Contact: Allison Matthews
STARKVILLE, Mississippi — Mississippi State recently completed several training sessions to prepare students, faculty and staff for potential emergency scenarios, and the university’s emergency manager is reminding the campus community that ongoing training is available in person and online.
Brent Crocker said a series of emergency preparedness and response workshops were offered this semester, covering topics such as being an active shooter, what to do “until help arrives,” and basic emergency procedures that address a wide range of potential situations , from storm to fire. Upcoming sessions include CPR training sessions, which are already filling up, and an October 18 severe weather preparedness session to coincide with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency’s severe weather preparation week October 17-22.
In addition to these campus workshops, the MSU Police Department has conducted live simulation training, including preparation for worst-case scenarios such as an active gunman. MSU’s Crisis Action Team also recently conducted a tabletop exercise to work through a hypothetical active shooter scenario.
“We believe preparedness is critical, and we want to equip our students, faculty and staff to maximize their safety — even in the worst-case scenarios, which we hope MSU will never do.” faced,” said Regina Hyatt, vice president of student affairs.
Crocker, who has been MSU’s emergency manager since 2017, conducts on-demand training for campus departments and student groups, including academic classes. Those interested in hosting a training session can contact him at [email protected]
All students and employees are urged to watch an online video on campus emergencies at https://vimeo.com/179047521 and create an emergency plan. Likewise, the Mississippi State Personnel Board’s Active Shooter Situations training program is available at http://www.mspb.ms.gov/Presentations/Active-Shooter-Training/presentation.html.
Crocker recommends that all students and staff download and become familiar with the university’s Everbridge mobile app, which provides links to emergency procedures and connects to MSU’s Maroon Alert system. The Everbridge app can be downloaded from any app store. Instructions are available online at https://www.emergency.msstate.edu/app.
Crocker also encourages all members of the campus community to bookmark https://www.emergency.msstate.edu/ for more information on emergency policies, preparedness and training, and the Maroon Alert system. Follow too @maroonalert on twitter.
MSU is Mississippi’s premier university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
