Donald Keough, News Editor–

Denison was roused at 5:50 a.m. on Feb. 28, to the cacophony of sirens. Students had various approaches to the situation, such as seeking shelter in basements or going back to sleep. 

David Rose, the director of Campus Safety, closely watched the weather throughout the morning and helped notify students of the inclement weather.

“I was at home when this happened, of course, it being six o’clock in the morning,” Rose said. “There’s a requirement by the Clery Act to notify the community if there’s an ongoing danger and so I was watching to see if [a tornado warning] was going to come into Licking County.” 

The Clery Act is designated to inform students of campus safety procedures, and one of the ways in which Denison Campus Safety relays this information is through Rave Guardian messaging. During the morning, Rose sent the message at 5:50 a.m., which sent 5,062 texts in seven seconds.

Rose said that the system is an important piece that helps keep people informed during these situations. “The system is very efficient at getting messages out,” Rose said. “[It] can be a really dangerous time for a tornado to come through because it catches you unaware. But that’s the whole point behind the wave Guardian system… [to make students aware].”

He also said that he wanted to stress to students that they should make sure to download the Rave Guardian app, double check their phone number used to make sure that it is up to date, and add any other contacts to be messaged if desired. 

According to Rose, another important piece of student safety in these situations is to ensure that students are informed about the procedures set by the National Weather Service. “What really helps is to have students to kind of think ahead,” Rose said.

A summarized version of the National Weather Service’s tornado procedures states that “if a Tornado Warning is issued for your area, you should seek shelter immediately on the basement or lowest floor in a building… and to put as many walls between you and the outside.” You can read more about these procedures on the National Weather Service website (www.weather.gov).

In the event of a tornado, which Rose said is unlikely, there is a dispatcher on campus 24 hours a day who will help assess the damage done to campus, along with other campus safety officers who are on duty. 

“As soon as possible any of the immediate danger had passed [the dispatcher] was looking around to see if there were trees down or that sort of thing,” Rose said, referring to the previous tornado warning.

In future events such as these, Rose said he is not worried about students’ safety as long as they are informed and make the right decisions, while stressing the importance of the current system in place.

“Having the warning system in place so that people [know to] go indoors, and that they have the ability to take shelter… is really important,” Rose said.