@meredithherald
@meredith_herald
@meredith_herald
THEIHERALD
February 22, 2023
meredithherald.com
MC Alert Discrepancies
By Freya Dahlgren, Junior Associate Editor
MC Alert, as referred to by
official documents, is “Meredith’s
emergency notification system for
students, faculty and staff.” Its
purpose is to alert the Meredith
Community of emergency events in
compliance with the Clery Act. MC
Alert is a service that a Meredith
Community member must opt into
in order to reap its benefits.
On Feb. 5, 2023 at 1:22 p.m.
an MC Alert was sent out notify
ing the Meredith community of “an
armed man [that was] spotted on
the greenway near campus head
ing toward Gorman Street.” Those
receiving the message were advised
to “shelter in place and stay calm.”
Those enrolled in MC Alerts re
ceived an all-clear message at 1:39
p.m., shortly following the initial
notification.
When asked about the
decision to use MC Alert in this
instance, Ann Gleason, Dean of
Students, told The Herald, “Mere
dith College sends MC Alert cam
pus emergency notifications when
there is an on-campus emergency
that poses an immediate risk to
the health and safety of the cam
pus community. Decisions to send
MC Alert notifications in regard to
safety concerns are guided by Cam
pus Police.”
Dean Gleason also stated
that the Raleigh Police Department
(RPD) reached out to Campus Po
lice about a call from a “concerned
individual on the Greenway” who
claimed they saw a “suspicious per
son.” Though no threats were iden
tified on campus, Dean Gleason
said that “Campus Police advised
sending an MC Alert message out
of an abundance of caution” she
said.
Chief A1 White, the Mere
dith Campus Police Chief (MCPD),
also discussed the alert being sent
out, noting that he bases the deci
sion to put out an MC Alert on the
safety of the campus and is “guided
by the Department of Education
Clery Act guidelines.” The Clery Act
guidelines for Meredith College can
be found in the Annual Security
and Fire Safety Report.
The Herald also asked
Dean Gleason why MC Alert was
not used when abortion protestors
trespassed onto campus on Oct.
13, 2022. Dean Gleason reitterated
that “decisions to send MC Alert
notifications in regard to safety
concerns are guided by Campus
Police” and that “the incident in
the fall was not identified as posing
an immediate threat to the campus
community so [it] did not prompt
an MC Alert notification.”
Chief White was not pres
ent on campus during the abortion
protests. Assistant Chief Mark Ut
ley was on campus during the event
but was unable to comment at the
time of publication.
One observation made by
multiple students, faculty and staff
is that some individuals received
notifications of the armed man on
the greenway while some did not.
Among those who received mes
sages, some received notifications
from multiple sources and phone
numbers. When asked about why
some received the messages and
some did not, Dean Gleason
said, “The [initial] message was
directed to all recipients (those
registered to receive MC Alert
notifications). If an individual
did not receive the initial noti
fication via text message, this
may mean that the individual’s
device may not have been able
to receive SMS or text messages
at that time, or that they were
not registered to receive SMS
emergency alerts.”
Dean Gleason added
that sending messages through
multiple channels, such as text
messages and phone calls, “is a
function of the system used to
distribute MC Alert messages.
When text message notifications
are sent out via MC Alert, the
messages do not always come
from the same text message
number. The All Clear message
was sent via SMS and voice
mail.”
Some upcoming im
provements to the system can be
expected soon, too, according to
Dean Gleason, who mentioned
that “in the future, the College
intends to include ‘MC Alert’
before each text message so that
recipients will know that mes
sages are coming from Meredith
College, and will be sent as SMS
and voice messages as long as
this function does not delay the
distribution of the emergency
alert.” The Executive Leader
ship Team also announced in
an email on Feb. 17 that they
In light of recent events on and around cam
pus, it has called to light questions about
discrepencies in Meredith’s MC Alert system
(Photo by Kayla Dunn)
have “reviewed [their] protocols
and trained additional personnel
on the MC Alert system,” which was
referenced in light of recent violence
across college campuses.
In order for students to
stay most informed. Dean Gleason
recommended that all students, fac
ulty, and staff register to receive MC
Alert notifications and suggested
that those who have been registered
to MC Alert regularly review their
contact information to ensure it is
up to date. In addition. Dean Glea
son noted that “campus community
members are encouraged to review
campus emergency procedures to be
prepared in the event of a campus
emergency.”
To sign up for MC Alerts,
visit the Self-Service website and
select MC Alert under the Miscella
neous tab.
New Positions On Campus
By Sarah Eike, Contributing Writer
and, so far, three candidates have
been invited to continue in the in
terviewing process. After the initial
interviews, starting late February
and continuing into March, more
extensive interviews will take place.
This is when students will be invit
ed to participate in the process. Dr.
Fine said, “the candidates will each
There are a few faculty
positions open across Meredith’s
campus that multiple departments
are seeking to be filled. According
to the Meredith College website,
the departments of Art, Theatre,
Biological Sciences, Human Envi
ronmental Sciences, and Nutrition
are all looking to hire full-time
assistant professors to begin Aug. 1.
These positions require proficiency
in their field of work and teaching
experience.
Dr. Laura Fine, the head
of the English Department, gave
The Herald insight into the Eng
lish Department’s hiring process.
She informed us that the English
department is hiring for a postcolo
nial and world literature position.
give teaching demonstrations to
which students will be invited to at
tend and to fill out feedback forms
that the search committee and
English dept, faculty will consider
in making their final decision.”
Dr. Fine explained that
in addition to new positions, the
English department is looking
to make changes to the major by
“adding literature by underrepre
sented groups’ requirements and
also developing new courses for
our English major and wider
general education populations
of students.” Courses such as
Banned Books, BIPOC Women
Activists in Lit, Supernatural Lit,
Jane Austen and a topics course
in Disability in Literature are all
new courses designed to “open
up more possibilities for diver
sity and inclusivity in our litera
ture offerings.”
The Department of
Academic Programs is seeking
a candidate to fulfill the role of
Dean of the School of Education,
Health and Human Sciences
(EHHS). According to the web
site, this position is preferred to
begin Summer 2023, and the can
didate “must have a earned doctor
ate (Ph.D. or Ed.D) in a field of one
of the disciplines in EHHS.” Other
various qualifications listed include
“demonstrated commitment of ad
vancing diversity, equity and inclu
sion; and familiarity with special
ized accreditation requirements and
processes.” The application deadline
was Nov. 14, 2022, but, as the web
site states, “the search remains open
until the position is filled.”
Students in classes in these
departments should look for emails
in the coming months to participate
in teaching demonstrations and
other parts of the interview process,
in teaching demonstrations and
other parts of the interview process.