Emergency Plan Guidelines

Below are guidelines to help you prepare for an emergency while participating in the Newhouse LA program.  Earthquakes and wildfires are a part of living in the LA area.  While unlikely, the possibility remains that an event serious enough to require your evacuation from your residence may occur with little advance notice. Thus, we recommend that all students prepare a “Go Bag” including at least three days of clothes, medications, critical documents, cell phone charger, bottled water, protein bars or other snacks. We also recommend purchasing a flashlight and leaving a pair of shoes under or close by your bed.  Included below are guidelines for both earthquakes and wildfires.  Please review and keep handy while studying in the LA area.

Wildfires

• If wildfires are reported, be sure to follow the local news and reports on social media for the latest information on the location of the fires and their possible impact. Be sure to check with your internship before travelling there to make sure they will be open for business. If you believe that there is no safe route to your internship, then let them know that you will not be able to get there that day. You are responsible for evaluating your own situation and deciding on a course of action with your safety first as a priority.
• The Newhouse LA staff will also be following the progress of any wildfires and will advise all students accordingly by email, text or What's App with available public information. Please promptly read any messages and reply to check-in requests received .  Please note that our staff does NOT have access to special information not otherwise available to the public. We will, however, use our experience as residents of LA to provide you with the best available public information.

• If a students’ housing accommodation is impacted by a wildfire and the LA Fire Department or the Police Department determine that residents are required to evacuate, that student will be asked to contact Newhouse LA staff and proceed to the SULA Center with their “go bag”, provided the area around the SULA Center is not also impacted. In the unlikely event that the SULA Center is also impacted, we advise students to proceed to the nearest Evacuation Facility as designated by the city.

• Newhouse LA staff also reserves the right to order your evacuation if authorities recommend (but do not mandate) an evacuation. Under these conditions, we will evaluate all available public information and determine a course of action. As with mandated evacuations, if we ask you to leave your residence you are asked to come to the SULA Center with your “Go Bag.”
• Please be aware that Newhouse LA staff will be in regular contact with support personnel from main campus in Syracuse during a crisis. The University will work diligently to promote your safety and to afford the opportunity to continue your academic work.

Earthquakes

• Los Angeles does have the occasional earthquake that can be unsettling but does negligible damage. However, if there is a serious earthquake take steps to evaluate your immediate safety and act accordingly. If the building you are occupying has suffered extensive damage then vacate right away to an open space away from any buildings.
• If you are away from your residence you should consider sheltering in place until the scope of the damage is known and you can determine whether it is safe to return home.
• In the event of a major earthquake, students will be asked to promptly read any messages and reply to check-in requests received.
• Please refer to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for procedures before and after an earthquake.
• Emergency supply kits will be supplied to students.
• The University will support the immediate needs of anyone who needs to evacuate due to earthquake damage. Once your immediate safety is addressed, please contact Newhouse LA staff (if you have not already “checked in”) and we will assist as conditions allow.

Communication

 Newhouse LA is currently using VEOCI to send notifications during emergency events. Students will receive notifications via text and/or email. 

All students participating in the Newhouse LA program are expected to:

• Promptly read any messages received via text message and/ or email.
• Promptly respond to “check in” notices
• Maintain a working smartphone throughout the program and keep the device charged and accessible throughout the program.
• Notify the program Director or Assistant Director in the event their mobile device becomes permanently inaccessible (i.e. lost or stolen)
• Notify the Program Director or Assistant Director in the event that their mobile phone number changes.
• Act in the best interest of their safety upon receiving notice of a critical event in their area.

EFFECTIVE May 2023