The Danforth Campus went on lockdown for over an hour yesterday after a shooting on Forsyth Boulevard left a Bon Appetit employee with a gunshot wound to her forearm.

When Washington University sent out an emergency notification last Wednesday that a person with a weapon was near North Campus, it became clear that the University has an effective, albeit obnoxious, system to inform people on our campus of an emergency. However, another—and maybe more significant element—was made clear: although we got the memo, a majority of us did not know how to respond.

In the wake of shootings on college campuses, students nationwide are left with questions about their universities’ precautionary measures. While Washington University has several components to its safety plan, including trainings and communication, these plans are not communicated to students with regularity.

Last Wednesday, at 10:28 a.m., an emergency alarm blared throughout Wash. U.’s Danforth campus, warning everyone within earshot that an unspecified emergency was taking place.

As you may or may not know, depending on how well your phone carrier handled the texts, there was an accidental activation of the Washington University emergency system on Wednesday. […]

Wednesday morning’s false emergency announcement left students confused and worried after a staff member taking an online test set the system off by accident.