With the tragic events of Virginia Tech in hindsight, BERT is taking all possible precautions.

BERT, which stands for Building Emergency Response Team, is a University program that trains SIUC faculty and staff about the protocol to follow in the event of an emergency, such as a chemical spill, a bomb threat or a shooting.

In conjunction with the Department of Public Safety, BERT implemented an emergency procedure to evacuate University buildings, which were suggested to go on all University syllabi.

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Scott Miller, the Disaster Resource Coordinator, said the department wants to prepare themselves to minimize the chances of another tragedy similar to Virginia Tech. A new strategy was given in the case of a school shooting in the University’s Emergency Response Guide.

Miller said BERT has already gained more than 300 members on campus, including some students.

Alan Vaux, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said the Provost contacted all University deans to encourage them to tell professors to put the information on syllabi.

While most professors obliged, not all of them inserted the information on BERT. “Some faculty were a little concerned that they weren’t fully aware of what the procedures were themselves,” Vaux said. Vaux said while he believes faculty and staff are prepared for emergencies such as fires, more training may be necessary. He also said the college needs more emergency radios.

“I think that there’s a lot of training that needs to happen and we’re trying to get that up and running,” Vaux said. Vaux said the colleges are also trying to increase participation because some departments have many people in BERT while others have none.

Shannon Quinn, a sophomore from Warrenton, Mo., studying mortuary science, said she likes the idea of BERT because of a reaction over a bag of sand that caused an evacuation of Lawson Hall April 25. She also said professors should put more of an emphasis on the program when reviewing their class syllabi.

“All my teachers just mentioned it in passing,” she said. “I don’t think if something really happens that they’re going to have something set for us, except for follow them down the hall,”

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Daily Egyptian writer Alejandro Gonzalez can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 263 or at [email protected].