Questions about response to July 20 emergency

July 26, 2018

Editor's note: We have received several statements of concern regarding the event on July 20. We have compiled the questions here; the response is below.

Q: Why did it take so long for any notifications about the tragic incident on Friday to go out the UAF community? A lot of people heard about it in the newspaper first. At very least we should have gotten a Nixle alert directing us to avoid the area.

Q: A tragic event occurred on the UAF campus on Friday, July 20th. Why wasn't the campus notified to stay away from the area via ua-alerts? Why is it that anytime events like this happen, we hear it first from the newsminer and not our own UAF team? A moose sighting on campus is sent immediately and a bloody scene we should stay away from isn't.

Q: Why did we read about the recent suicide in the paper before anything came out on campus? Why wasnt there a Nixle telling students/staff to stay out of the area? Why were tarps not put up around the body for so long? This was all very disturbing. Why was it not handled better?

Q: I find it completely inappropriate that there was a death on campus today in a public area and the first announcement that was on the Fairbanks Daily News Miner. UAF needs to work on its internal communication plan.