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A communication breakdown during a crisis, whether real or simulated, can create untold fear and trauma for those involved. I sympathize with the parents of the students of Bangor High School, who, in a state of pure panic, texted them goodbye and that they love them during the recent lockdown event. Although Bangor High administrators have acknowledged the failings of their outdated intercom system as a method of communication and have highlighted the existence of a few “beacons” installed by their third-party servicer, they seemingly fail to recognize that these outdated and poorly placed methods of communication fall short of what students, families and staff need most during an emergency: clarity of information.
While on the surface it may appear as though this event was caused by a staff member hitting an emergency button a few too many times, I believe the lockdown was actually caused by the poor design of the very system they were provided. Different types of emergencies are dealt with by pressing a button on a staff member’s badge a specific number of times. The designers of this system have apparently failed to recognize, however, that in an emergency a staff member may not realize just how emphatically and repeatedly they have pressed the button. At best, this would result in emergency services being preoccupied with a false alarm. At worst we end up with the recent lockdown situation that, due to a lack of proper communication to students, resulted in panic and trauma. In an age of mass shootings in schools, something mentioned in the article, this cannot be acceptable.
Placing additional beacons around the property, visible to students from any location, and using different colors to differentiate between various types of emergencies would go a long way toward avoiding mass confusion. The old systems were designed with staff in mind, but communication to students should be equally as important.
Simon Ferland
PhD student in higher education
Bangor