When severe weather strikes campus, students said they are informed, but some are unsure of protocols.
First-year student Sophia Greenwood said that she was never made aware of any weather protocols.
“I really had no idea that we have weather protocols to follow,” Greenwood said.
Although some students said they are not fully aware of any severe weather protocols, students are informed on when there are severe weather changes.
Kyle Beal, the director of campus police, said that students will automatically be notified of severe weather around campus.
“Everybody’s automatically signed up for a mass notification system which is referred to either IWU Alert or RAVE,” Beal said. “Within that, you guys will receive mass notifications automatically through the National Weather Service.”
Beal said that severe weather information is also sent to student emails where they can find more information about certain weather protocols.
With RAVE, students said they do not always pay attention to them due to the repetitiveness of the messages.
“I personally think the messages are repetitive,” Greenwood said. “I think it would be more beneficial to receive an email with more information or have information posted to social media.”
Even if students decide to not pay attention to the text notifications, they can still get informed about weather changes in other ways.
Beckett Hall RA Ireland Craig said that all dorms should have information about severe weather protocols that students can refer to.
“Every dorm has a short list of protocols with directions on what to do,” Craig said.
Craig said that even though the resident halls have protocol information, she believes that students should still pay attention to RAVE.
“Phones are the thing that everyone has and has access to most of the time,” Craig said. “I don’t know how you can do it better.”
In case of extreme weather emergencies, students can receive emails with more information about changes in weather and safety protocols.
“Since you have limited characters through texts, we can use an email and get as descriptive as possible,” Beal said.
If students would like to learn more about the weather protocols and what they should do in certain situations, they can talk to Kyle Beal in the campus police office.
