CSU East Bay held an evacuation drill April 17 on both the Hayward and Concord campuses, according to an e-mail sent out to student’s horizon e-mails by Nyassa Love of Risk Management as well as Chief Jim Hodges of the University Police Department (UPD).

The e-mail stated, “All occupants in every building, except for residence halls, will be expected to fully evacuate their building.  Uniformed Student Service Officers (SSOs) and Volunteer Team Leads (VLA) (formerly known as BSAs) will provide assistance during the drill by timing and monitoring the evacuation process and providing directions as needed.”

The e-mail also instructed students, staff and faculty to assemble in the designated assembly area for each building, which according to Chief Hodges differed from building to building. He continued to explain how the VLAs are vital to the success of these drills as well as future incidents.

“We wanted to alert everybody so we didn’t cause unnecessary panic or anxiety,” Hodges said. “We wanted to do a drill when most people could benefit from it because drills and evacuations are important.”

Students received text messages and e-mails minutes before the drill, informing them the drill would start at 10:22 a.m.

The drill lasted roughly 15 minutes and students were heard shouting comments such as “I bet UCLA doesn’t do these” and came off annoyed during the drill.

Though the drill was quick, even professors were bothered by it as some cancelled class and others were heard during the drill as saying, “Even though it was only 15 minutes it felt like it should’ve ended a lot sooner.”

The evacuation drill ended once the building evacuation was verified and an “all clear” announcement was made by uniformed personnel, signaling the end of the drill.

According to Hodges, the timing of this drill is completely coincidental to the shooting at Oikos University earlier this month where One L. Goh, a former student, killed seven students and injured three others.

Hodges also explained these drills are intended to prepare our students more for earthquake and fire situations and not for armed gunmen.

Instead, separate workshops are provided on active shooter preparedness to inform and to enhance personal safety on campus, learn more information about how to respond in a crisis situation where there is an “active shooter,” and discuss ways to recognize early warning signs of an escalating situation among co-workers or students.

While residents in Pioneer Heights who were in their dorms during the evacuation did not have to participate in the drill, they will not be excluded from future practices.

“We’ll probably do an evening one preferably with housing,” Hodges said. “We want to do it when everyone’s there so we can get the better benefit.”

The drill is mandated by the state of California and is the yearly entire campus evacuation.

“We’ll be doing other individual evacuations [as well],” Hodges stated.

According to Hodges, there could be as many as four more evacuations planned.

Throughout the school year, individual buildings or group of buildings have evacuations and in October four buildings on campus participated in the Great California Shakeout.
Hodges only had one thing to say to students who may not have wanted to participate.

“It’s for their own health and safety and to have that kind of attitude is irresponsible and complacent,” Hodges expressed.