The University of Indianapolis emergency procedures have been newly updated for the safety of the students. According to UIndy Police Chief David Selby, it is increasingly important that students take emergency management education into their own hands. Selby strongly encourages students to be knowledgeable about public safety policies and procedures.
“You’re going to have to start taking some responsibility for your own safety because there [are] 10 full time of us and so many people [on campus],” Selby said.
He recently revamped the public safety page on MyUIndy, to make it more easily accessible. His goal was to put as much information and as many resources as possible in one easy-to-navigate location.
“What I tried to do is develop a website where all this stuff is located, and you can go and find whatever you want,” Selby said. “If there’s anything I’m about, it is giving you all the information, all the knowledge, that I can. What I wanted to do is put everything right there at your hands. There’s stuff on suspicious mail, safety tips on campus, active shooter and different types of scams. All that stuff is on there.”
On the public safety page, the information is broken down into eight different categories: Policies & Procedures, Emergency Management, Parking Information, Technology Safety & Security, UIndy Police, Title IX, Fire Safety and PACT. Sophomore psychology major Jenna Perry thinks the updated page is a useful resource.
“The public safety page is really clear and easy to navigate,” Perry said. “It’s nice that it has information about safety with less serious things like parking and technology security and the more severe stuff like Title IX and reporting crimes, because it’s all important to know.”
In each category, there are links to informational videos, educational websites and documents containing practical emergency procedures. As part of Selby’s vision, he included information that would be applicable to students who live on campus as well as off campus. This is especially noticeable under the Fire Safety category, where he has links specifically about homes and families.
“We have people that have families at home, so there are fire prevention videos and fire safety for children,” Selby said. “I have a website on there where you can go [to] get information and take courses in FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency]. There’s a website on there where you can build a plan [of escape] for your family.”
According to Selby, one of the major challenges with emergency management is that it is constantly changing. To accommodate this, the MyUIndy public safety page will be updated with new policies and procedures fairly soon. Another challenge is that there is no quick fix or strategy. Each emergency situation is unique and requires its own solution. Although there are broad plans that can be put into action, there never will be a perfect premade plan.
“The problem with emergency management is that it is a living, breathing thing,” Selby said. “So for me to tell you how to respond, you really have to know how the story is unfolding. There are a lot of variables and things involved that may change how we do things.”
Selby stressed the importance of working with a community, encouraging them to look out for each other. Although policies and procedures are always changing, he said, the need to help each other out never goes away.
“Our community, which is an outstanding community by the way, are the eyes and ears for us and are very good about calling us,” Selby said. “That’s what’s important—that we keep each other informed and look after each other’s backs all the time.”
