In an Emergency? Attention Faculty, Staff and Students

The test for the emergency warning system just went off again…must be 9:55 a.m. on the first Wednesday of the month. It used to go off at 10 a.m., but faculty requested that it be moved to the transition time between classes instead of right at the beginning of class. Led by Campus Safety and Security and the Crisis Management Team, Lynchburg College’s response is impressive for both day-to-day emergencies and the occasional crisis.

If you ask folks of a certain age, “Who you gonna call?” they will reply, “Ghostbusters!” On-campus emergency personnel, LCEMS, Safety and Security, the Dean of Students Office, Spiritual Life and all of the other folks that work together in emergencies can only make calls if we have the number. Stuff happens to members of the community while they are on campus. People have medical emergencies, they fall, and they trip. When accidents happen, it is often someone in Spiritual Life who reaches for the phone to make a call to family or a close friend. This is my plea: Please update your emergency contact information in the CDS.

I have two “in the field” experiences that are not scientific, but seem to ring true. First if you do not have emergency contact information in the system, the more likely you are to need it. (Maybe the converse rings true – you can cut your risk by simply updating your data?) Second, the longer you are at LC, the more likely it is that your information needs to be updated. You may no longer have a landline at home, you may have changed your cell number, or you may have different friends. We may also need to contact you if someone else has an emergency, so please update your own information as well.

In any given week we may a have few people hospitalized, a member or two of our community loses a loved one, and ankles get sprained. This community is so good at caring for each other, praying for each other and providing support. It really humbles me – the prayers, the meals, the cards that are shared between faculty, staff, and students. Please take a moment to hold campus community members that you know are struggling in your prayers, take a moment to remember those whose lives were changed September 11th, and take a moment to celebrate those in this community who offer you care and support….

…NOW, please go to MyLC to check that your cell phone is in the data base and that your emergency contact is up-to-date. And while you are there, check that your E2Campus emergency notification contact is up to date as well!

Blessings, Stephanie