Emergency and Safety Communications
At Lewis & Clark, our top priority is ensuring the safety and well-being of our campus community. In the event of emergencies or incidents occurring on or near campus, we are dedicated to keeping you informed through our communication channels. These vital notifications encompass LC Alerts, Crime Bulletins, and LC Campus Safety Notices, each serving a distinct purpose.
LC Alerts, required by the Clery Act, are urgent notifications for immediate and critical situations, offering information to help you take necessary actions promptly. Our Crime Bulletins, also required by the Clery Act, provide notice that certain crimes have been committed on campus with the goal of fostering awareness and vigilance within our community. Meanwhile, LC Campus Safety Notices are sent to keep you well-informed of incidents that occur on or near campus.
These communication methods are designed to cater to specific aspects of your safety, ensuring you receive the need-to-know information required for different circumstances. Lewis & Clark is committed to transparency, proactive communication, and fostering a secure environment for everyone in our community.
Trigger Warning: This website and the associated LC Alerts, Crime Bulletins, and LC Campus Safety Notices may be distressing to some individuals. Topics include urgent situations, crimes on campus including, but not limited to, sexual assualt and domestic violence, and incidents near campus. Reader discretion is advised, and individuals who may be sensitive to such topics are encouraged to consider their emotional well-being before proceeding or reading the messages sent to them via SMS text message and email.
LC Alerts
LC Alerts is a vital emergency notification system designed to keep members of the Lewis & Clark campus community safe during an emergency situation. The system provides immediate and confirmed information about an ongoing threat or emergency situation on campus or in the surrounding area, which requires immediate action from the community to remain safe.
The philosophy behind LC Alerts is to provide consistent messages across all platforms to reach as many members of the campus community as possible in the shortest time possible. This ensures that all members of the community receive timely notifications of the ongoing situation and can take appropriate action to stay safe.
Lewis & Clark sends emergency notifications via the Rave Mobile Safety platform.
The LC Alerts system utilizes various components, depending on the nature of the situation.
- Text messaging: Allows the system to reach mobile users who may be away from their computers or offices. All community members are automatically enrolled in the text alert system.
- Email: All @lclark.edu email addresses automatically receive LC Alerts, so it’s not necessary to register for this service.
- Website banner: LC Alerts will be displayed on the top banner of the Lewis & Clark website, providing a clear and visible message to all visitors to the website.
- X (Twitter): LC Alerts may be sent via Lewis & Clark’s X (Twitter) account (https://twitter.com/lewisandclark) for some incidents.
Instructions for updating your cell phone number…
Do you live in the Portland - Vancouver metro region? Consider signing up for PublicAlerts to receive lifesaving info when an emergency is happening in the Portland - Vancouver metro area.
The system is tested once per semester or twice a year. If you believe that you should be receiving emergency notifications on your mobile phone or personal email address and are not, please submit a ticket to the IT service desk.
Crime Bulletins
Pursuant to provisions in the Clery Act, Lewis & Clark will issue a timely warning as soon as pertinent information is available and when a Clery Act reportable crime is reported to Campus Safety or a designated campus security authority that occurred in a Clery Act defined geographical area, a case-by-case analysis of pertinent facts is completed, and a determination is made that an on-going or continuing threat to the community exists. This is different from an emergency notification which pertains to an imminent threat.
Clery Act crimes include Murder/Non-Negligent Manslaughter; Manslaughter by Negligence; Rape; Fondling; Incest; Statutory Rape; Robbery; Aggravated Assault; Burglary; Motor Vehicle Theft; Arson; Dating Violence; Domestic Violence; Stalking; Illegal Weapons Possession; Drug Law Violations; Liquor Law Violations and Hate Crimes.
