Students Criticize Administrators' Response to Marathon Bombings

Student leaders criticized what some have characterized as a dangerously delayed communication from the University following Monday’s bombing at the Boston Marathon during the monthly meeting of the Harvard College Safety Committee Thursday.

Speaking before a group that included Associate Dean of Student Life David R. Friedrich and Associate Dean of the College John “Jay” L. Ellison, Undergraduate Council President Tara Raghuveer ’14 said students were left confused and concerned as they awaited a message from Harvard Monday afternoon.

“Undergraduates were really scared and totally lacked direction from a source they trust,” Raghuveer told The Crimson after the meeting.

After the first explosion went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon around 2:50 p.m, undergraduates received a flood of information through text, email, and social media. Harvard’s University-wide communication regarding the bombing came more than two hours later, just after 5 p.m.

Administrators acknowledged the importance of student opinion about Monday’s events.

“As Dean Hammonds signaled in her message to the College on Tuesday, we are committed to hearing what the student concerns are, and to discerning what lessons we can learn about how best to communicate during complex incidents,” wrote Kimberly A. Pacelli, Associate Dean of Student Life, in an email to The Crimson. “So to that end, today’s conversation was an important step in hearing from students about the timing and method of communication on Monday.”

Although Raghuveer’s comments focused on Harvard’s communication with College students, Patrick L. Rich, secretary of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ Graduate Student Council, echoed many of her sentiments.

“It’s a shame that the University wasn’t able to step in more quickly and provide structure and guidance for students,” Rich told The Crimson.

A significant portion of Thursday’s meeting was dedicated to the topic of MessageMe, the University’s opt-in notification service that sends news alerts to members of the Harvard community via text, email, and voicemail.

At 6:20 p.m. on Monday, undergraduates subscribed to MessageMe received a communication notifying them of the cancellation of Monday evening classes. Students at the Harvard Kennedy School also received MessageMe notification at 4:57 p.m. informing them that their campus was being evacuated.

Faculty of Arts and Sciences spokesperson Jeff Neal wrote in an email that day that the system is used in situations where there is an “imminent threat” or when the University is “asking members of the Harvard community to take a specific action in a short timeframe.”

Students at Thursday’s meeting criticized MessageMe for sending its alert hours after the first explosion.

“A lot needs to change about MessageMe,” Raghuveer told The Crimson. “Everyone recognizes in light of Monday’s events there’s certainly a lot of progress that needs to be made.”

Brett M. Biebelberg ’16, a UC representative and a member of the committee, said after the meeting that Harvard’s broader system for alerting students in the face of emergency needs to change.

“Communication needs to be improved. It was inefficient on Monday,” said Biebelberg. “It sounds like the administration is receptive and willing to work with us to improve communication in the future.”

—Staff writer Laya Anasu can be reached layaanasu@college.harvard.edu. Follow him on Twitter @layaanasu.