Drake will hold fire drills on Oct. 16, 17, 18, and 21 in compliance with the Higher Education Opportunity Act and in conjunction with National Fire Prevention month. All drills will be conducted at 10:45 a.m. with the exception of the residence halls, which will be conducted from 6 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 21. We have planned this to minimize disruption to classes, and the majority of academic buildings will be completed the week of fall break. This also allows us to have a more efficient utilization of our staff for these drills. The residence halls will be done from 6-9pm to increase participation in the residence hall evacuation.

Fire alarms will be activated in all campus buildings to signal the start of the drill. When the alarm sounds:

— Evacuate the building.
— Buildings will be locked down and cannot be re-entered until the drill ends.
— Remember to dress accordingly.

The fire drills will be coordinated through the Office of Public Safety (271-2222) working with the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (271-3804) and Facilities Services (271-2706). Please report any fire alarm malfunctions or evacuation problems to Facilities or Public Safety. Your cooperation in this very important campus safety exercise regarding the Drake Emergency Response Plan is appreciated. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Fire drill schedule:

Oct. 16
Meredith  
Aliber     
Cowles     
Opperman 
Cartwright 
Harmon Fine Arts Center 
Howard
Carnegie 
Medbury
Collier-Scripps 

Oct. 17
Olin
Science Connector Building
Harvey-Ingham
Cline
Fitch
STAH
Occupational Therapy
3206 University Ave.

Oct. 18
Olmsted Center
Hubbell
Student Health
Alumni House
ROTC
Bell Center
Knapp Center
Fieldhouse
Tennis Center

Oct. 21
Cole
Old Main
Public Safety
University Communications
Kinne Center
Multi-use resource (old Ray Center)
Vote Smart
Legal Clinic
Dial Center
All residence halls (6–9 p.m.)

— Chris Nickell, Director, Environmental Health & Safety

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), and it’s a great time to be reminded of the importance of protection information at work and school, at home and abroad. Here are a few things we can all do to stay safer online. 

Securely share information. If you need to share sensitive data (SSNs, grades, financial info, etc.) with someone outside of Drake, you can do so through encrypted email or OneDrive. Via email, just include the phrase “encrypted message:” in the subject. See more instructions. Sharing data through OneDrive brings people into the data rather than sending it out, and you can control what level of access those people have. See the “How do I temporarily share my files to others?” section of this article. 

Keep devices updated. Vendors regularly release updates containing security patches, and many require the app or device to be restarted. ITS remotely pushes patches to Drake-owned computers on a regular basis. Watch for reminders to update or restart, and act as soon as you’ve saved your work. 

Continue to watch for phishing. Phishing continues to be the main method for attackers to successfully breach organizations. It only takes one mindless click or download for malware to take hold and begin stealing information. 

Set up multi-factor on accounts. Using multi-factor authentication (MFA or 2FA) on user accounts prevents attackers from logging in, even when they know your password. Make sure you’ve set up MFA on financial, bill-pay, online shopping, and social media sites. 

Understand and maintain your digital profile. Every time you click, share, send, or post it creates a digital trail that can be exploited by criminals. To protect yourself from becoming a victim, you must understand, secure, and maintain your digital profile. Be familiar with and routinely check privacy settings to help you stay safe. 

If you have any questions about these tips, please contact the information security team at informationsecurity@drake.edu. 

— Peter Lundstedt, ITS 

Please consider participating in a social media survey for the Office of Community Engaged Learning. The short survey will consist of questions regarding social media usage and a preference ranking of your social media apps. All participants who complete the survey will enter a raffle with a chance to win a Drake Service-Learning T-shirt! The results are tallied anonymously and you only need to provide your email if you‘re interested in prize eligibility. The survey closes Friday, Oct. 4, at 12 p.m. Take the survey.

— Jazlin Coley, Service Coordinator for Equity and Inclusion

On Oct. 13 at approximately 11:30 p.m., the steam will be shut down on campus.  The shutdown will allow Facilities Planning & Management to finalize the necessary repairs to the boilers located in the Forest Avenue Heating Plant. The shutdown will disable heating and hot water from the following buildings: Fieldhouse, Shivers, Knapp Center, Fine Arts, Howard Hall, Old Main, Cole, Carnegie, Cowles Library, Cartwright, Opperman, Olin Hall, Medbury, Cline, Science Connector Building, Collier-Scripps, Medbury, Meredith, Olmsted, Goodwin-Kirk, Stalnaker, Crawford, Carpenter, Herriott, Harvey Ingham, and Studio Arts.  The steam will be turned back on Oct. 15. For questions, email Jolene Schmidt at jolene.schmidt@drake.edu.

