U. defends lack of alert on shooting

After word spread about a shooting at the Bridge cinema last Friday that injured two people, students and parents alike waited for a UPennAlert message informing them of what had happened — and no text messages or e-mails ever arrived.

But Division of Public Safety officials and security experts note that it is up to each university to craft its own guidelines for when emergency communication is appropriate, and DPS deemed it unnecessary in this case.

At 6:57 p.m. last Friday, Philadelphia Police received reports of the incident, which occurred in the theater’s lobby at 4012 Walnut St. At least 12 shots were fired and a Drexel University sophomore and an off-duty Capitol Police officer were injured. The Triangle, Drexel’s student newspaper, identified the student as Jared Hurwich. The police officer’s name has not been released.

Both men are in stable condition now, but the suspect is still at large, and the investigation is ongoing.

Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said an alert was not sent about Friday’s incident because it happened quickly and because Penn, Philadelphia and SEPTA police were able to contain the situation and the surrounding area.

Rush also pointed out that there is more than one way to notify a community.

She cited officers’ on-the-ground communication with witnesses near the scene and students’ own texts and Twitter messages as other ways the news was delivered.

The Virginia Tech shootings in 2007 highlighted the need for alerts about emergency situations but also created a myth “that these are the only solutions to communication,” Rush said. “The Virginia Tech model is to communicate with people through an electronic version, but it should never be the only way you communicate.”

The Jeanne Clery Act — which outlines the information college security forces must disclose to the public — states that a college is not required to issue an emergency alert if there is “no immediate threat to the health or safety of students and employees.”

But within the Clery Act, said Adam Thermos, a security expert from the consulting firm Strategic Technology Group, colleges have a great deal of discretion in determining what constitutes an immediate threat.

“Although we can debate the decision to activate mass notification or not, the [Clery Act] regulations stipulate that not every emergency situation requires a mass notification,” he wrote in an e-mail.

Still, during and after the incident, some community members voiced concerns about the lack of notification from the Division of Public Safety.

With the rise of such text-message alert systems, “you’re seeing a much more savvy public — they have higher expectations of getting those text messages even if it isn’t part of the law’s requirement,” said Jonathan Kassa, executive director of Security on Campus, a nonprofit campus-safety organization.

Some colleges do send out more frequent alerts to students and faculty. Kassa said the University of Texas at Austin sends out a daily “Campus Watch” that outlines any on-campus crimes.

And last December, when two women were sexually assaulted in an apartment at 44th and Spruce streets, the Division of Public Safety sent out a UPenn Alert, the only such notification since Penn implemented the system in August 2007.

However, both Kassa and Rush said schools should be concerned with what Kassa called “message fatigue.”

“If you’re going to text about absolutely everything, are students going to believe it when they really need to?” he asked.

Rush said that the negative feedback DPS has received from this incident will now be part of the decision-making process.

“We hear the feedback, we understand the concerns, and it will definitely inform us in the future,” Rush said.

Kassa agreed that schools should listen when the community voices concerns.

“When you’ve got a learning organization that’s looking to listen … that’s a positive sign,” he said.

Comments (5)

We don't care if the Clery Act didn't stipulate that a notification was required - let's try some common sense.

"Rush said an alert was not sent about Friday’s incident because it happened quickly and because Penn, Philadelphia and SEPTA police were able to contain the situation and the surrounding area."

- What in the world would have made you think that this situation was contained? The shooter ran through the heart of Penn off campus housing and was not apprehended.

"[Rush] cited officers’ on-the-ground communication with witnesses near the scene and students’ own texts and Twitter messages as other ways the news was delivered."

- Rely on student's text and twitter (twitter!) messages after the university went to great lengths and expense to set up the text-based emergency notification system? What?

"Rush said schools should be concerned with what Kassa called “message fatigue.” “If you’re going to text about absolutely everything, are students going to believe it when they really need to?”"

- Don't treat these students like fools - this isn't a fairy tale. If you send an alert about a shooter in the area, students are not going to sit and ponder whether or not to believe it, trust me.

Ms. Rush and DPS: You messed up. Don't try to talk your way out of guilt - it makes you look even less competent.

Ms. Rush can you seriously make those comments as a the Vice President of Public Safety? Read over what you said....You want us to inform each other when there is a shooting around campus in which a college student and cop have been shot? You want us to believe that you have the situation under control when the suspect has still not been apprehended? You seriously don't think a college student getting shot at a very busy intersection around campus and the gunman still on the loose running through off campus housing armed and with a history of violence towards innocent bystanders is not a threat? You've got to be kidding me! This is an absolute disgrace. I do not believe that this was 'absolutely nothing' and personally feel that this was an even more legit reason to send out a text than the sexual assault. Suck up your pride and admit to your error. Until you do that I have absolutely no faith in the Public Safety here.

A UPenn Alert was necessary. DPS has the duty to notify the Penn community when an assailant(s) is at large, whether for a shooting, knifing, bombing, raping, or kidnapping. No authority can know within the given time-frame that a situation is contained and without continued danger. Individuals are entitled to information to guard themselves from harm. DPS took an irresponsible risk here and just because another student or faculty was not subsequently shot does not make the failure of an alert acceptable. Thank you.

There is no excuse for the pathetic inaction of Maureen Rush during this incident. It is clear that Maureen Rush did not issue the alert because of the potential ramifications it could have had in notifying students' parents, who are also notified when an alert is sent out. Ms. Rush did not act in the best interests of student safety. The shooter still has not been apprehended; there is no way that the situation was under control. Her lies are reprehensible. Until Ms. Rush comes out with a legitimate answer as to why there was no alert issued, we should, as a Penn Community, call for her resignation and replace her with someone who is truly interested in the safety of Penn students and the Penn Community.

Students and parents should have been alerted via the text alert system - no if's and's or but's. What is the purpose of all the pointless and irritating test texts that the system sent out prior to this event if we aren't alerted when an actual incident happens?! The situation was NOT contained - if it were, the suspect would have been caught. I don't know about DPS' definition of "contained," but to your average person, a suspect-on-the-loose is anything but contained. There is no justification that DPS can give as to this outrageous and inadequate decision. What harm would it have done to simply alert students and parents?! This just shows the university's incompetence in regard to safety...as for selling the school to prospective students and parents, they make campus safety sound so rosy, when in actuality, it is anything BUT.

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