DesIgn Objectives? Risks and vulnerabilities? Response capability DeVelOp Realistic event with short- and longterm effects? Internal and external personnel involved? Observable effects? Available information? Prompt questions? Individual and group roles? cOnDuct 2-8 hours Verbal or written Limited information Pressured decisions and actions Limited resources Of course there are an untold number of possible responses to such a scenario. The disaster described above (adapted from the emergency management plan at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant) shows how vulnerable all the people on a campus at any given time can be when lives are at stake during an emergency. Without crisis training and an emergency plan, hypothetical situations like this one can quickly become all too real chaos. The communication network and crisis team need to work as quickly and efficiently as possible to mitigate damage and protect students, staff, and faculty. “Crisis management plans should help sensitize all of the stakeholders to minimizing the risk of crises occurring, but managing them effectively when they cannot be avoided,” says John Buck, dean of students and director of housing and residential life at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. In her chapter on crisis training in the book Campus Crisis Management, Maureen Wilson, eValuate Facilitator evaluates decision-making performance Skills and processes Examination and response to scenario Objectives met Information derived from Maureen Wilson’s chapter “Crisis Training” in Campus Crisis Management which discussed and cited Beth Loewendick “Laying Your Crisis on the Table” (November 1993 issue of Training and Development). 30 TalkiNg STick