On Tuesday, Johns Hopkins will take two more
significant steps — one high-tech and one old
school — in the ongoing effort to improve the safety
and security of the Homewood campus and its
environs.
At 1 p.m. that day, Campus
Safety and Security will conduct a test of the new
Homewood
Siren/Public Address System and the Johns Hopkins Emergency
Alerts text messaging system. The
test will be the first full-scale simultaneous activation
of both systems.
The siren system, which is activated by radio signal
from the Homewood Communications
Center, is composed of modules on Garland Hall, Whitehead
Hall and the O'Connor Recreation Center.
The sirens will simultaneously sound the alert tone and
then sequentially broadcast the voice message.
There will be a 30-second alert tone immediately
followed by a voice broadcast announcing,
"This is a test of the Homewood campus emergency warning
system."
Those who have subscribed to the text alert system
will receive a brief message on their cell
phones that reads, "This is a test of the Homewood Johns
Hopkins Emergency Alerts text message
system. There is NO emergency at this time."
Shortly after this broadcast, an all-clear alert tone
will sound, followed by the message saying,
in part, "This has been a test of the Homewood campus
emergency warning system. Had there been an
actual emergency, you would have been given specific
instructions on what to do."
Because the system incorporates a silent self-test
feature that will exercise each module on a
weekly basis, Campus Safety and Security expects to run
"live" tests only three times a year. The main
purpose of the exercises is to familiarize the Homewood
community with the sound of the system.
Except for these periodic tests, the system will be used
only in the event of an incident or situation
that presents a significant threat to the lives or safety
of the campus community.
On Tuesday evening, beginning at 7:30 p.m., the JHU
cohort of Charles Village Neighborhood
Walkers on Patrol will get a major boost of manpower as
representatives from fraternities, sororities,
athletic teams and other entities will be out and about in
blue T-shirts and yellow hats. Patricia C.
Jessamy, Baltimore City state's attorney; Susan Boswell,
dean of student life; Tom Calder, director of
athletics; and Maj. Ross Buzzuro, of the Baltimore City
police, will join the Johns Hopkins University
Neighborhood Walkers on Patrol that evening, meeting at the
corner of North Charles and 31st
streets. The Johns Hopkins group will walk Tuesday nights
throughout the year.
Charles Village Neighborhood Walkers on Patrol took
its first steps in March, putting feet on
the streets during evening hours. The effort pulled
together area stakeholders including the Charles
Village Benefits District (which oversees the effort),
Charles Village Civic Association, Greater
Homewood Community Corp., Union Memorial Hospital and The
Johns Hopkins University.
By being a visible presence, Neighborhood Walkers acts
as a crime deterrent. The group also
aims to stop crime before it happens. Patrolling the
streets, walkers look for and learn about
vulnerable spots — open windows, improperly installed
gates, cars with visible personal belongings, areas
where people can hide — so that they can ratchet up
their own safety.
Johns Hopkins aims to get its whole community
involved, and in April took on Tuesday nights.
The JHU group is supervised by Edmund Skrodzki, executive
director of safety and security on the
Homewood campus.
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