Emergency and Safety Notifications
Lewis & Clark’s notification strategy includes three types of campus-wide emergency and safety-related notifications.
Emergency situations and incidents that impact the physical and emotional safety of our community—everything from a natural disaster to a physical assault to vandalism—can be both urgent and distressing. Such incidents require specialized communications which, by their very nature, have the potential to contain disturbing and triggering information.
In addition, in most cases, the incidents that warrant sending these notifications are nuanced and sensitive, and often involve information that is protected by FERPA or other privacy laws. This can cause the notifications to feel incomplete or to raise more questions than they answer, which may be frustrating and upsetting.
While these messages may leave you wanting to know more about a particular situation, we must balance the need to keep our community informed, safe, and prepared with the need to provide support and protect individual privacy.
Our notification strategy includes three types of campus-wide emergency and safety-related notifications, which are described in detail on the Office of Emergency Management website. Each tool has a specific use, but all are designed to as quickly as possible provide pertinent information that we are legally allowed to share. Two of these notifications, LC Alerts and Crime Bulletins, are legally required under the Clery Act:
LC Alerts
These notifications are reserved for immediate and time-sensitive situations (such as severe weather, an earthquake, or an active shooter). The short messages offer tactical information to help you take necessary action promptly. LC Alerts are sent via text and email to all community members using the Rave Mobile Safety platform, to which all members of our community are automatically opted-in. LC Alerts are also posted as banners on our website and in some instances to our institutional X account.
Crime Bulletins
These notifications, also known as Timely Warnings, are designed to inform the community that certain Clery-defined offenses have been committed on campus or a campus property, and that the offense poses “a serious or ongoing threat to the campus community.” The goal of Crime Bulletins is to foster awareness and vigilance around criminal activity within our community. Crime Bulletins are sent via text and email from Rave or simply as an email depending on the nature of the crime and the immediacy of the threat.
LC Campus Safety Notices
The third type of notification, LC Campus Safety Notices, are sent via email when there is no legal requirement to send a message, but a serious incident has occurred of which our community should be aware. Examples include events of significant emotional impact, such as a death on campus; an accident or other disruption on or off campus involving one or more members of our community; or a series of serious crimes in the neighborhood surrounding campus.
While these incidents can be confusing and upsetting, knowing that they have occurred can help members of our community support each other and access the services and help they need, whether they were directly involved in the incident or not.
Many resources are available to faculty, staff, and students. We encourage you to take note of these options:
- Campus Safety 503-768-7777 (for emergencies, or call/text 911); 503-593-5457 (for non-emergencies)
- Confidential Advocates 503-768-7107
- Health Promotion and Wellness 503-768-8225
- Human Resources 503-768-6235
- Ombudsperson 503-768-7336
- Spiritual Life and Religious Support 503-768-7082
- Student Health Center 503-768-7165
- Student Counseling Center 503-768-7160; anytime the Counseling Service is closed, students can access our Crisis Counseling Service at 503-265-7804