The Director of Campus Safety (or designee) in concert with the Associate Vice President of Student Life Operations & Strategic Initiatives (or designee) and the Vice President for Communications (or designee) is responsible for the decision to issue a timely warning if it is determined whether the incident, given the above conditions and analysis, meets the following criteria: (1) if the incident is a Clery Act reportable crime; (2) the incident occurred in a geographical reportable area; and (3), the incident poses a serious threat or ongoing threat to the community. The unavailability of the Associate Vice President of Student Life Operations and Strategic Initiatives or the Vice President for Communications shall not unduly delay the issuance of a timely warning.
Lewis & Clark College will issue a timely warning to enable members of the campus community to protect themselves and aid in the prevention of similar crimes. Timely warnings will be issued as soon as the pertinent information is available unless issuing a warning will, in the professional judgment of responsible authorities, compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the situation.
If it is determined that a timely warning will be issued, the dissemination of the timely warning will be disseminated in manner that is likely to reach the entire community, including but not limited to one or more of the following methods:
- Text messages via the College’s RAVE Mobile Alert System
- Employee and student group email distribution
For clarification purposes and to avoid confusion between timing warnings and other safety related correspondence, a Clery Act timely warning will be titled Crime Bulletin. The notice will include the following:
- A statement that the timely warning is being issued in compliance with the Clery Act to provide preventive information and to aid members from becoming a victim of a crime.
- That a Clery Act reportable crime has occurred.
- The date, time, and location the crime occurred.
- The date of the Crime Bulletin.
- A description of the suspect(s), and name(s) if known, whether the suspect is still at large and evading arrest.
- Preventive information related to the type of crime which occurred and that could help others from becoming a victim of a similar crime.
A timely warning will not include the name of the victim or any information that could identify the victim of crimes of sexual violence to include rape, dating violence, domestic violence, or stalking. A timely warning will be delayed only if its issuance would compromise the apprehension of the suspect or compromise law enforcement efforts to investigate the crime. Although personally identifiable information of students is generally protected from disclosure under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), such information may be released in an emergency (34 CFR 99.31(b) (6) and 99.36).
LC Campus Safety Notices
At times, incidents may occur both on and off campus that have an impact on our campus community but do not necessitate the issuance of an LC Alert or Crime Bulletin. LC Campus Safety Notices are specifically crafted to keep you informed about such occurrences that, while not meeting the criteria for a Clery-required message, are nonetheless essential for your awareness.
These notices are promptly sent to all @lclark.edu email addresses as soon as deemed appropriate. They cover a range of incident types, and while the list is not exhaustive, it includes:
- Clery Crimes with No Ongoing Threat: Situations involving Clery crimes that, while not presenting an ongoing threat, are important for the community to be aware of.
- Serious Crimes in the Surrounding Neighborhood: Updates on significant incidents occurring in the nearby vicinity that may impact our campus community.
- Events of Significant Emotional Impact: Information on incidents with profound emotional implications for the community, such as a death on campus, widespread vandalism, or multiple injuries at off-campus events.
- Impactful Incidents on Local Campuses: Notifications about incidents occurring on other local campuses that could potentially affect the Lewis & Clark community. For instance, situations like a contaminated batch of drugs causing overdoses.
LewisOps Non-Emergency Operations Messages
Stay informed and connected with campus updates! Enroll now to receive timely text notifications about operational incidents, including elevator outages, water cutoffs, and building closures, ensuring you stay in the know and ahead of any disruptions.
Text LewisOps to 971-366-3222 to sign up.
This is a pilot program for the Spring 2024 semester. Only messages related to accessibility will be sent via the LewisOps program. The program will be evaluated during summer 2024 for possible expansion in the Fall 2024 semester.
Text messages are periodically sent on an as-needed basis. Message frequency may vary.
Text STOP to 971-366-3222 to cancel messages. Cancelling messages will prevent operators from communicating with you via text message.
Message and data rates may apply. We do not charge for this service, however your mobile phone company may charge for text messages. Please refer to your mobile phone’s service plan for more information. This service is provided per the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
You may access technical support by texting INFO or HELP to 971-366-3222.