About Emergency Preparedness at Dartmouth
Dartmouth is committed to ensuring that its students, faculty, staff and administration live, learn and work in a secure environment. The College continually reviews its emergency management procedures. This involves refining processes designed to deal with various types of emergences, and monitoring developing events and issues in a rapidly changing environment.
Continuous monitoring of U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other agencies, in addition to local conditions, is a critical component of our emergency management process. Dartmouth's Emergency Planning Committee is continuing the planning for Dartmouth's emergency response. Two additional groups, the Emergency Policy Group and the Emergency Management Group, convene when an incident occurs to address broad and specific issues regarding that particular emergency.
This web site is updated on an ongoing basis and includes important information concerning emergency procedures and contacts.
Terrorism Alert Status: Condition Yellow
The Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Homeland Security Council, has set the threat advisory level to an elevated risk of terrorist attack, or "yellow level." An Elevated Condition is declared when there is a significant risk of terrorist attacks. In addition to the Protective Measures taken in the previous Threat Conditions, Federal departments and agencies should consider the following general measures in addition to the Protective Measures that they will develop and implement:
- Increasing surveillance of critical locations;
- Coordinating emergency plans as appropriate with nearby jurisdictions;
- Assessing whether the precise characteristics of the threat require the further refinement of preplanned Protective Measures; and
- Implementing, as appropriate, contingency and emergency response plans.
What Dartmouth is Doing
In addition to the work of the Emergency Management Group and the Emergency Planning Committee, Dartmouth has taken the following recent steps in response to the heightened alert status:
- Off-Campus Programs (UPDATE: April 28, 2009): Dartmouth has notified participants in its Spanish LSA program in Cholula, Mexico - who have been there since March 22 and were due to return May 30 - that the College is making arrangements to fly them back to the United States, most likely April 29, and for them to then travel to their respective homes. The decision was a precautionary measure driven by concerns about both the health and the academic experience of the students. Read the full statement from Dean of the Faculty Carol L. Folt.
- DartAlert notification system: As part of its overall emergency preparedness planning, the College is in the process of implementing a new system to enhance its ability to notify the campus community of any campus-wide emergency. Through MIR3, a private firm, Dartmouth now has the ability to send emergency notification messages to College-owned telephone extensions within the 646 exchange as well 650 numbers administered by Dartmouth Medical School that are on the Dartmouth campus. We can also email emergency notices to all undergraduate and graduate students as well as all faculty and staff in the Dartmouth Name Directory (DND) - meaning all who have a BlitzMail account. This system will eventually enable us to send emergency notification messages through various other communication devices as well. A test of the DartAlert system is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008. Watch this site as well as the Dartmouth home page for information on the test.
- Safety & Security: Safety & Security officers routinely patrol inside and outside of campus buildings. In addition, campus security vehicles offer the capacity to accommodate requests for rides across campus. Safety & Security is available for around-the-clock response to any on-campus emergencies or problems. They can be reached at (603) 646-4000.
How We Plan to Communicate with You
We will continue to monitor situations locally, domestically, and internationally and will make information available to students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni through a variety of channels, including, but not limited to:
What You Can Do
- Review the Department Safety & Security safety tips.
- Remain calm and go about your normal activities.
- Review tips on how to be alert to suspicious activity.
- Be alert for news and instructions.
- Pay special attention to physical security (do not prop doors open; lock doors that have access to sensitive areas such as residence halls, laboratories, computer equipment, etc.).
- Make it a practice to communicate with friends and family about your daily schedule and plans.
- Review suggestions at other useful web sites, such as the Department of Homeland Security
Security works best when it works collaboratively. If you notice unusual activity or something that doesn't look quite right, please report it to the Department of Safety & Security at (603) 646-4000.
