At 10:15 a.m. Oct. 16, Colorado State University issued a shelter-in-place order for multiple residence halls on the northwest side of campus and advised everyone to avoid the area.
“Police activity in the area of Laurel Village, Durward Hall, Corbett Hall. Avoid the area, remain inside your home,” the alert stated.
Everyone with a university email address received that alert, as well as 30,000 people who have subscribed to the university’s text alerts. Anyone who follows the CSU Police Department on Facebook or X saw the same advisory.
But shortly after the alert was sent, students were still walking and riding bikes through the area. It was a beautiful fall morning, the campus full of golden leaves and warm temperatures. Other than two empty police vehicles parked on the street, their lights off, there was no evidence of law-enforcement activity.
If you hadn’t seen the alerts, you would have no idea something was going on.
Despite the nonchalant setting outside, updates shared through alerts and on social media throughout the morning continued to urge people to avoid the area. The shelter-in-place order at the nearby residence halls was lifted about noon and residents were told they could resume normal activity — despite the number of individuals who never ceased normal activity in the first place.
It took more than eight hours — just after 8 p.m. — for the university to release what happened: A student had died in a residence hall. The "all-clear" notice wasn't issued until the following afternoon when campus police announced that investigators "determined that there is no threat to campus and there are no suspects."
The Larimer County Coroner’s Office has not released the student’s manner or cause of death as of Nov. 14.
CSU provides little transparency over alerts
The Oct. 16 death of a student illustrates an alarming disconnect between Colorado State University's alerts systems and how seriously the public takes them.
But it's not the only incident prompting an emergency alert this fall to be light on the details.
Few details were shared about an Oct. 25 incident involving three suspects at two residence halls.
Police initially said there was "no action necessary" and that people should just "be aware of police presence" in an 8:04 p.m. alert but issued a shelter-in-place order less than 10 minutes later.
"Police activity in the area of Aspen Hall on CSU campus," an alert said at 8:13 p.m. "Avoid the area, take shelter. We will send a follow up message when the situation is resolved."
About 45 minutes later, an all-clear message was sent saying three suspects had been taken into custody. Their identities, or what they were suspected of when taken into custody, were not identified.
Nothing additional has been released about an investigation into an altercation on campus Oct. 22 in which investigators believe the suspect left campus.
The initial alert sent at 10:20 p.m. asked people to avoid the area due to police activity at Rams Horn on Pitkin Street. About 30 minutes later, another alert was sent with a suspect description. A final alert was sent about an hour later stating that police completed their search of the area and believe the suspects involved left campus.
The Coloradoan sought answers from the university regarding their use of alerts and lack of information included in them following the Oct. 16 death of a student.
The university’s emergency alert policy follows the Clery Act, CSU Associate Vice President for Communications Tiana Kennedy told the Coloradoan. The act requires federally funded universities to gather information about certain crimes occurring on or near their campuses and share it publicly.
Kennedy and CSU Director for Crisis Communication Nik Olsen declined the Coloradoan's request for a phone interview about the alerts. Requests made through Kennedy to speak with CSU Police Chief Jay Callaghan or another CSU police department representative were not granted. Olsen answered some but not all of the questions the Coloradoan submitted via email.
The Clery Act does not require universities to identify the type of alert it is sending during the incident, Olsen said in the email. Alerts often ask people to take action, like shelter in place, avoid an area due to police activity or look out for a suspect.
The decision to notify the CSU community of an incident is made on a case-by-case basis, Olsen said in the email. Alerts are generally issued for "significant events that present an immediate threat to the safety or well-being of the university community."
“Both emergency notifications and timely warnings include instructions for recipients to minimize risk and avoid interfering with emergency response activities,” Olsen said in an email.
Neither Olsen nor Kennedy answered the Coloradoan's question on if the university believes these alerts are effective in having people avoid areas or otherwise do as the alerts advise.
Emergency management professional: 'Communication is the lifeblood' in emergencies
Jamie Johnson, a professor at Western Illinois University with more than 20 years of experience in emergency management, said that "communication is the lifeblood" during emergencies.
Johnson agreed to an interview with the Coloradoan to discuss general emergency communication practices, as well as share his thoughts on the recent CSU alerts from his professional viewpoint.
“We always say that you have to provide explicit detail on what is going on,” Johnson said. “If you do not do that within the announcement, then people make up their own stuff.”
When asked about CSU's delay in sending updates during the Oct. 16 incident, Johnson said if facts about an incident are not shared quickly, rumors on social media can spread, people are more likely to come to the area instead of avoid it, and it can cause “mass chaos.” It can also breed doubt with the organization, Johnson said.
Consistent messaging is also important to calm fears, prevent rumors and keep people safe, Johnson said. In a previous active shooting near Western Illinois University’s campus, Johnson said they sent out alerts every 30 minutes updating the community, even if new information wasn’t yet available.
The Coloradoan asked Johnson about the impact of the lack of a police presence during the shelter-in-place order on Oct. 16. Without a visible police presence controlling the scene involved in the alerts, “it makes them (the alerts) null and void,” Johnson said. “You have to be visible.”
Not all details can be shared immediately or during the incident if that information could put the safety of first responders or the public at risk, Johnson said. But in general, Johnson said alerts should include as much detail as possible as to what is going on and where the incident is.
“You’re keeping everybody calm and you’re keeping the curious people at bay,” Johnson said.
Messaging in alerts also has to be clear, Johnson said. When asked about the overlapping shelter-in-place order and the order to avoid the area during the Oct. 16 incident, Johnson said if a shelter in place has been issued and people are being asked to avoid that same area, but the shelter in place is lifted first, that means people who have been sheltering may walk into the area people are still being asked to avoid.
“‘Shelter in place’ and ‘avoid the area’ cannot be in conflict,” Johnson said.
What sort of activities need to be reported under the Clery Act
The Clery Act defines two types of alerts: timely warnings and emergency notifications.
Crimes the Clery Act requires the university to report to the community under the "timely warning" requirements include:
- Murder and manslaughter
- Robbery
- Aggravated assault
- Sexual assault
- Arson
- Burglary
- Weapons violations
- Drug or alcohol law violations
- Stalking
- Dating and domestic violence
Emergency notifications have a wider focus on significant emergencies or dangerous situations that are ongoing or threatening to campus. These include:
- Outbreak of serious illness
- Approaching tornado
- Gas leak
- Terrorist incident
- Armed intruder
- Bomb threat
- Civil unrest or rioting
- Explosion
How do I sign up to receive emergency alerts from CSU?
You can opt-in to text alerts by texting:
- CSUALERT to 888777 for safety updates such as closed roads, building outages and out-of-service elevators
- CSURAMS to 888777 for safety updates at university events such as football games or concerts
Sady Swanson is a reporter for The Coloradoan. Her work frequently appears on-air at KUNC 91.5 FM and online at KUNC.org. Contact Sady at sswanson@coloradoan.com.