By Elizabeth Clarke, LCU News
PINEVILLE, La. (LCU News) – Louisiana Christian University, known for years as one of the safest college campuses in the state, is adding another tool to its safety and security practices—a siren alert warning system.
The siren has been installed and is currently in the testing phase. It was made possible through the Department of Homeland Security’s FEMA Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
The application and funding are long processes, according to Bryce Sanders, LCU executive director of Information Technology. Each year, FEMA puts out a list of grant opportunities and the equipment eligible for reimbursement.
“All of the equipment is security-related, and that list changes every year,” Sanders said.
Additional funding for the siren technology was received from the Union Pacific Railroad Foundation, said Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Henry O. Robertson, which has made the siren even more effective.
The siren is a mass notification system that can be used to audibly inform faculty, staff, students and visitors to campus of any imminent threat, according to John Dauzat, director of Campus Security and Operations.
LCU will begin phasing in the use of the siren for two types of events—imminent weather and active shooter. Different siren sounds are used for different types of events, and training must be done to ensure understanding of the alert given.
For other events, the university will continue to use its RAVE text notification system. The siren will be initially used solely for imminent threats to the campus community.
“If a tornado is three miles away, we need to know now,”Sanders said. “We needed an audible alert to the entire campus population to reach all areas of campus.”
The siren, which stands 50 feet in the air near Alexandria Hall, is configured to broadcast across 2800 feet omnidirectionally.
Text alerts worked for some things, but they did not ensure that everyone was getting the message in a timely manner. Text alerts also must be subscribed to. The siren alarm will reach everyone on campus and in the immediate vicinity of campus instantly.
“You’re going to be made aware,” Dauzat said. “If you’re a guest on campus and you don’t have RAVE, you are going to be made aware.”
Sanders said with the addition of the siren to LCU’s other safety measures, which include AI cameras and keyless entry into buildings, the university is ahead of most other schools in the area.
The siren system has a lot of other potential uses in the future, Dauzat said.
“We are just scratching the surface of what it’s capable of,” he said. “It’s one more tool in our toolbelt of maintaining safety over our campus.”
