GVPD to perform annual test of alert system

The Grand Valley State University Department of Public Safety will perform its annual test of the GVSUAlert! system on October 4. The test will coincide with the final outdoor warning siren test of the year, both occurring at noon.

GVPD will test the delivery of GVSUAlert! via text, voicemail, email, classroom computer override, outdoor warning sirens and annunciators, banner crawl on GVSU webpages, auto tweets to X or posts to facebook, Laker Guardian notifications, and auto updates to the emergency website.

"Testing the GVSUAlert! system annually gives us a chance to verify every single component of our emergency notification system is working and ready to respond when our community needs it," said Sgt. William O'Donnell, GVPD's emergency manager.

GVSUAlert! is Grand Valley's emergency notification system. It provides timely warnings and safety notices to the GVSU community through email.

In the event of an emergency on campus, GVPD uses the GVSUAlert! system as the first and most accurate way to notify the community with up-to-date, confirmed information.

"Several levels of emergency preparedness and response have been built so members of the community do not rely on just one method of notification," O'Donnell said. "Testing all of these components with just one press of a button shapes our confidence that the Laker community will be immediately notified with critical information in the event of an emergency."