A total of 400 weather radios will be placed in NDSU facilities during the next few weeks. The radios are part of NDSU’s Ready Campus Initiative and were purchased as part of a $412,352 grant recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Emergency Management for Higher Education Program.
The radios are intended to provide warning notification to NDSU faculty, staff and students about severe weather events, such as tornadoes, thunderstorms and blizzards, and quick onset emergencies, such as large chemical spills, in the Fargo and Cass County area.
“My biggest concern is a quick onset event like a tornado or a chemical spill. A weather radio gives direct line contact, which is important in such an event. You may have only a few minutes to react, and a few minutes may make a big difference,” said Carol Cwiak, lecturer of sociology, anthropology and emergency management and the principal investigator on the grant. “The radios are a simple tool to put in place, and they really give our people another layer of warning and protection.”
The small desktop radios are programmed to receive only Cass County weather alerts, and they automatically activate when the National Weather Service issues severe weather alerts or other emergency alerts.
Cwiak said the radios, which cost approximately $30 apiece, will be distributed throughout the main campus, NDSU’s downtown facilities and at research locations across the state. The radios will be installed and programmed by members of the Ready Campus Initiative team.
In addition to the radios, “The Emergency Action Guide” containing information compiled by the University Police and Safety Office will be distributed.
“We are hopeful that distributing them both at the same time will raise the general awareness that safety and security are everyone’s business. When an event occurs, people need to already know what to do. It is too late in the midst of an emergency to start the learning curve. These guides are designed to educate faculty, staff and students now about the steps they need to take when an emergency occurs so that they can take the proper steps to protect themselves,” Cwiak said, noting the emergency action guides also will be posted around campus in public areas to ensure that the information becomes better integrated into the university community.
Cwiak will provide a copy of the guide to all of her students the first week of school and encourages other faculty members to do the same. “Students look to us for guidance, and by providing them the guide, we not only show them we care about what happens to them, we also emphasize the message that they need to take personal responsibility for their own preparedness – once again reasserting that safety and security is everyone’s responsibility,” she said. “I have found that students armed with the correct information are a powerful resource and I believe that applies here. We need to empower the students to react responsibly in emergency events by sharing information with them that can help keep them safe.”
Not every office on campus will receive a weather radio; however, the radios will be strategically placed throughout administrative offices, research buildings, residence halls and other campus facilities to ensure that the university community receives the necessary notification to take protective action in a quick onset event.
NDSU’s Ready Campus Initiative is a collaborative partnership between the Emergency Management Program and the University Police and Safety Office. The grant provides funding to complete comprehensive emergency planning for the campus. For more information, contact Cwiak at 1-5847.