Fieldhouse, Shivers, Knapp Center, Fine Arts, Howard Hall, Old Main, Cole, Carnegie, Cowles Library, Cartwright, Opperman, Olin Hall, Medbury, Cline, Science Connector Building, Collier-Scripps, Medbury, Meredith, Olmsted, Goodwin-Kirk, Stalnaker, Crawford, Carpenter, Herriott, Harvey Ingham, and Studio Arts.  The steam will be turned back on Oct. 15. For questions, email Jolene Schmidt at jolene.schmidt@drake.edu.

— Jolene Schmidt, Facilities Planning & Management

Bring your parents and hit the University Bookstore tent before Saturday’s football game. Enjoy hot chocolate, snacks, music, and giveaway’s. The Bookstore is open on Saturday from 9 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Stop in and see us. Go BULLDOGS!

— Donna Hallstrom, University Bookstore

All students, staff, and faculty are invited to complete the Drake Dining Survey to help direct and enhance dining services throughout campus. We value your opinion. One entry per person. Survey ends Oct. 5, 2019.

Utilizing an independent online research questionnaire, the Drake Dining Survey will allow us to better understand your needs and work toward future solutions that will better serve the Drake community.

Your Voice Matters
Now is your chance to have your voice heard. We will make positive enhancements to dining services based on your feedback. Take the survey

If you have any questions please contact Jennifer Bowersox with Sodexo at (515) 271-2995 or jennifer.bowersox@sodexo.com.

—Jennifer Bowersox, Drake Dining

The recent hurricane has left more than 70,000 people homeless and in need of shelter, food, medical and sanitary supplies. Life in paradise as we know it, will never be the same. The Bahamian people are fighting for survival and you may be asking, “How can I help?”

Donating Cash is Best
In the early stages of the response phase, most organizations are unable to accommodate any material goods. Unsolicited donations create a challenge of storage and sorting when focus is needed on response and recovery. Cash offers voluntary agencies the most flexibility in obtaining the most-needed resources, food, water, medicine, and equipment, from secure and familiar supply chains. Check out this Donate Responsibly Campaign video for more reasons!

Here are a few donation efforts we are aware of:

• Iowans for the Bahamas
  Michael Cooper ‘20, current Drake student and Bahamian native, has connected with students at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University who have set up a GoFundMe.
• Grand Bahama Disaster Relief Fund
  Set up by The Grand Bahama Port Authority and funds will be managed by the non-profit Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina with donations tax deductible in the US.

Volunteer Locally
Meals From the Heartland has a goal of packing and shipping 285,120 meals and raising $50,000 to fund the meals.  Sign up to volunteer here!

Educate Yourself & Others
Read up on the latest news and follow along on social media. Here are a few suggestions:

Trending Hashtags:
#BahamasStrong   
#IowafortheBahamas   
#BentnotBroken

Following the Aftermath:

• CBS News Article: The Future of Hurricane Dorian Survivors remains Unknown
• Yahoo News: It’s hell everywhere: Collecting Dorian’s Dead in Ravaged Bahamas
• Time Article: The Bahamas After Hurricane Dorian 
• Washington Post: A father put his son on a roof to protect him from Dorian’s surge. The 5-year-old was swept away

Hurricane Dorian Science:

• The Guardian: Everything is Destroyed
• Wired: Why Hurricane Dorian Defied Forecasts and Sank the Bahamas 

Missing People Search: https://dorianpeoplesearch.com

— Renee Sedlacek, director, Community Engaged Learning

Faculty, staff, and students are invited to join this year’s Healthiest State Walk on Wednesday, Oct. 2. The walk is part of the Healthiest State Initiative and its goal of making Iowa the healthiest state in the nation.

The walk will begin in the Olmsted Center breezeway at 12 p.m. and follow a path around Drake’s campus.

We are again combining efforts with Sodexo’s Mindful Mile program.  Thanks to Sodexo and the Drake Athletics department we will have giveaway cooling bandanas, Grand Blue Mile tech shirts, healthy handouts, and samples of a protein drink available, as supplies last, for faculty, staff, and students.  There will also be hydration stations.

It takes approximately 15 minutes to walk a mile, so consider taking a few minutes away from work or studies to participate in this fun and healthy event.

For more information, email Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu.

— Linda Feiden, wellness & recognition specialist, HR

Drake is again challenging Des Moines University and Wesley Life to a step challenge. We are putting together a team and want you to participate.

During the month of October, team members from all three institutions will track their daily steps. You may use a pedometer, fitness tracker, or smart phone app. Any movement that records steps counts, including walking, running, and fitness classes. You will be provided with a journal to make recording easy and receive fun facts and tips along the way.

At the end of the month, the institution with the highest average step total will win a traveling trophy and bragging rights for the year. Individual prizes will be awarded as well. We need your help to win that trophy!

This event is open to all faculty, staff, and students so spread the word. To register, email Linda Feiden at linda.feiden@drake.edu. The deadline to register is Friday, Sept. 27.

— Linda Feiden, wellness & recognition specialist, HR