Local College Prepares For The Big One
PALM DESERT – College of the Desert held a school-wide earthquake drill on Thursday, staying in line with the Great California Shakeout. About 3,000-4,000 students across the campus got under their desks, held on and waited for instructions.
For the drill, there is no real surprise or ground movement. Instead, the purpose is to shake out nerves and kinks in emergency plans at homes, work and schools.
“We’ve been getting ready for quit some time,” COD public relations director Tom Wixon pointed out.
College campuses face a unique situation when it comes to disaster preparedness and actual emergencies. There are thousands of students spread across campus. Most are adults who can come and go as they please.
“It’s easier to control young students,” says Wixon. “They are more likely to do what the teacher tells them.”
However, adults make their own decisions, which can be dangerous.
“They are likely to want to go off campus and they may get out of the classroom and enter danger,” says Wixon.
“In an emergency it may be hard to know who is injured or missing because we can come and go as we want, so roll call is hard,” COD student Mellisa Holtman says.
College of the Desert’s 160-acre campus presents other obstacles.
“Parking is all over campus. You can imagine in an emergency what the traffic would be like as people try to get off campus,” says Wixon.
However, COD leaders plan for all of this with speaker systems, emergency maps and safety classes. So, if and when the drill becomes reality, everyone should be prepared.
