School Safety: false alarms, social media raise communication questions

Cedar Rapids Washington High School Principal Ralph Plagman faced a dilemma last month.

On the morning of Nov. 7, school officials and Cedar Rapids police were investigating a possible threat to the school posted on social media. Plagman didn't believe the threat was credible, he said, but he didn't want to tell teachers and students what was going on until he was sure they were safe.

In Washington's classrooms and hallways, however, students saw the posts in question online — including one picture of a gun, Plagman said — and posted their own concerns, creating a rumor that snowballed over the course of three hours.

The situation was over at about 11 a.m., Plagman said — police had determined the post wasn't a threat at all, and Plagman had sent an automated message to parents telling them as much.

'There was absolutely no threat to anybody,' Plagman said. 'It was all misunderstanding, communication problems. Totally. 100 percent.'

But by lunchtime, Washington language arts teacher Pete Clancy said, about two-thirds of the school's students had gone home, many in fear for their safety.

The incident, school and police officials said, points to the problems they encounter when investigating and combating information posted online — and what to do when a perceived threat is found to be a false alarm.

'Threats are always a different issue to deal with in social media because it's out in space and you're always playing catch-up,' Cedar Rapids superintendent David Benson said.

Greg Buelow, the city of Cedar Rapids Public Safety spokesman, said situations such as the one at Washington have become more complicated in recent years.

'These have gone on for years, from back in the day when people would phone in threats,' Buelow said. 'The key thing is communication. What is the challenge with social media is how quickly posts propagate themselves.'

More than a month after that false alarm, Plagman said he has somewhat rethought how he handles communication in such situations.

'Up to then, I have always been very cautious about saying anything until I knew for sure what I was saying,' he said. 'In the future, to try and avoid some confusion, I would communicate with faculty earlier, saying I just want you to know we have a rumor, and we are investigating.'

But ultimately, he said, even sending a message earlier might not do much to contain rumors online.

'It might have calmed some fears, but I don't think it would have had a significant impact,' he said.

Tammy Fox, the mother of two Washington students and president of the school's Parent Teacher Association, said she was in the building the morning of the incident for a meeting.

'The office had phone call after phone call from parents,' Fox said. 'It was a very chaotic situation.'

Fox said Plagman told her he didn't believe the threat was credible, and she told her daughters they would be safe. She let them both go home for the day, however, because they were upset by the situation.

'With everything that goes on in the world, do I want to take that chance and have my student there?' Fox asked. 'No.'

School administrators repeatedly emphasize that they respect those concerns.

'I can't do anything about that,' Plagman said. 'Parents have to make whatever decisions they believe are best for their family.'