After a two-year period that has included the attack on the Pentagon, anthrax mailings, heightened terror alerts and sniper shootings, GW security officials said they are looking to constantly improve campus security measures. But officials are still calling on students to take preventative steps to maintain their own security and remain attune to their surroundings.
Officials are recommending incoming freshmen bring a flashlight, battery-powered radio and extra prescription medication among other things, with them in the fall. Other suggested precautions are listed on the University’s emergency preparedness Web site, www.gwu.edu/~gwalert.
“New students should know how to find the campus advisory site, should we anticipate or experience a situation that requires us to communicate quickly,” said John Petrie, assistant vice president for public safety and emergency management.
The University hired Petrie in January 2002 to develop an emergency preparedness strategy following the September 11 strikes. In his first 16 months, Petrie, a former Naval officer, has conducted an analysis of GW emergency strategies as well as researching systems at other schools and developed a preparedness manual that is also available on the advisory Web site.
He suggested that all students print out a copy of the manual and also recommended that students learn at least two exit routes that do not require an elevator out of any building they use.
Petrie added that current precautions are “appropriate” and that the University is constantly “looking to make things better so it can meet the needs of more and more people.”
Among other recent improvements, University Police Department vehicles have been outfitted with public address systems in case telephone systems go down like on September 11. Also, the District will be giving the University satellite capable telephones as an added measure Petrie said.
Area residents were unable to get a land line or cell phone signal for hours after the attacks, also preventing the University from being able to quickly communicate news and recommendations to students.
Petrie said the new measures including the Web site will make communication with students easier.
UPD Chief Dolores Stafford said the department will remain “flexible in responses and patrol patterns” as national terror alert levels fluctuate.
GW has a separate alert system with four different levels that is not connected to the national alert system, allowing the University to be more flexible in its response.
“If there is a threat to the Golden Gate Bridge … our separate system allows us to keep things normal,” Petrie said.
Among on-campus security improvements, Stafford said students should see a quicker, larger escort service with the addition of four 4-RIDE vans, six drivers and northern campus shuttle bus route after the department received $180,000 allocation for an upgrade.
Named after the phone number students have to dial to request a van, 4-RIDE is the University free van service that runs from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. seven days a week, allowing students to travel between any two locations within specified boundaries. UPD also runs the Colonial Express Shuttle Bus, which runs on two specific routes around campus from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. seven days a week.
Among suggestions she has for freshmen, Stafford advises students to be aware of their surroundings at all times and close and lock room doors when no one is in the room. She said most residence hall thefts take place because students left their doors open.
“Make sure you don’t leave valuables lying around, even for a minute,” she added.
Stafford also warned that the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department has recently begun to crack down on underage drinking and fake IDs, obtaining handheld equipment that can immediately detect whether IDs are genuine.
“Students need to be aware that these machines exist, and it’s much easier to get caught now, using a fake ID,” she said.
Despite all the security concerns, GW applications continue to increase, eclipsing 18,400 this year. Senior Vice President for Student and Academic Support Services Robert Chernak said he is not surprised.
“Students who want to be at GW, want to be where the action is anyway,” he said. “(Incoming freshmen) are coming into college having lived with all these things … it’s a different attitude.”
“People feel comfortable here at GW, we have an adequate police force, adequate communications system … (the threat of terrorism) is not going to derail people from what they want to do,” he said.
