Students in Westerlin Hall had to evacuate their rooms on Aug. 27 around 10 a.m., as the fire alarm started going off. As students were gathered across the parking lot, they soon started getting texts and emails from AugieAlert, Augustana’s emergency alert system.
They learned that there was a gas leak in the basement of Westerlin and would be updated with more information as it was received. While many students may have taken these texts and emails for granted, most of them probably weren’t aware that this messaging system was part of the reason Augustana recently won an award for emergency preparedness.
On Aug. 21, Augustana College was recognized by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) as a Ready to Respond Campus. Augustana  are only one of four colleges in Illinois to be certified as Ready to Respond and are the first private college.
“At Augustana, we have three simple plans for emergencies. Evacuate, lockdown, and shelter in place. These are simple yet effective plans that can be used in any variety of emergency,” said Sam Schlouch, Augustana’s Director of Public Relations.
Other things that go towards Augustana’s emergency preparation are having a different sort of emergency drill every term and having small groups trained to respond to specific types of emergencies. These people are aware of each specific duty they have to try and prevent one person from having to try and be the hero in emergency situations.
Augustana was awarded with a plaque with the Ready to Respond logo on it. This logo can be used on official correspondence from the college, brochures, websites, and other forms of media. The status is valid for three years, whereupon expiry the school can submit updated documentation for in order to renew the status.
Students can sign up for the AugieAlert text message system on augustana.edu/e2campus.