Date: 11/5/2021

To: William Ross Leader of Clemson Safety Committee

From: Zoe Zodkoy

Subject: Adding to Meeting Agenda: Implementing CU Alert System for Lightning Storms

Dear William Ross,

Hope all is well despite this crazy weather we have been having recently. It has been an exciting
semester seeing the students back on campus again and things going back to normal post Covid-
19. With the Clemson Safety Committee meeting in the next few weeks, I wanted to approach
you about adding the topic of storm safety for students and faculty to the agenda.

In wake of Old Main being severely damaged by lightning, myself as well as other committee
members feel that the risk from storms is a major threat. As I am sure you are aware, Old Main
now requires hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of repairs. Luckily all the damage can be
fixed, and nobody was injured from the recent lightning storm, but this tragedy brings up the
discussion that our current alarm sound off system for storms is only effective if people are on
campus and does not notify people who may be coming to campus.

An easy way to inform everyone and increase campus safety is to implement the CU Alert
System for lightning storms so subscribers can know when a lightning storm is detected in the
area. By using the CU Alert System, everyone can be aware of potential dangers and receive
advice on how to stay safe. Implementation of this system is crucial seeing that people are
constantly coming and going from campus and a storm is always moving. I plan on leading an
open conversation on this topic at the next meeting and want to make sure this topic gets added
to the agenda, so we can continue to make our campus safer.

Best regards,

Zoe Zodkoy

Packaging Science Professor

Clemson Safety Committee Member
Phone: 733-333-7373
Email: zzodkoy@g.clemson.edu
Date: 11/5/2021

To: Clemson Safety Committee

From: Zoe Zodkoy

Subject: Implementing CU Alert System for Lightning Storms

Distribution List: Clemson Safety Committee Executives and Leaders

This memo is an initial request to implement the CU Alert System to notify students and faculty
when a lightning storm is detected in the area. After witnessing the damage lightning caused to
Old Main after the major storm last week, many members of the Clemson Safety Committee are
calling for action in order to protect all people associated with the university, and thus be notified
when these dangers are nearby. The CU Alert System is currently used for natural disasters,
power outages, and criminal activity on campus. This system already has thousands of existing
subscribers throughout Clemson University, thus many people are already familiar with the
notification system and the number of people that will be positively impacted is widespread.
Implementation of this system to notify of impending lightning storms should be a seamless
integration process because of the well-built foundation the CU Alert System already has.

Summary
In wake of the recent lightning storm that caused severe damage to Old Main, it is imperative
that Clemson University implements an alert system to notify students and faculty when a storm
is nearby. The system currently in place for on campus dangers is CU Alerts, which is commonly
used and has a vast number of subscribers. By using the CU Alerts system and adding
notifications for lightning storms, Clemson’s campus becomes safer for all.

Lightning Destruction to Old Main

The Clemson Community is greatly saddened by the damage recently recorded onto the clock
tower of Old Main on October 30th. Old Main is a landmark building on the Clemson campus,
and encapsulates in one snapshot the militia, historical, and educational background of the
university. Luckily this campus staple is able to be repaired, but not without costing the
university hundreds of thousands of dollars and approximately one year of renovations where
classrooms and performances will all have to be held elsewhere. This is only the second time in
university history where Old Main has been damaged, although this most recent destruction has
reignited the conversation on the power of lightning.
Lightning Storms in Clemson

Moreover, emphasized by the ever-changing characteristics of lightning, meteorologists are

constantly monitoring the weather. That being said, storms are only predictable to an extent, the
location of them and the power they withhold is uncertain until they strike. People may check
their phone or look out the window and the weather forecast appear good, but the next minute a
storm could take over. The morning of October 30th, the day-Old Main was struck, was a clear
day; the weather took a swift turn slightly prior to the damage being recorded. Lightning is likely
to strike in areas of higher elevation and tall buildings. While living in the Upstate, it is clear that
the frequency and impact from storms is extensive. This damage caused to Old Main has sparked
the discussion of on campus storm safety measures. Ultimately the conversation has led to the
discovery that there is a lack of resources for students and faculty pertaining to lightning storm
safety. Due to this uncertainty of lightning storms, students and faculty need to be notified by the
CU Alert System in order for safety to be preserved.

Implementation of CU Alert System for Lightning Storms

According to the Clemson University website, the goal of CU Alerts is to inform of emergencies
and dangers that are unsafe or cause campus disruptions. Using this system to alert people of
lightning storms is an easy and already in place tool to keep the Clemson community safe.
Anybody with a clemson.edu email address is eligible to receive these alerts via text. Subscribers
would also be informed when the danger (in this case a lightning storm) has concluded and it is
safe to carry on. A similar tool has been implemented by many other universities and large
corporations over the last decade and has proven to be extremely effective. That being said, it is
easy to see the power lightning has after the extensive damage caused to Old Main.

Wide Spread Notification Via CU Alert System

In addition, since the list of subscribers already using the CU Alert System is large, many people
will already be signed up to receive the notifications which increases an impact to a wide
audience of people. Notifying of the potential dangers from a lightning storm is the starting place
to ensure the maximum number of people are provided with the appropriate information to be
protected. While it is much harder to predict and control future storms, taking the appropriate
measures for notifications when storms do appear, is a simple and necessary step to provide
safety.

Recommendation

The entire Clemson community has been impacted by the damage lightning caused onto Old
Main. The vulnerability for a building that has been around for centuries has created a call to
action that people need to be protected because a lightning storm can truly occur at any time. The
implementation of the CU Alert System to notify of lightning storms should occur immediately.
The next steps for this initiative is to continue the discussion with the Clemson Safety
Committee where this topic can go to a vote. If the committee decides to move forward with this
notification system, then a meeting should occur with the software developers to discuss this new
safety alert feature. Since the CU Alert system is already used, the only real modification that
would need to be made it for closer tracking of lightning storm systems and to have the software
ready to send out notifications. The existing meteorologists who monitor weather in the area and
share concerns for official warnings being shared, now need to closely monitor lightning storms.
Clemson students and faculty are already signed up to receive notifications of existing weather-
related incidents, so if this system is implemented the target audience is familiar.