St. Thomas University administration met Tuesday afternoon for an emergency procedures de-briefing after a man was arrested on campus Sept. 20.
The de-briefing was chaired by the vice president of finance, Lily Fraser, who is responsible for STU’s emergency plan. Nancy O’Shea, director of Residence and Students Services, Bruce Rogerson and Brandy Mahoney from UNB Security were part of the conversation as well as Bill MacLean, CET Director, and Jeffery Carleton, Communications Director.
Carleton said the biggest challenge of Friday’s incident was dealing with false social media reporting during the incident. This reporting was often done on speculation, which can mislead the public.
“We had a long conversation about how you deal with social media in a circumstance like this because it’s real time, student reporting or blogging or social media reporting about the incidents going on. We had a discussion about trying to have a balance between being as timely as you possibly can but also being as accurate as you possibly can,” said Carleton.
The de-brief team used the example of the Navy Yard shooting incident that happened on Sept. 16 in Washington. Media outlets were tweeting out wrong information, which was then being re-tweeted over and over again.
Carleton said some people were critical of the administration for not getting the message out to students fast enough. He said it was difficult because he had to make sure the information they were giving out was accurate and helpful.
Because of the drastic change in technology over the last several years, Carleton would like to adapt a mass notification system. He said his team would need to see if this is viable.
“We don’t know the answers to that yet. We actually have to look at the technology, see how it would be implemented, how we could operationalize it and see how it would work. When you look at those mass notifications, there’s lots of positive things about it and there also may be some negative things. We just have to see how they balance out,” he said.
Fredericton Police Force sent out a statement three days after the incident informing the public the male suspect was unarmed when arrested and, after questioning, was released without charges. The police were also concerned about the impact of social media on these incidents.
“The Fredericton Police Force would also like to remind members of the public about speculation that can exist in various social media sites. The misinformation is a concern of public safety that can generate an unwarranted sense of fear in our community. We would encourage the public to seek multiple and credible sources of information when a public safety even occurs, so that their response is balanced,” said the statement.
Carleton agrees.
“You’re dealing in a very short period of time with uncertainty. You’re not sure what the circumstance is and you have to deal with those who are in charge and make sure you understand it before you communicate it. The gap was created, that uncertainty, simply because it happened so quickly.”
STU administration’s plan for mass notification for controlling the social media speculation will help inform students more efficiently. The plan might also entail notifications for lock-downs. On Friday’s incident, students and staff were smart enough to sense danger and go into self-lockdown without a notice, said Bill MacLean, CET Director.
“What happened quite technically was that when police arrived on campus some arrived at the upper courtyard and some on the lower courtyard, and then they converged. And as they converged they were telling people to go back into their buildings,” said Carleton.
MacLean said that these notices will be easy to reach students who are in class, as the notice will be sent to faculty.
“A lot of students will get it directly but for those students who are off campus or students who are not in class, this mass messaging will have to address that,” said MacLean.
STU administration was happy with how fast the arrest was dealt with.
“What worked well was that the staff member followed the steps they were supposed to follow and we felt that the response from the Fredericton City Police was exceptionally timely as well as from Campus Security,” said Carleton.
The team realized just because some parts of the emergency plan worked well on Friday doesn’t mean it doesn’t need more attention.
MacLean will also be giving re-fresher emergency procedure meetings and courses for support staff. Throughout the year, these courses are given to each department.
Yellow emergency procedure booklets are posted all over campus as well as emergency contact lists. These two posters explain what to do in emergency situations and who to call. Both will be updated as part of the de-briefing.
MacLean stresses the importance of being prepared for an emergency situation before it happens.
“Instead of asking ‘what if’, educate yourself.”
