Chapters, clubs and groups often rely on campus alert systems, and social or traditional media to learn about on-campus emergency events, however; communication is often one-way. Additionally, a chapter's national headquarters may not have access to systems that help them quickly account for their members and their safety status.
More than 75,000 users from across the country use OmegaOne to regularly communicate with their members. When campus emergencies occurred, three chapters on three college campuses - Texas Tech University, Michigan State and Florida Gulf Coast University - used OmegaOne to track their members' safety quickly during on-campus emergencies.
Nearly 300 hurricanes have hit the United States since 1851, and 120 of those have made landfall in Florida. On average, a major hurricane makes landfall in Florida every four years.
The women of Delta Gamma's Theta Zeta chapter at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) were already well-equipped to handle South Florida's weather. When Hurricane Ian started to impact the region in late September 2022, the Theta Zeta used OmegaOne to create peace of mind for members, parents and its national organization:
Active shooter incidents can be unpredictable and evolve quickly, making it difficult to find a trusted source of truth where friends, family, or chapters, clubs and groups can get information about someone's well-being. OmegaOne helped chapter members and their national organiations get trusted information quickly during two separate active shooter events at Texas Tech University and Michigan State University.
Texas Tech University: On Oct. 9, 2017, a male student at Texas Tech University opened fire on campus after he was taken to the university police station for questioning in a drug-related case. While at the Texas Tech Police Department, the male student pulled a gun on the arresting officer and shot him; then fled the scene. Texas Tech went on lockdown for nearly three hours until the male student was taken in to custody less than a mile from campus.
During that time, Chi Omega Kappa Zeta chapter, Phi Kappa Psi Texas Beta chapter and Tri Delta Phi Eta chapter used OmegaOne's emergency check-in feature to check on the safety of their members. In fact, Chapter administrators reported sending their alerts to members before the university released their official threat alert.
"This feature was extremely useful for our chapter," said Jake Lopez, Risk Management, Phi Kappa Psi, Texas Tech. "I never would have thought I really needed it until I did.
"We had heard reports of the shooter on campus and actually notified our members before the school sent out notifications on the campus-wide system. It was great that the feature kept emailing, texting, and sending push notifications until our members checked-in."
Michigan State University: At 8:18 p.m. on Feb. 14, 2023, emergency responders received the first call reporting an active shooter at Berkey Hall on Michigan State's campus. A shelter-in-place was immediately put in place for the campus and surrounding community. Officers responded to campus and began a comprehensive search for the active shooter.
At approximately 11 p.m., campus security cameras captured the suspect; and at 11:18 p.m., the suspect's photos were shared via social channels and traditional media. Fewer than 20 minutes later, at 11:35 p.m., a caller’s tip led officers to the suspect's location.
Zeta Tau Alpha, Beta Phi chapter, used OmegaOne's emergency check-in feature to check on their members.
OmegaOne's Emergency Check-In feature can quickly locate chapter, club or group members and communicate with them in three steps:
Additionally, national headquarters can receive alerts when one of their chapters initiates OmegaOne's emergency alert system. After the chapter members has checked in, the national headquarters also will have access to their members' locations and status.
Being able to see member status and location could simplify crisis communication and speed up connections during campus emergencies faster and more accurately the other channels, like social media, group texts or FaceTime.
Chapters can also use OmegaOne's “Fire Drill” mode to practice what to do in case of a campus emergency.
