The emergency notification system at Grand Valley State University has planned ahead for just about every instance of severe weather. Making the students aware of the system and procedures, however, is a whole different matter.

The severe winds last week leading to the tornado watch and warning Tuesday left many GVSU students questioning the university’s policy in regard to severe weather. GVSU has an emergency notification system in place that sends an e-mail to all student accounts in the event of an emergency. Students can also sign up for an expanded version of the service that will send notifications via text message, voicemail or to a secondary e-mail account.

In the event of strong winds, the system will not be utilized unless there is a tornado warning, in which case the sirens on each campus will go off and certified personnel in each building will direct students to the nearest safe area to wait out the weather. Maps notifying students to the designated areas are posted in each building. A tornado warning is the only scenario where classes will be cancelled.

Matt McLogan, vice president of University Relations, is in charge of coordinating the communication for the emergency notification system. He said the Pew Campus was briefly closed on Tuesday during the 45 minute period when Kent Count was under a tornado warning. He said there was some confusion among personnel directing students to safety that caused some spillover to the Allendale Campus where students in certain building were briefly directed to head for cover. Overall, though, the threat was brief and business on both campuses carried on as usual.

GVSU has taken proactive measures to ensure its staff and students are prepared and will be protected in case of an emergency. It is now up to students to be aware of the policies and be equally prepared to deal with severe conditions.