Changes demanded by students for CU alert system

“Be Aware. Be Ready. Be Boulder,” the CU Boulder Alerts web page said. 

Over the past two years, there have been two petitions calling for Chancellor Phillip DiStefano’s resignation because of his delayed communication to CU Boulder students in times of possible threats. Delayed alerts have been sent out for incidents such as the King Soopers shooting, the Marshall fire, shooting threats (most recently on Oct. 31) and mandatory shelter-in-place orders. 

On Feb. 1, students and alumni from the University of Colorado Boulder voiced their concerns through a petition made on change.org. 

“Today, February 1, 2022, was the final straw for a lot of the CU Boulder students. We were faced with a potential shooting that could have occurred on campus. Ex-UCLA Professor Matthew Harris was found in Boulder this morning. He had written an 800-page manifesto that included ‘Burn and attack Boulder outside by the University,’” the petition statement read. 

By 9 a.m., the Boulder Regional SWAT Team, CU Police Department, and the Boulder Police Department had partnered up in an attempt to arrest Harris. Shortly after the team arrived, University Hill Elementary School and nearby apartments were evacuated. Two sororities, Chi Omega and Gamma Phi Beta, were placed under lockdown. 

At 10:25 a.m., CU Boulder Alerts informed students that the Boulder Police had issued a shelter-in-place for the 955 Broadway-University Hill Elementary area. A second alert went out at 10:49 a.m. stating that the shelter-in-place order was still in effect.

Harris was taken into custody at approximately 11 a.m., shortly after the second alert was sent out. The shelter-in-place was lifted an hour later. 

As of Feb. 28, 3,763 students had signed the petition, calling for DiStefano to step down due to his alleged prioritization of money over students’ physical wellbeing, the decline in the school’s academic and athletic rankings and, most recently, his purported inability to properly handle emergency situations. 

“13 years is a long time for one man to be in charge, and the students want a new leader with new ideas and a fresh perspective,” the petition read. 

In a memo sent to the CU campus after the Feb. 1 incident, DiStefano explained his actions, saying that there hadn’t been a threat to campus. 

“Our CU Boulder community has been through so much over the past two years,” DiStefano wrote. “I want to express my gratitude to all of you for your patience and understanding as we work through public safety incidents like this. And I want to thank our CU Police Department and the other responding agencies who work tirelessly to keep our campus and community safe.” 

On Feb. 7, the University commented on the petition on behalf of DiStefano.

“During emergencies and other unforeseen events, decisions about campus operations are made by a team of university leaders – not the chancellor alone – with input from relevant stakeholders,” the comment read. 

Some students have resorted to using Instagram to stay informed about emergency events and get updates in a timely manner. @Cubuffchicks and @Barstoolbuffs, best known for posting memes, have sometimes updated their followers during threatening situations more quickly than CU Alerts did. However, these accounts are not widely considered reliable news sources to look to during emergencies. They hold no responsibility for giving students accurate updates. 

Sophomore Ryan Sherr, a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority, said that she got her information about the shelter in place on Feb. 1 from social media. 

“I actually was DMing Cubuffchicks before anything had come out about it because I was very close to the scene, so I knew about it ahead of time,” Sherr said. “And so I was DMing them and they’re like, we’re already on it. We’re posting about it now.” 

Sherr expressed how the lack of communication from CU Alerts has put her safety at risk. 

“I was just getting ready… went out to my 9:30 a.m. class, I’m walking to class and there’s a full fledged SWAT team, ambulance, and firefighters,” Sherr said. 

In his statement, DiStefano addressed how information regarding emergency incidents spreads quickly throughout social media, but he has a “duty to disseminate only factual information in concert with public safety entities… we will also continue working with our partners to review our safety alerting procedures to ensure we are providing our campus with critical, relevant and timely emergency updates.”  

In emergency situations, DiStefano must follow the guidelines set forth by the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1990, which state that campus officials must evaluate if there’s a “serious or ongoing threat to the campus community” before deciding whether to issue a timely warning. 

But the University also must report all on-campus criminal activity to the Boulder Police Department. “Federal law … requires colleges and universities to disclose information about campus crime activity and security policies in an annual report,” the University of Colorado Boulder Police Department website said. 

The University further explained how students can voice their concerns in their response in the comment section of the petition. 

“We encourage students who wish to engage in a respectful dialogue on important university topics and policies to participate in our well-established student governance organizations. These organizations have a direct connection to our top university leaders, including the provost, chief operating officer and chancellor. “ 

CU Alerts was created with the intent to inform students, parents and residents during an emergency incident. Alerts can be about anything from a snow day to the spread of a wildfire to a mandatory stay-at-home order.

“The University of Colorado Boulder is committed to providing timely warnings and/or emergency notifications for situations that represent a serious or continuing threat to the campus community,” the CU Boulder Alerts web page said. 

But users of CU Alerts have complained about how useless the notifications are and said they don’t feel safe on and around campus. 

“Feeling safe on the Hill is not something I generally feel, and walking to class, I feel like I shouldn’t be outside right now,” Sherr said.

On Feb. 27 at 2 a.m., the Boulder Police Department responded to a possible shooting threat. There was no CU Alert sent out — however, the Boulder Police Department tweeted updates about the incident, which happened on the 1400 block of Broadway on University Hill. 

“Disturbance where a gunshot was possibly fired in the air and two male victims were menaced with a gun,” the Boulder Police Department tweeted at 11:18 a.m. 

There was a second tweet sent out at the same time stating that there were no injuries and this incident is still under investigation. 

“Anyone with any information … please call Dispatch at 303-441-3333 ref 22-01867,” the tweet read.