From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m today, the University will conduct Operation Move! Hoos, an evacuation drill at Scott Stadium.
The University is hosting the drill to evaluate how quickly people can be evacuated out of the stadium in case of threatening weather during a football game or other emergency event and to practice returning to the stadium in an orderly fashion, University spokesperson Carol Wood said.
Operation Move! Hoos will be a joint exercise between the University, Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
"There will be 29 participating agencies and university departments," Wood said.
The Office of Emergency Preparedness would not release specific details about the event so that participating students will react naturally to circumstances that have not been scripted. Kirby Felts, assistant director for the Office of Emergency Preparedness, added that the drill will also test how students handle communication during a crisis.
The University has been enthusiastically looking for students to participate. All students who are not scheduled for classes during the time of the drill have been asked to come out and assist the Office of Emergency Preparedness. Despite the University's efforts, however, University officials do not expect a high turnout.
"I don't have the sense that many students will participate," Assoc. Dean of Students Aaron Laushway said.
University officials, though, will still use the results and information gathered from the drill to review and make necessary adjustments to the school's evacuation plans to ensure that they are "appropriate and accurate."
The University's emergency notification system will also send out test e-mails and text messages, and sirens and LED screens across Grounds will see use, Felts said. She said though text messages through UVaAlerts are the most effective way of reaching students, the University will also "rely on push phone calls to [resident advisers'] rooms in the dorms" to notify the University community.
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