TO THE EDITOR:
Almost every day we hear about a tragedy in some corner of the world. While we hope a life-threatening event never occurs on our campus, we must always be prepared.
Whether it is a tornado warning issued for Chapel Hill, a fire rapidly spreading or someone intentionally trying to harm our community, Carolina is prepared to communicate those risks quickly and direct students, faculty and staff to take immediate action. Having an action plan in advance can help save lives during an actual emergency. That is one of the reasons the University regularly tests our six emergency sirens located across campus and in Chapel Hill.
Today, we are conducting our spring semester test between noon and 1 p.m. We want to make sure these sirens and all equipment are working properly, as well as ensure that our community knows what to do when there is a threat to campus safety.
While no action is required for these sirens tests, we encourage all students, faculty and staff to read the Alert Carolina email in your inbox detailing instructions for what to do in the event of a real emergency. We will also use all available communication methods, including text messages and social media, to try and reach as many people as possible. You may see some of these messages during today’s sirens test.
The most recent safety-related information and announcements can be found at alertcarolina.unc.edu.
Jeff McCracken
Director of the Department of Public Safety and Chief of police
Derek Kemp
