EDITORIAL BOARD: We need to learn from the Code Blue false alarm
Each month, the editorial board of The Utah Statesman will share our view on a topic we think is worth addressing. This month, we’re looking back at the Code Blue Alert false alarm that occurred last week.
To submit a response to this column, or submit a letter to the editor on a new topic, email your submission to opinion@usustatesman.com.
Just after 3 p.m. on Wednesday, an alert was sent to Utah State University students and faculty. It read: “Code Blue: We’ve received reports of an armed aggressor on the USU Logan campus. Run, hide, or fight. Police responding. More info to come.”
Like many of you, those of us at USU Student Media were at first a bit confused and shocked before jumping into action. We locked the gate to our office, turned off the lights, and tried to find a corner of the office that was less exposed.
Then we all hid and waited to hear more.
Thankfully, after eight minutes that felt like an eternity, another alert informed us that it was a false alarm and that we were all clear. Eight minutes in real time wasn’t much, but just think what eight minutes may have done if it hadn’t been a false alarm.
Like many of you, those eight minutes left us feeling shaken and scared. That false alarm, though, also exposed some concerns within the Code Blue Alert system and with the campus-wide response to an armed aggressor.
This experience gives all of us the opportunity to consider ways to improve both the system and our response.
To their credit, the university has shown a willingness to do that. President Noelle Cockett hosted a listening session on Thursday where she solicited feedback from students and others. The university also created an online system for students, staff and faculty to leave comments or make suggestions. That form can be accessed at usu.edu/emergency/feedback.
Of primary concern in an emergency is how quickly the alert can be spread. This false alarm exposed many on our campus that aren’t signed up for Code Blue Alerts at all, and others who aren’t signed up to receive immediate notifications.
In our office, many of us didn’t receive a text message alert. If we hadn’t been sitting at our computers with email notifications on, we wouldn’t have realized an alert had even been sent.
Other universities around the nation have moved to an opt-out, rather than an opt-in, system for emergency notifications. In other words, students, faculty and staff have to actively choose not to receive alerts. The University of Utah, for example, saw nearly 98 percent of its campus community register for text alerts when an opt-out system was introduced in 2014. Utah State leadership has expressed an interest in a similar system, but it has not yet been implemented.
For now, you can sign up for Code Blue Alerts and adjust your alert settings by visiting usu.edu/emergency.
Some students shared on social media their concern that professors continued to lecture after the alert had been sent, and others were told to leave the building they were in, even though the location of the alleged aggressor had not been revealed. Both circumstances should be addressed going forward.
While this false alarm was a mistake that should never have been made, the university has apologized and is taking steps to prevent similar false alarms in the future. In the meantime, it can serve as a drill of sorts that may help us be more prepared in a future emergency.
We encourage the university leadership to continue analyzing the campus-wide response and to provide better clarity and training to educate students and faculty.
We don’t want to lose any Aggie because they simply weren’t prepared.
We also encourage the students, staff and faculty of Utah State to individually educate yourselves on how to appropriately respond to these types of situations, and to provide feedback to the university.
To learn more about how to approach an active shooting situation visit dps.usu.edu/emergency/runhidefight. Additional resources are available at https://www.ready.gov/active-shooter.