could someday be a crisis at Winston-Salem State University. Administrators and public safety officials are well aware of crisis situations at other campuses and the need to maintain the safety of students, should disaster strike here.
The Department of Public Safety is responsible for handling crisis situations on campus. In the event of a disaster, an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) would be set into motion. The EAP has a three-level crisis system, with Level Zero being minor, and Level Three being major.Capt. V.L. Thompson has been involved in school crisis situations in the past.
“If a crisis occurred, Chief William Bell would be the first person contacted,” he said. “If he is not available, then myself, or Officer Marcus Sutton would be in charge. If the crisis is major, we would call the city police department to assist us. Or, if we had a hostage situation, we would call in a hostage negotiator to handle the situation.”Craig Achenbach, WSSU Director of Health and Safety, has been involved with safety issues for 34 years. One of his responsibilities is to make students aware of where to seek shelter during a disaster.
“Most people think that fire alarms are just used if there is a fire in the building. We use fire alarms not just for fires, but also as an immediate emergency signal,” Achenbach said. The campus also has random emergency evacuation drills.”During any emergency evacuation, students should only bring out the building their wallets or purses. Nothing else should be brought out of the building besides these items. There are also consequences for students who do not comply with the emergency evacuation plan,” he said.
No matter what the crisis situation may be, the main goal is to achieve complete student safety. For more information regarding WSSU’s crisis management plan, contact Capt. V.L. Thompson, (336) 750-2918 or Craig Achenbach, (336) 750-2868.