February 1, 2022

Dear Howard University Community, 

The Emergency Management division of the Department of Public Safety is providing you with very specific guidance on readiness during events with the potential for danger, including severe weather, natural disasters, active violence, civil unrest, or large-scale threats to life and property.

This information can be found in the DPS emergency management portal, but we present the specific areas below for your awareness. 
 

What to expect if a Bomb Threat is made against the University:

1. In the event of a bomb threat, the Department of Public Safety will issue a Shelter-In-Place order.
2. DPS notifies federal and local law enforcement (Metropolitan Police Department, FBI, Department of Homeland Security)
3. DPS simultaneously blocks the perimeter of the impacted area.
4. A sweep is performed by law enforcement. The sweep includes the use of explosive detection dogs, law enforcement inspection and camera review and covers a broader area than is mentioned by the threat actor. 
5. Once MPD has cleared the space, an “All Clear” is issued to the campus. 

It is important to note that evacuation orders are typically reserved for the imminent threat of harm to human life, including bomb threats (depending on the time of the threat and the area threatened), building fires, hazardous waste or chemical spills, and flooding. Decisions for evacuation are evaluated for each, individual scenario and take into consideration time of day, level of operations and the number of people in proximity to a given threat, environmental conditions, level of the threat itself, and available resources for emergency response.

Alerts and Notifications

Bison SAFE is the University’s official mass notification system that allows the University to send time-sensitive notifications via text messaging and email. In the case of an emergency on or near campus, a notification will be sent out immediately through the Bison SAFE mobile app push notifications (which must be turned on in users' individual phone settings), email blasts to university-issued email addresses, and website updates on howard.edu. 

Notifications are limited to emergencies involving events, e.g. severe weather, building concerns, and active intruders. The University will also test the system periodically, and make a campus announcement when it is doing so. 

Common terms used in emergency responses are outlined below:

• Remote Operations

Typically enacted during inclement weather, this level of response allows the campus to shift to virtual instruction, limited auxiliary services (dining, mailroom, bookstore) and scaled back activities in research and community service provision. This order reduces the typical traffic and pedestrian density of regular campus operations, and gives space for free movement around the campus and in surrounding communities, with caution and awareness of potentially hazardous conditions. 

• Shelter-In-Place

In events such as a bomb threat, natural disaster, or active shooter, public safety officials may order a 'shelter-in-place.' This order is defined as a safety measure where building occupants remain inside rather than evacuating. Shelter-In-Place is reserved for extreme events where life or property may be in danger and prohibits the free movement of community members around the campus or out into communities. Auxiliary services, instruction, and activities are paused or amended during the period that the shelter-in-place order is enacted, due to the extreme outcomes that the event could yield. 

Training Opportunities

Howard University conducts exercises based on the Department of Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP).  The Office of Emergency Management conducts the following discussion-based exercises:

• Seminar. A seminar is an informal discussion, designed to orient participants to new or updated plans, policies, or procedures (e.g., a seminar to review a new Evacuation Standard Operating Procedure).
• Workshop. A workshop resembles a seminar, but is employed to build specific products, such as a draft plan or policy (e.g., a Training and Exercise Plan Workshop is used to develop a Multi-year Training and Exercise Plan).
• Tabletop Exercise (TTX). A tabletop exercise involves key personnel discussing simulated scenarios in an informal setting. TTXs can be used to assess plans, policies, and procedures.
• Games. A game is a simulation of operations that often involves two or more teams, usually in a competitive environment, using rules, data, and procedure designed to depict an actual or assumed real-life situation.

The University also conducts operational-based exercises on campus:

• Drill. A drill is a coordinated, supervised activity usually employed to test a single, specific operation or function within a single entity (e.g., a fire department conducts a decontamination drill).
• Functional Exercise (FE). A functional exercise examines and/or validates the coordination, command, and control between various multi-agency coordination centers (e.g., emergency operation center, joint field office, etc.). A functional exercise does not involve any "boots on the ground" (i.e., first responders or emergency officials responding to an incident in real time).
• Full-Scale Exercises (FSE). A full-scale exercise is a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional, multi-discipline exercise involving functional (e.g., joint field office, emergency operation centers, etc.) and "boots on the ground" response (e.g., firefighters decontaminating mock victims).

In addition to the information provided by our University and its campus housing providers, we are urging on-campus residents to familiarize themselves with the emergency management response specific to our residence halls that can be found in the Student Handbook.

During a town hall meeting held earlier this evening, members of the administration publicly committed to fostering more awareness-building opportunities to answer questions and build confidence in our effort to face critical situations. Our Office of Emergency Management looks forward to working with our entire community to promote safety and stability for our campus both now and in the future.
 

Excellence in Truth and Service,

The Office of Emergency Management 

Howard University Department of Public Safety