In recent weeks, Quinnipiac University’s Department of Public Safety has enacted a new “Shelter in Place” drill directive.

These drills aim to take action against external dangers that may pose a threat to those residing on campus. In the detailed university-wide email statement from Public Safety, details regarding what they are advised to do in the event of a “Shelter in Place” drill were as follows, “Get inside and stay inside” or if operating a vehicle to pull over and “Stay inside such vehicle.”

In said statement, Public Safety also claims there will be a shelter in place drill conducted nearing the end of the month in ways of a trial for everyone residing on campus.

“The “Shelter in Place” drill is going to be a drill that helps both the community kind of understand what the expectations are during certain events that may happen like a tornado or some other weather related type of event,” said Chief of Public Safety Tony Reyes. “Or a safety event that might happen because of an intruder or active shooter, anything involving police presence.”

Reyes is responsible for the implementation of new policies and procedures among all three of Quinnipiac’s campuses. He previously worked for the New Haven Police Department and maintained that position for 21 years until transferring to Quinnipiac.

Reyes said that the reasoning behind the recent implementation of the “Shelter in Place” drills and Public Safety’s prominent efforts to ensure order among the Quinnipiac community in the event a shelter in place drill may be necessary.

“We want to do a drill about that so the community knows what they expect from us in terms of communication and also what we expect from them in terms of their response when they receive that communication from us as well,” Reyes said.

“I think it will just have everyone prepared to know what to do in the situation in case anything ever does happen,” said sophomore health science major Nicolette Diserio.

Reyes continued to elaborate on how the drills initially came to be and their gradual progression over the past few months.

“These drills are a part of our emergency management plan to educate the community better and improve our communication and things like that,” Reyes said. “We were already planning on doing this in October so the actual drill itself was not accelerated by that, but certainly the urgency of it is timely and I think it’s all a part of it and we realized it was perfect timing in terms of the community’s mindset around what happened during the bomb threat.”

Junior medical microbiology and immunology major Lillia Stone thinks it could be a productive concept, however is skeptical on the timing of the drills.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Stone said. “I think it could potentially take time out of classes, and that could be a problem if it’s not necessary. But I think if it’s just a general day, with not a lot going on, it could make sense.”

Stone’s worries may pose a potential concern among other students at Quinnipiac as well.

“We’re just seeing where the deficiencies are, so that we can work together to respond to that,” Reyes said.

Reyes also went into detail about his and public safety’s duty on campus to ensure a safe and comfortable community for all of its inhabitants in addition to the steps they will take to do so.

“From a public safety standpoint, we want to make sure this is all in line with the overall safety and we want to make sure we’re doing these things in a safe manner,” Reyes said.

Additionally, Reyes explains the importance of the actual response, both by the community and by public safety — as well as why notifying the community is crucial when such drills may ensue.

He emphasized on the importance of the community’s response and how preparation in the event of a shelter in place drill is crucial to its execution.

Reyes discussed how following the trial drill, Public Safety aims to gather critical feedback regarding the community’s response, as well as debriefing what their perception was and what they learned.

“These mental and physical drills that we do, they have value,” Reyes said. “It’s hard to see them when you’re going through the motions, but they do pay dividends when something happens.”

In the eyes of Public Safety, the “Shelter in Place” drills are certain to ensure safety among inhabitants at Quinnipiac for the foreseeable future.