Earlier this semester, students and staff received a message that an active threat had been reported on campus and that everyone should shelter in place. The report turned out to be false, but many students didn’t understand what to do in this situation.
Chief of Mercer Police Haley Beckham told The Cluster that an active threat refers to a situation where there is a potential or confirmed threat on campus, and that sheltering in place means finding a safe location to wait until further notice.
For those who are already indoors when an alert comes, “Do not leave your current safe location unless you are in immediate danger,” Beckham said. This means staying quiet, hidden, locking doors and barricading doors, if needed.
Anyone who is outside during a shelter-in-place order should “go inside the nearest building or secure room,” Beckham, who is in her first year as the head of MerPo, said. Then, stay quiet and hidden.
Beckham says that she has an open dialogue with the university's deans on how to handle these types of situations to ensure the safety of students and staff. In an active threat, students will receive a text message through the RAVE system, notifying them. In an emergency, students should call 911, who will contact Mercer Police to take care of the situation.
Joslyn Hicks ‘29 is a Journalism major at Mercer University. She is excited for her first year as a staff writer for The Cluster. In her free time, you can find her reading a book or singing along to Taylor Swift songs.
