In an effort to test the electronic emergency response system, the campus will be simulating an active shooter incident on Friday.

The test will be conducted in Draper Hall, a residential hall.

The simulation is expected to begin at 2 p.m. and will be concluded by 4 p.m. Air Force ROTC personnel will be portraying student victims.

Campus police will have Draper Hall as well as roads and pathways in the area cordoned off for several hours as the simulation is conducted. Approximately 1600 e-mails will be sent, as well as 290 text messages.

The system will notify selected faculty, staff, and students with text and e-mail notification. This test is being conducted to gauge the effectiveness of the system and to attempt to expose weaknesses as well as benefits.

“The safety of our students, faculty, staff and campus visitors is paramount, and the implementation of the new emergency alert system is a significant step toward that end,” President Alexander Gonzalez said in a press release.

This system was implemented over the course of the last few years. The system gained funding after the April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech shootings; a similar system was used successfully at that school.

This system is designed to enable campus officials to quickly be alerted to emergencies occurring on campus. This will help reduce response time and increase safety of people on campus by identifying not only what is happening, but where the emergency is occurring.

Emergencies that will be identified include earthquakes, fires, floods, shootings, terrorist threats and hazardous material spills. Notification will be done through a mandatory mass e-mail to campus SacLink accounts.

The campus community is encouraged to go to