Cypress College Emergency Preparation

Throughout the past few years we have all been on alert as to the various situations nationwide concerning active shooters in the workplace, educational environment and social gatherings. Cypress College takes these matters seriously. The Campus Safety team trains and prepares with local law enforcement in order to ensure a quick and seamless response. It is now time for us to train and be prepared as a college community.

On Thursday April 11, 2024 at 10:20 a.m., Cypress College Campus Safety will test our emergency alert system concerning an active shooter scenario. This test will encompass sending out three different alerts over the course of 15 minutes.

1. In the first alert you will be notified that this is a test and that there is an active shooter on campus and that you should shelter in place using the Run – Hide – Fight method.
2. The second alert will notify you that the shooter has been contained but to continue to shelter in place.
3. The final alert will notify you that is safe to resume normal activities.

The Run – Hide – Fight method was developed by the Department of Homeland Security to give the best chance of survival. Please watch this short six-minute video (below) in order to better introduce yourself to his method.

RUN

• Seek safety. Getting away from the attacker is the top priority.
• Leave your belongings behind and get away.
• Call 9-1-1 when you are safe and describe the attacker, location, and weapons.

HIDE

• Cover and hide if you can’t evacuate. Find a place to hide out of view of the attacker and put a solid barrier between yourself and the threat if possible.
• Lock and block doors, close blinds and turn off lights.
• Keep silent.

FIGHT

• Fight only as a last resort. When you can’t run or cover, attempt to disrupt the attack or disable the attacker.
• Be aggressive and commit to your actions.
• Recruit others to ambush the attacker with makeshift weapons such as chairs, fire extinguishers, scissors, books, etc.
• Be prepared to cause severe or lethal injury to the attacker.

Being prepared at the every level allows us to mitigate any situation that may cause harm to the Charger community. Campus Safety works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We are out on patrol and we are just a phone call away. Our Campus Safety number is (714) 484-7387. Please put this number in your phone for easy access. Students are encouraged to utilize myGateway to update their personal information for text alert messaging in the event of an emergency. Students must provide their personal information in myGateway to receive these text notifications.

Follow these steps to verify that your cell phone and email address are entered and current:

• Sign into myGateway.
• Go to the “Personal Information” channel under the “Student” tab.
• Click on the item “Set Text Message Alert Preferences.”
• When clicking on “Set Text Message Alert Preferences,” the next screen will allow you to enter your cell phone information, the cellular service provider, the level of messages you wish to receive and the campus or campuses you want to be notified about.
• After entering your information, click on the “Submit” button.

Our experience has proven X (formerly Twitter) to be a reliable method of emergency communication. In addition to asking you to sign up for text messages (see above), please help out by signing up to follow the college on X. You can do so by visiting twitter.com/CypressCollege and clicking on the “follow” button.

If you SEE something, SAY something. If it doesn’t look right, call us to check it out. We all play a part in keeping the Charger Community safe.