The State University of New York at Fredonia’s greatest responsibility is the safety of its students, faculty, staff and guests. College leaders constantly evaluate established policies and guidelines, and create or modify policies and programming as needed.

In that spirit, a new standard practice has been established to ensure SUNY Fredonia is prepared to communicate emergency information immediately to the entire campus and neighboring residential properties. At 1:55 p.m. each weekday, SUNY Fredonia will conduct a test of its external public address system. The test will be a short series of chimes followed by a voice message indicating the message is a test. The daily test lasts approximately 10 seconds.

“The external public address system is a network of loud speakers which can project tones, sirens, and/or voices across the entire campus,” said Brent Isaacson, chief of University Police. “It is the most immediate way to directly communicate to campus in an emergency. By conducting a daily test, not only are we confident the system is always operational, but we can also monitor the audio quality to ensure the entire campus is able to clearly receive the information.”

“Many parents who attended summer orientation programs this summer expressed their gratitude for these tests,” said Chief Isaacson. “It gave them a sense of comfort that SUNY Fredonia is committed to protecting their children.”

The external public address system is one of many tools Fredonia utilizes to help maintain a safe campus environment and provide timely notifications when needed.