UC Regents: Fix the WarnMe System (talking points)
Need talking points when speaking at the UC Regents meeting on Feb 14? You’re in the right place!
Take one minute to tell the Board of Regents, UC’s governing body, how you feel about Cal’s catastrophic failure of communication after Friday’s shooting on campus – and what Cal should do to improve its WarnMe system.
Here’s how:
Sign up here to speak by phone at the Regents meeting tomorrow
Prepare a short statement using, if you wish, SafeBears’ talking points below.
Practice your statement to make sure you can deliver it in 1 minute.
On Wednesday, Feb 14, keep your phone on beginning at 10am PST and have your statement ready – if you are selected, you will receive a call from the Regents meeting at some point between 10 AM and 12 PM. You’ll only have 1 minute to talk, so pick a couple sections below & put them into your own voice. Please practice your comments beforehand to be certain you will be under 1 minute.
Thank you for making Berkeley safer for our students! 💛
Last Friday, a gunman opened fire in Lower Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus. He fired nine shots into the air, with one bullet shattering a window in a nearby building. Luckily, nobody was hurt. UCPD officers did an incredible job and arrested the individual within just two minutes.
Students ran for cover when the man opened fire. They ran into nearby buildings and tried locking themselves in rooms. Unfortunately, some doors were defective and would not lock.
At the same time, a flurry of messages began to go out about the incident. The student newspaper reported on Instagram that a second gunman was at large. The department of Residence Life sent a message to a group of students telling them to shelter in place as an “aggravated assault” was happening at Sproul Plaza. Some campus employers warned student workers not to stand by windows. And numerous students sent frantic text messages to their parents telling them what was happening.
The incident occurred at 8:40 PM, and thanks to UCPD’s heroic efforts, the gunman was apprehended by 8:42 PM. An official WarnMe message was not sent until 9:20 PM informing readers that an “aggravated assault” was happening in Lower Sproul and that students should avoid the area. A second WarnMe message was sent at 9:50 PM informing students that the situation had been resolved— an hour and ten minutes after the gunman had been arrested.
At no point did either of the WarnMe messages mention the word “gun” or “firearm.”
Students and their families are beyond frustrated with this appalling lack of communication. Many students shared their feelings on sites like Reddit and TikTok, and some have even started a petition calling for the immediate resignation of UC Berkeley’s Office of Emergency Management.
One of the most frustrating aspects of this incident is that the communication could have been so much better. Students have complained that the WarnMe system in its current form is nearly useless. SafeBears presented an overview of the shortcomings of the WarnMe system to the administration in September 2023, along with specific recommendations of how to improve it, including more timely messages to keep community members informed of dangerous situations.
UC Berkeley is rated by the US Department of Education as the third most-dangerous college campus in America. Despite this, the administration continues to implement safety concerns at a glacial pace, citing budgetary constraints while it keeps expanding university property and academic subjects. It is imperative that we have someone dedicated to preparing and sending WarnMe messages out in a timely basis, and that these messages contain accurate information that can help students avoid walking into dangerous situations.
Growth is good. But unless a commensurate level of safety services increases at a similar pace, students and other members of the Cal community will be increasingly at risk of violent crime.
The WarnMe system in its current form is badly broken. I urge you to fix it now, before it’s too late.