Social Media: The Means to Student SafetyBaylor University --- Team Leader: Paige Jackson

Virginia Tech Shooting

• Could social media have prevented some of these injuries?

• Could the information have been disseminated with more breadth and speed? #wethinkso

• Can the Division of Student Life utilize social media to increase student safety and protection? #yeswecan

Stra egic Plan or Social Media• We propose that the Division of

Student Life implement and integrate Facebook and Twitter into the emergency alert system.

• Purpose: To more quickly and readily alert students, faculty/staff & families of danger

• Argument: Social media used in conjunction with the current alert systems will increase breadth, speed and access of critical emergency information.

Who and Why?Who: Merger of Student Life and Risk Management– Student Life Mission Statement: Student Life seeks to enrich the Baylor experience through life

changing programs and services resulting in an integrated education known for leadership, service, Christian faith and the total development of students. 1

– Risk Management Mission Statement: The mission of the Baylor University Department of Risk Management is to provide, in concert with the University's Vision 2012, a comprehensive risk management program that includes fire/general safety, radiation safety, laboratory safety, asbestos/indoor air quality and crisis management that contributes to the health, safety and protection of employees, students and visitors, while also protecting the University's physical and financial resources. 2

Why: The research says…- “Safety is an integral aspect of every learning environment is a point of significance in the study of

campus environments, where the goal of inviting students into the learning community is facilitated by engaging them in meaningful roles, which in turn is made possible by making them feel welcomed and secure on campus.” (Strange & Banning, 2001) 3

Usage: Power and Scarci y• Currently eight people have

access to the alert system, two of which are in Student Life (VP and AVP). 4

• Although the accounts would be managed by Student Life, access would need to be spread to the eight managers.

• This new social media alert system must be used only in campus emergency situations.

• If it is used, we want it to stand out on timelines and news feeds!

Chief Risk Management Officer

Director of Emergency Management

Office of General Counsel

Vice President for Student Life

Associate Vice President for Student Life

Director of Media Relations

Assistant Director of Media Communications

Baylor Police Department

Crea ion: Simple as riends and ollowers

• Student Life simply needs to create a Facebook page and a Twitter account specifically for emergency communication.

• All students need to do is “like” the Facebook page

• Or simply become a follower of the Twitter feed

How will we implement this new alert system?About 2 hours ago from web

Part of the orientation process.-When students use our computer system to sign up for the existing alert system or sign up for classes they can also sign up for the FB group or twitter feed.

-Time and cost effective!!!About 1 hour ago from mobile

Current Students & Faculty/Staff

- Current students and faculty/staff can be encouraged to sign up via campus email-Faculty/Staff will also be amply notified through departmental meetings -Point of emphasis to sign up during the online class registration process for students30 minutes ago from web

45 minutes ago from mobile

Appeasing and Using Parents

• Statistics show that millennial parents make up just as much of the market as their students!

• Parents can also be used as a very important means of information sharing.

• The more sharing, especially from parents, the more breadth and speed the system will have.

• According to the research parents of “millennials” are more “nurturing” than any previous generation. 5

• We want them to join the FB group and Twitter feed to ease their minds, but will they join?

Just saw the tweet! I need to

call my baby!

6

How can social media accomplish this?

Speed Breadth Access

99% of all college students have a

registered Facebook

profile 7

The ability to access our students’ chains of communication through

social media is high!

Since shared information is the name of the game, this chart shows why emergency

information will be posted and shared with greater speed and frequency via Facebook and

Twitter .

8

77

9

Don’t most colleges already have an email and text alert system in place?

Yes they do.

I’ve also read research that says more people text than use mobile

social media! 10

That’s true as well.

Sound like the system works fine to me!

It seems that way, but look at what recently happened at Baylor…

Baylor University

@baylortechinfo The Baylor alert system is setup to email and text students in the event of a campus emergency.

@baylorfacts During this spring semester of 2011 the emergency system was used to contact students multiple times. 11

@baylornews Two of these incidents included armed gunmen on or near campus! 11

@baylortruth Due to an error in the system 4,800 of Baylor’s students, faculty and staff were not alerted and in major risk. 11

@teambaylor This is just one instance in which the system in place

has failed to properly do it’s job.

Legal Implications• Our plan is in accordance with The Clery Act, in

fact it makes emergency information more available to the users. 12

• Students joining a university established social media alert system does not violate any privacy laws.

• However, social media laws are very new. Continually staying updated with current legislation is vital.

Social Media & Safety

Final Thoughts and Quotes

Closing ThoughtsFebruary 23, 2011 5:00 PMBy Team Baylor

“All student affairs departments and professionals can be integral in crisis response, but thoughtful preplanning and preparation for these [campus] units can greatly enhance student services during a campus crisis” (Hemphill & Hephner-LaBanc 2010). 13

“From the tragic events at Virginia Tech (April, 2007) to the most recent assaults at Northern Illinois University (February, 2008) it is clear that America’s colleges and universities can ill afford to pretend that their world is different and free from the plague of violence and fear that seems to grip our complex society. From words that provoke anger and hostility to bullets that maim and end innocent lives, campus safety is an issue that deserves the immediate and front-and-center attention of administrators at all levels” (Strange & Banning, 2001). 3

1) Baylor university student life. (2011, February). Retrieved from http://www.baylor.edu/student_life/ 2) Baylor university risk management. (2011, February). Retrieved from

http://www.baylor.edu/risk_management/

3) Strange, C., & Banning, J. (2001). Educating by design: Creating campus learning environments that work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

4) Emergency response and evacuation procedures. Retrieved from

http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/120877.pdf

5) Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (2007). Millennials go to college. USA: LifeCourse Associates.

6) Smith, J. (2009, July 6). College students’ facebook use easing up over the summer, while parents logging on in record numbers. Inside Network, 2011, Retrieved from http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/07/06/college-students-facebook-use-easing-up-over-the-summer-while-parents-logging-on-in-record-numbers/

7)Nehls, K., & Livengood, J. (2011, Winter). When students turn to facebook with questions, who provides the answers?. Leadership Exchange, 8(4), Retrieved from http://www.leadershipexchange-digital.com/lexmail/2011winter?sub_id=kNi9UAeK2Rgu&folio=38

References

8) Infographic: How people share content on the web. (2009, July 22). Retrieved from

http://www.debaird.net/blendededunet/2009/07/how-people-share-content-on-the-web.html 9) What Americans do online: social media and games dominate activity. (2010, August 2). Retrieved from

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/what-americans-do-online-social-media-and-games-dominate-activity/

10) DeLeon, N. (2011, February 14). Deloitte: Text Messaging Still Far More Popular Than Mobile Twitter, Other Social Networks http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2011/02/14/deloitte-text-messaging-still-far-more-popular-than-mobile-twitter-other-social-networks/

11) Dean, N. (2011, January 19). Nearly 4,800 don't receive emergency notifications. Baylor Lariat.

http://baylorlariat.com/2011/01/19/959/. 12) Security on Campus, Inc., (2008). Complying with the Jean Clery act. Retrieved from

http://www.securityoncampus.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=271&Itemid=60

13) Hemphill, B.O. & Hephner-LaBanc, B. (2010). Enough is Enough: A student affairs perspective on preparedness and response to a campus shooting. A Joint Monograph of NASPA and ACPA.

References