At Meredith, the MC Alert system allows students to receive information about incidents that pose a threat to their safety. According to Meredith’s website, MC Alert is “Meredith’s emergency notification system for students, faculty and staff.” The system, which is run by Meredith’s Executive Leadership Team, only provides information about incidents that occur on campus.
Following recent incidents like car robberies on Hillsborough Street in the Raleigh area and on neighboring university NC State’s campus have prompted some students to question why MC Alert does not notify Meredith students about these situations.
Ann Gleason, Dean of Students and Head of the Incident Response Team, explained that the safety of Meredith’s community members is the College’s highest priority. She stated, “Meredith follows the requirements of the Clery Act, a federal statute requiring colleges and universities to maintain and disclose campus crime statistics and security information.”
Meredith’s current criteria for reporting an incident is “[any] on-campus emergency that poses an immediate risk to the health and safety of the campus community and about College closings, delays and modified campus operations schedules.”
When asked about why MC Alert does not include off-campus incidents, Dean Gleason explained that the College was unable to. “No other institution is considered part of Meredith’s geographical area,” she said, referring to the requirements for the Clery Act.
“Students taking classes at NC State or any other Cooperating Raleigh College should be eligible to sign up for that university’s alert system,” she said. Additionally, Dean Gleason recommended signing up for local news outlets’ breaking news alerts, neighborhood crime apps or listservs to stay alert.
For more information about how to sign up for the MC Alert system, visit mcis.meredith.edu and select MC Alert under the Miscellaneous tab.
By Aminah Jenkins, Associate Editor