Emergency protocols

“In each building, there are certain staff members assigned to be the ‘go to’ people,” said Clay Gediman, technology librarian for the Library / Learning Crossroads and one of the emergency evacuation coordinators. “These people are designated to come back and go through the procedures.”

According to Kraus, the first few minutes of an emergency situation can be critical in deciding which protocols to initiate.

“There’s a lot of ambiguity and there’s so many different variables,” Kraus said. “It can be completely different from one part of the campus to another part and how one building responds can be different than the next building. It’s the nature of an initial incident.”

Kraus said Pierce is testing different methods, including a text message-based system, to improve the sharing of information in the beginning moments of a campuswide emergency. Gediman said the see the planning include a library-specific emergency procedure.

“They’re moving forward with trying to get everyone coordinated,” Gediman said. “I’d like to see the direction of the planning going forward.”

Pierce President Kathleen Burke said the campus administration is continuously working with faculty and staff on planning these protocols.

“We are actively engaged in a variety of safety measures around campus,” Burke said via email. “In addition to ongoing training, we have crews from Plant Facilities surveying the campus to ensure that all of our lights are working.”

The emergency evacuation coordinators meet each month. There are plans to work with local law enforcement and the fire department to create more realistic drills to prepare the evacuation coordinators and implement the protocols within the master plan.

“We keep working down into the structure of how we communicate to everybody,” Kraus said. “We keep running exercises and keep trying to perfect it.”

Michael Hildebrand, 20, and Devin Duckett, 19, were arrested and charged with first-degree robbery.

The robbery was narcoticsrelated, and resulted in the serious injury of an unnamed victim.

Both men were formerly members of the football team.

[See ARREST, pg. 1]

Raising Honor

The sound of a bugle was carried by the cold morning wind as four members of the armed forces raised “Old Glory” in honor of Veteran’s Day. At 7:30 a.m., two Marines, one Army Private and a Naval Petty Officer, all in full uniform, raised the American and the United States Marine Corps flags at the Student Drop Off area near Parking Lot 1. A group of about 25 spectators gathered around the flagpoles backlit by the golden morning light. The Pierce College Chapter of the Student Veterans of America blocked traffic headed up Brahma Drive to allow members of the armed forces to safely raise the flags.

The formal hoisting of the Marine Corps flag was especially meaningful considering it was done on the 240th birthday of the Corps. The flag ceremony was one of many “War Comes Home” events taking place on campus that center around the thoughts and emotions of veterans and their families upon their homecoming. Visit the Pierce Library website for more information about Veteran-centered events taking place through Dec. 4.

Copy by: Joshua Duarte