Though the biggest effect of Hurricane Matthew at Elon University was heavy rain over the weekend, Jana Lynn Patterson, dean of Student Health and Wellness said that the school was prepared for an emergency situation.
“You’ve got to be prepared because you don’t have a lot of time,” Patterson said. “One [of the major things to do] is to be aware of your surroundings and not to be frightened.”
According to Patterson, Elon is equipped for many types of emergencies, including an armed intruder on campus or a contagious sickness such as anthrax. Hurricane Matthew was just another reminder that an emergency can be spontaneous.
“There are certain things that you are going to do that are standard at any time for any kind of disaster that would be disruptive,” Patterson said. “Where are we going to house people if we can’t keep them on campus? How are we going to feed them?”
Patterson said if the hurricane had hit harder, Elon was ready to feed students for up to a week. The university also secured transportation in the event of an evacuation.

Other things the university planned for were keeping students safe and occupied if the power went out and maintaining contact with senior administrators. Patterson said at least one senior staff member would be on campus at all times in case of an emergency.

Patterson said the university accounted for the emotional impact of a natural disaster as well. The same applies if an armed intruder were to enter Elon grounds. According to EveryTownResearch.org, there have been at least 197 school shootings in the United States since 2013, an average of nearly one a week. Most recently, a shooting occurred in Townsville, South Carolina, Sept. 28.
Earlier in the year, Patterson showed SGA a video explaining new ways to deal with an active shooter on campus, to remind them of the ever-present need of preparation. She said every angle of the situation, ranging from communication during the event to physiological effects afterwards, was considered in advance.
“That video is important because it represents the change and best practices to responding if you are in a classroom and a shooting happens,” Patterson said. “The video showed some of the things that you can do ahead of time to mitigate the problem.”
The beginning of the video showed how to organize a plan in advance to be prepared. Patterson said the same mindset is applicable if a viral contagion spread throughout campus.
She said the school would be prepared to vaccinate almost 6,000 people in four hours if an outbreak like anthrax were to occur. Anthrax is a rare but serious bacterial illness that is easily spread and only treated with certain antibiotics. The university would “act as its own dispensing site,” and has an agreement with the state to have the vaccine brought to campus to alleviate the threat.
Patterson said in any and all situations, the best thing is to trust the university because it has prepared extensively.
“My role is to assure that operations keep going,” Patterson said. “We prepare a lot.”