Since July, a committee of faculty, staff and students developed a protocol in case there is any “concerning behavior reported the night of the election,” according to a memo sent from Assistant Vice Chancellor Melinda Sutton.
“Given what happened on campus on election night four years ago, several of us from a variety of departments, agencies and organizations at Ole Miss agreed we could be better prepared for election night this year,” Director of Public Relations Jon Scott said.
One of the areas the university is monitoring is social media.
“Throughout the day and into the evening of Nov. 8, University Communications will have at least two of our team members keeping an eye on conversations taking place on social media platforms,” Scott said. “After reviewing accounts of what happened during the evening of Nov. 6, 2012, we’ll track many of the same keywords that were used that evening.”
Ole Miss administration will set up precautions similar to how the university prepares for home football games, but with some additional help, according to the memo.
The Lyceum will serve as a command center to monitor activity in one location. The Ole Miss Student Union will serve as a second command center in case it is needed.
The Demonstration and Assembly Response Team will be located at the Union and near Fraternity Row as well as other locations to monitor inappropriate activity. The Department of Housing will also have additional staff on duty throughout election night.
The University Police Department will also be patrolling and monitoring security cameras. According to the memo, the university has increased camera security on campus since 2012 election night.
“We plan to work closely with our partners on campus, such as UPD, in the event we come across reports that might suggest there’s a disturbance on campus,” Scott said.
UPD Chief Tim Potts said he hopes it will be an early night for officers on campus.
Potts said UPD will have a few extra officers on duty, just in anticipation of events, but he said he hopes they are not needed.
“I think you’ll see a couple additional officers working, but I think you’ll see a more organized involvement with university administration,” Potts said.
