False alarm fixed
USF students experienced some confusion Tuesday afternoon when one of the campus-wide Emergency Notification System speakers malfunctioned.
The malfunction caused the system to sound an alert stating that there was a tornado warning in effect and that students should remain indoors.
University Police spokeswoman Lt. Meg Ross said the incident was not a test of the system.
“The system had one speaker announce that there was a tornado, and we had to work out that it was a malfunction with the speaker,” she said.
Ross said the system usually tests itself and alerts someone when a speaker goes offline. The incident was very unusual, she said.
The speaker is located near the University Lecture Hall, and Ross said it is has been repaired.
Raquel Rhoades, a junior majoring in history, said the alarm interrupted her 12:30 p.m. class for a couple of minutes.
“I was sitting (in class) and I heard the alarms going off at first,” she said. “Then, we heard the tail end of the message about the tornado. No one seemed alarmed but were curious as to what was happening outside.”
Rhoades said the alarm only sounded once and did not interrupt the rest of her class.
The University did not enable its emergency text-response to inform students of the incident, but posted on the USF website that the alarm was false.
More Stories
USF won’t install more physical protections following recent on-campus suicide
USF will not be implementing additional physical safety measures over a month after a student leapt from an upper floor inside the Interdisciplinary Sciences building, USF spokeswoman Althea Johnson said. The incident marked the third on-campus suicide since fall 2022. A week after a student fell from an upper floor of Beard Garage in 2022, […]
Meet USF’s new student body president and vice president
A new era of Student Government (SG) just arrived. In a quick five-minute ceremony, student body president-elect Suryakanth Prasad Gottipati and vice president-elect Sumit Subhash Jadhav were sworn in on Wednesday afternoon. Their term will start on May 6 and last for one year. Related: Take a look at USF’s student leaders’ swearing in ceremony […]
Photos: Take a look at USF’s student leaders’ swearing in ceremony
A new era of Student Government (SG) just arrived. In a quick five-minute ceremony, student body president-elect Suryakanth Prasad Gottipati and vice president-elect Sumit Subhash Jadhav were sworn in on Wednesday afternoon. Related: USF student body president and vice president-elect sworn in Their term will start on May 6 and last for one year. Gabrielle […]
President Joe Biden visits Tampa to talk abortion rights
Gearing up for the 2024 presidential election, President Joe Biden made a stop in Tampa to talk about reproductive freedom in Florida on Tuesday afternoon. The speech comes just two weeks before the state’s six-week abortion ban comes into effect on May 1. Biden called on Floridians to vote for an amendment deciding abortion access […]
‘Genocide Joe has got to go’: Pro-Palestine protestors gather during Biden’s visit to Tampa
While President Joe Biden took 15 minutes to talk on the protection of reproductive rights in Tampa on Tuesday, pro-Palestine protests chanted against the United States handling “on-going genocide” in Gaza, and its alliance to Israel in the conflict. Related: President Joe Biden visits Tampa to talk abortion rights “The lack of coverage in the media […]
USF students can ‘Swap Shop’ their way into free items this week
USF’s Swap Shop is just around the corner. Literally. Bulls can stop by the Swap Shop, located in Holly J, to pick up some free items – from furniture to clothing. Students, staff and faculty had the opportunity to donate items for the Swap Shop earlier this week on Monday and Tuesday. But ‘shopping’ won’t […]