SUNY New Paltz will conduct lockdown drill in Wooster Hall on Oct. 11

The Office of Emergency Management and the University Police Department at SUNY New Paltz will conduct a partial lockdown drill on campus in Wooster Hall at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 11.

During the lockdown drill, a simulated violent intruder event will occur. This will include simulated threats, gunshots, a lockdown and an armed police response. This partial lockdown drill is an essential element of our campus emergency preparedness measures.

The College has taken several steps to prepare the campus community for this lockdown drill. Officials are sending numerous communications to make sure campus community members are aware that the Oct. 11 lockdown drill is a controlled simulation.

Regional law enforcement and 911 dispatch centers are also being notified of the drill.

In order to minimize the impact that this will have on our students, faculty, staff and visitors, we will conduct this drill in a controlled setting between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. The date and time were chosen based on research that showed there are very few classes in Wooster Hall at this time.

It was also determined that campus café Element 93 will close promptly at 9:45 a.m. to minimize disruption. The café will reopen at the conclusion of the drill.

The campus will be made aware of the drill’s conclusion via multiple emergency notifications systems, as determined by the Drill Commander. This may include, but is not limited to, speaker array broadcasts, email, text, Cisco phone announcements, phone calls and digital signage.

The campus community is also being advised as to best practices for participating in a lockdown drill and how to respond when an active shooter drill occurs nearby.

Campus Emergency Response Plans for Faculty & Staff and for Students are available at http://www.newpaltz.edu/emergency/responseplan.html. Any questions or concerns can be directed to emergency-response@newpaltz.edu.

Please visit www.newpaltz.edu/emergency/lockdown for more information.