8 - Tuesday, April 5 2011

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 01

8 - Tuesday, April 5 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom *

DPS
From Page 1
in activating the e-mail," Brown
said.
The emergency alert sent out
via text and phone messages at
about 1 a.m. Monday stated that
a man with a gun was reported
to have been in the Chemistry
Building at midnight. The alert
urged people to stay away from
the building and for people in the
building to take shelter. At 1:25
a.m., another emergency alert
via text and voice recording gave
an "all clear" and stated that "no
problems were found."
However, neither of the emer-
gency alerts were sent via e-mail
- they were only sent via text
and phone messages.
Brown said emergency alerts
are intended to inform people to
"take immediate action for their
safety," while crime alerts are for
less urgent messages.
Brown also said some concern
has been raised about the appar-
ent delay in issuingthe emergen-
cy alert text messages and phone
calls. DPS officers were aware of
the situation at around midnight,
but the emergency alerts weren't
sent until 1 a.m.
"We do the best we can as the
events unfold with the informa-

tion that we have and the system
available to us," Brown said. "We
didn't have solid enough infor-
mation at midnight to warrant
activating the emergency alert."
The witness wasn't entirely
sure the gun was real, Brown
said, adding that the witness
originally described it as a BB
gun.
After the employee reported
the incident, Brown said DPS
sent all available officers to the
Chemistry Building and notified
the Ann Arbor Police Depart-
ment, which also sent officers to
the scene to surround the build-
ing. DPS officers then swept
the building to search for the
trespasser and to tell students
and employees who were in the
building to either hide or leave,
depending on their proximity to
doorways, accordingto Brown.
Though officers were sta-
tioned at the building's door-
ways, the suspect had likely
exited the building prior to the
officers' arrival, Brown said. She
added that there were a few min-
utes of delay between the sight-
ing of the suspect and the call to
DPS.
Coleman said she is satisfied
with the way DPS handled the
situation, but said the University
must continue to keep campus
safety a top priority.

"On the one hand, I was happy
about the way that it worked,"
Coleman said. "On the other, of
course I'm always concerned
if there's something that looks
amiss. We are always trying to
balance access to spaces people
need to do their work with safe-
ty."
Since the incident, DPS has
re-interviewed the witness and
gathered information to share
the suspect's description with
the campus community.
The crime alert describes the
suspect as being a college-aged
white male with brown hair
and a "thin to medium build."
The witness also told DPS he
was wearing a dark-colored hat
and sweatshirt, according to the
crime alert.
DPS tests the emergency
e-mail alert system at least once
each semester to ensure low risk
of a system failure, Brown said.
She added that DPS has other
"drills" that are performed at
least once each year to practice
activating the emergency alert
system.
"(The systems) are somewhat
complicated," Brown said. "It's
not a one-to-one text message
system. We're delivering mes-
sages to thousands and thou-
sands of people so we continue
to rehearse these protocols."

DANIEL
Activist Grace Lee Boggs discusses her book "The Next American Revolution," social injustice and Martin Luth
legacy yesterday in the Modern Languages Building.

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BOGGS
From Page 1
fields, Boggs co-founded Detroit
Summer, an organization that
promotes leadership among
youth in the city. The University
honored Boggs during Winter
Commencement in 2009 by giv-,
ing her a Doctor of Humane Let-
ters. Last April, the University
named a multicultural lounge in
Baits II Residence Hall in honor
of Boggs.
Panelists at the event discussed
the past and future of social jus-
tice and called Boggs a role model
for future activists. The panel
members talked about issues such
as what they consider to be King's
legacy, the relationship between
King and Malcolm X and current
and past concerns about war and
racism.
One of the panelists, Robin
Kelley, a professor of American
studies and ethnicity and his-
tory at the University of Southern
California, said there is historical
evidence that activism works. He
said it may be difficult to see the

end of the cycle of change, but
change is possible, and people
have to keep working toward it.
"The fact that we have his-
torical evidence of change means
that sometimes you may not see
the end of the cycle, but you are
definitely making ithappen," Kel-
ley said.
Discussing "sustainable activ-
ism" - how to be an activist today
and in the future - the panel
members encouraged the event
attendees to take action, even
when it is difficult.
"Start with something small,
start with something local, don't
try to change the world," Boggs
said during the forum.
Boggs added that it was,-up to
students and other activists to
make the changes they desire in
the world.
"We have to look into ourselves
and understand the time has
come...to grow our souls," Boggs
said. "Every crisis is not only a
failure but an opportunity."
Students who attended the
forum were inspired by the words
of the panelists, particularly
Boggs.

LSA junior Sara Schreiber-
Rose said she was familiar with
Boggs before she came to the
event and is inspired by the work
Boggs has done.
"She has this great power,"
Schreiber-Rose said. "That's
really inspirational where you
see someone who has dedicated
her entire lifeto making everyone
else's lives better."
LSA senior Gabrielle Butter-
field said she had never been to an
event so focused on social justice
and activism.
"Grace Lee Boggs talked a lot
about racism, militarization and
materialism, which are things
that I learn about in my classes,
but I don't know how it translates
into the real world," Butterfield
said. "It's honestly kind of reas-
suring to know that other people
care about those issues."
LSA junior Sierra Eschrich,
who attended the event for a class,
said she also found the event rel-
evant to her coursework.
"I really like how my studies of
history and political science were
kind of tweaked by their take on
(these issues)," Eschrich said.


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