UCA Recommends Reduced Vehicle Traffic, Other Measures in Emergency Notification Review

from KARK 4 News

Restricting motor vehicle traffic between 8:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. is one of four recommendations being made by UCA’s Emergency Notification Committee in the wake of last month’s deadly campus shooting.

Two students died in the incident that also injured a non-student.

Also included in the committee report today, three other suggested upgrades and improvements to UCA’s emergency notification system which is known as Alert Express.

Those include:

- Continue review of state’s 3n system including test of system on campus before end of Fall semester. The mass notification system sends messages by phone, email, pager, fax, Instant Messenger, SMS texting, PDA, and other devices. Total cost for 3n – $38,250 first year, $31,000 second year.

- Install a new siren/PA system for immediate campus-wide warnings.

- Closed circuit television monitoring to monitor traffic access points

Interim UCA President Tom Courtway appointed the committee after the October 26 campus shooting incident to evaluate UCA’s emergency notification system.

The committee is chaired by UCA Vice President for Student Services Ronnie Williams, and it met several times to investigate and discuss options. It also visited the headquarters of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management this past Friday to receive a demonstration of the state-procured emergency notification system. The committee members include the UCA and Conway police chiefs, three students, two faculty members, two staff members and two UCA housing representatives.

The report says a basic principle which guided the committee throughout its deliberations is the safety and security of the student population, and that many of its recommendations will, of necessity, need to be phased-in over a period of time.