October 4, 2021
Dear SMU Community,
SMU is committed to providing a safe and welcoming campus as a fundamental part of our educational mission. You play a part by exercising personal awareness and becoming familiar with protective actions you can take. Please review the following information so you’ll know what to do in an emergency.
Notification of Annual Test
On Tuesday, October 5, at 3:20 p.m., SMU will conduct a test of the indoor notification system and other emergency notifications – including voicemail, email, text and @SMUAware on Twitter and Facebook. All contacts should receive a test voicemail, email, and text messages. Emails will be sent via smu@getrave.com and text messages by one of the following short codes: 226787, 67283, 78015 or 81437.
During the test, the indoor notification system in campus buildings will be activated twice with each message lasting approximately 30 seconds.
Make sure your emergency notification contact information is up to date by logging on to my.smu and following the instructions available.
Emergency Procedures and Notifications
SMU’s Emergency Response and Evacuation Procedures on the SMU Aware website provide detailed information about how to respond if there is an active threat or a need to shelter or evacuate.
During an emergency, a crime or safety concern on campus, you may receive one of these three types of notifications:
- SMU Alert – An SMU Alert is the University’s system for alerting students, staff and faculty in the event of an emergency or imminent threat on campus.
- SMU Warning – An SMU Warning is notification of crime(s) under the Clery Act that has occurred and is considered by the institution to represent a serious or continuing threat to students and employees.
- SMU Advisory – SMU Advisory is a message that may be issued when an incident or crime has occurred that may affect members of the campus community, but an emergency notification or timely warning is not required.
The following systems may be used to communicate emergency information, notifications and procedures:
- University Park Outdoor Siren System (Weather Only)
- Indoor Notification System (Main Campus Only)
- Email notification to SMU email account (smu@getrave.com)
- Text message to cell phone (short codes include 226787, 67283, 78015 or 81437)
- Audio message to a cell phone or other telephone
- SMU Aware website
- SMU Police website
- @SMUAware on Twitter and Facebook
- SMU Information Line (214) 768-INFO (4636)
All initial messages will provide a brief description of the emergency type. When additional information is available, a text may be sent to inform students, staff and faculty about further instructions. The information may caution you to avoid certain areas of campus, let you know if classes are canceled or provide vital information on what actions you need to take during an emergency.
Most notifications are issued to the entire community due to the size of the campus, the frequency of movement by community members around campus and the need to keep the entire community aware of significant emergencies. If you receive an SMU Alert, please share the information immediately.
More detailed information on campus emergency notifications, policies, procedures and resources can be found in the 2021 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. Thank you for learning how to keep yourself and others safe at SMU.
Respectfully,
Thomas Graham, Ph. D.
Director of Emergency Management