The safety of the SUNY Old Westbury community during an emergency is predicated on advance planning, as well as building awareness about how the plans will be implemented. Students, faculty, staff and visitors will be better prepared in an emergency if they know how the University will respond, where they can find information, and what they should do. Key to that awareness is good communication. This site will be an essential tool for sharing plans and providing relevant information in case an emergency arises at the University or in the surrounding area. Please bookmark this site, as you will find messages to the Universitycommunity with relevant information and direction in the event of an emergency.
If you are seeking on-line health-related resources, please visit the Student Health Services.
Relationships with Other Police Departments
The University Police Department, in cooperation with the Nassau County Police Department and other local municipal police departments, monitors criminal activity at off-campus events with campus affiliation and frequented by students from our institution. At this time, SUNY Old Westbury has no off campus resident halls or buildings that are owned or leased. Students involved in off-campus drug, alcohol or other criminal incidents may be referred to the campus' Judicial Officer and sanctions may be imposed if the student is found guilty of the offense.
If needed to appropriately respond to an emergency situation on campus, the Nassau County Police Department, the Village of Old Westbury Police Department and the Old Brookville Police Department may provide assistance to effectively deal with the emergency condition.
Weapons on Campus
Firearms and dangerous weapons of any type are not permitted on campus. Intentional use, possession, or sale of firearms or other dangerous weapons by anyone is strictly forbidden, and is a violation of state and federal law as well as a violation of the Code for Student Conduct. Violators are subject to University discipline, as well as criminal sanctions. The College President may authorize in writing the possession of a weapon on Campus for special or educational purposes.
In support of the State University of New York guidelines and out of concern for the University community, no student shall possess or introduce to the campus community dangerous weapons including but not limited to: knives, chukka sticks, pellet / BB/ paint ball guns, firearms, and/or fireworks or other explosives.
Campus Emergency Plan
Old Westbury works continually to assess and upgrade its safety environment and improve emergency planning and response. Our approach to security is constantly being reviewed to ensure we can maintain a positive and appropriate living and learning environment.
The University has in place an “Emergency Response Plan” that coordinates its reaction to such incidents as weather emergencies, fire, utility failure, hazardous material incidents, demonstrations, major crimes, bomb threat (or actual detonation) and more.
A copy of the current plan can be accessed using the link below:
Emergencies on Campus – Emergency Notification
All emergency conditions on campus are handled initially by the University Police Department and the Office of Facilities Management depending on the nature of the emergency condition. The University Police Department will evaluate the emergency condition and advise the University Administration as to the nature of the emergency and the possible need for assistance from outside the University. The University Police Department in conjunction with the University Administration will determine if the emergency condition is an immediate threat to the safety of the college community and warrants immediate notification to students and staff at the college.
If you are a witness to an emergency or potential for an emergency condition, notify the University Police Department at 516-876-3333, or extension 3333 from any campus phone or by utilization of any emergency call box on campus.
Mass Notification System
In the case of an emergency at the institution, notification to the student body and or faculty and staff will be made through the New York Alert (SUNY Alert) system which utilizes a variety of notification avenues to notify students, faculty and staff as to the nature of the emergency, action to be taken and operational status of the campus. SUNY Old Westbury employs the SUNYOW Alert system (using RAVE Alert) to notify students, faculty and staff at contact points supplied by the members of its campus community. These emergencies may include bomb threat, fire, hazardous materials, medical emergencies, personal safety, suspicious packages, sudden weather conditions or mechanical related issues. The system utilizes hard wire, FAX, cell phone, text and voice mail to make notification to those enrolled in the system. The University highly recommends that all students and staff enroll in SUNYOW Alert and will make notifications to the community as to the process by which that community member may be included in this system.
Additionally, the University has in place a dual siren emergency warning system which will blast warning tones and provide notification and instructions to the community as to the nature of an emergency and provide information as to an immediate community response.
Finally, the University has a Campus Televideo Emergency Alert System which will send emergency text messages across television screens tied to the Campus television network. All emergency warning systems are tested at the minimum of twice each year by the University Police Department in conjunction with other College administrators and assessments are made during these tests that evaluate the performance of the emergency notification systems.
Emergency Action Plan
All members of the campus community should familiarize themselves with the Emergency Action Plan which is located on the SUNY Old Westbury website and can be accessed as follows: Go to the campus web site at www.oldwestbury.edu, click on Emergency Preparedness at bottom left of the screen, then click on Emergency Response Plan at the bottom center of the screen. It is important that all students and staff review this plan and understand its implications.