Shake it Out in an Emergency

University hosts campus-wide event dedicated to safetyEmma PollansAssociate ReporterOctober 26, 2017At 10:19 a.m. last Thursday, Campus Safety sent out an alert to to students, faculty and staff asking everyone to voluntarily drop, cover and hold; simulating a two minute earthquake.This was for the university’s first annual Public Safety Awareness Day, with the goal to educate students on what to do in case of an emergency.The Oct. 19 event coincided with the Great ShakeOut, an annual earthquake drill organized throughout California.Afterwards at the Alameda Mall, several local public safety and university groups were set up to educate students about being prepared for emergencies. The organizations included Santa Clara’s EMTs and Environmental Health Department. Overall, the event allowed for the campus community to take steps toward being better prepared for various emergency situations.Don Mattei, Emergency Planning Manager for Campus Safety Services and coordinator of this annual event, said he will continue to have Public Safety Awareness Day and the Great ShakeOut coincide in coming years and plans to ramp up the experience.“Some departments have or are in the process of working on evacuation procedures,” Mattei said. “Eventually, the goal will be to have a complete evacuation of all campus buildings at the same time.”According to Mattei, this drill could be anywhere from three to five years away.He also discussed the importance of students being prepared in case of an emergency.“Students should have a ‘go’ bag with a cell phone charger, food, blankets, contact info, extra batteries and someone local they can reach out to if the university had to be evacuated,” Mattei said.Another goal of Mattei’s is to build up interest for a Campus Emergency Response Team (CERT).The CERT program would consist of volunteer students ready to help out in any emergency scenarios. The team would be trained by various groups from the city of Santa Clara and would be able to assist with situations in the surrounding community.“It would be a good learning road for students interested in law enforcement, fire, emergency management,” Mattei said.Contact Emma Pollans at epollans@scu. edu or call (408) 554-4852.