University reacts to increased alert

University and Borough officials are urging Princeton community members to be more aware of their surroundings after the government raised the national alert level Friday to "high risk of terrorist attack," the highest level since the alert system began last March.

Officials are also starting to consider how the University will respond to a war in Iraq.

Officials informed the University about the new alert status by email, but are not now taking other actions or recommending that students, faculty and staff change their daily routines.

"People should be conscious of their surroundings," said Barry Weiser, Public Safety crime prevention specialist. He said Public Safety tries to keep the University informed of any changes in the national alert system.

Vice President for Campus Life Janet Dickerson said the University hasn't issued any formal instructions. The government, she said, hasn't released "instructions about behaving differently in our home communities."

Borough Police are also being more "vigilant" about threats, especially on the roads and in building systems such as ventilation, Borough Police Lt. John Redding said. He urged residents to be more aware and look around in places like parking lots.

The Homeland Defense Department issued heightened security recommendations for federal agencies. University Public Safety posted a link to those recommendations on its website.

Tom Ridge, the new homeland defense secretary, told reporters Friday, "Specific protective measures will be taken by all federal agencies, both to reduce vulnerabilities, and many of them will, we believe, serve as a deterrent."

Preparing for war

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University officials said they have not taken specific steps in preparation for a war in Iraq but have laid the proper foundations if war breaks out.

"We've discussed [the possibility of war]," Weiser said. "We'll be sitting down as we get closer and closer to it."

Dickerson noted the availability of counselors at McCosh Health Center and in the Office of Religious Life. She said information would be available for University members who would want to "protest both safely and legally."

Stressing that there isn't currently a draft, she said government representatives may be invited to talk to the University and to ROTC seniors, who may be called up after graduating.

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Dickerson also said University employees may be among the many New Jersey residents in the military's reserves.

If war breaks out, she said, President Tilghman's cabinet will meet and receive suggestions from University lawyers and the University's emergency preparedness task force, a group formed last year and now led by Garth Walters, director of environmental health and safety.

Within the last month, Walters said, the group posted new preparedness suggestions on its website: www.princeton.edu/~ehs/EmergencyGuide/index.html.

He said the group has not found major flaws in University preparedness, but has made some improvements.

"I think that we've put things together in a better, more coherent way. We've looked at things like emergency action plans for students living in dormitories," he said, adding that preparing for and avoiding emergencies like fires is more feasible than focusing on terrorism.