20031208 McDaniel College web site: Local leaders, political science students talk bioterrorism
http://www.mcdaniel.edu/news/archive03/bioterror2.shtml
Local leaders, political science students talk bioterrorism
December 8, 2003
Consider this scenario: Pneumonic plague has hit Baltimore, and city leaders suspect bioterrorism.
Bracing for the disease to spread across county lines, the Westminster mayor convenes a team of advisers.
Tension runs high. Not only are Mayor Kevin Dayhoff and other local leaders asking difficult questions; this new team of advisers has never handled an emergency plan – never mind one for a bioterrorist attack.
They are McDaniel students in a political science class, "National Security in a Changing World."
And when the students met with local emergency responders Dec. 3 to lay out their strategy, their real-life counterparts were quick to complete their plans with advice – from critique to praise for the students' creativity.
As two groups of students presented their proposals to local leaders, they offered a range of ideas. They discussed aspects of their plans, from blocking main roads and screening entrants to quarantining people who had been exposed, offering treatment for patients at the former Lowe's building and area schools, and even shuttling the sick so they wouldn't create extra traffic on area roads.
"Mostly what we're trying to do is prevent the spread and go a little overboard," said Nate Getchell '05, acting as the health officer for one of the groups. "Offense is your best defense."
The students proposed developing hotlines for people seeking information and spreading the news via local TV and radio stations. One of the groups wanted to broadcast the hotline information from police cruisers.
"Has the mayor declared marshal law?" Dayhoff asked.
Without hesitation, Jon Fitzgerald '06, serving as the public information officer for his group, responded. "No, the mayor has not. Quite frankly, we are trying to remain as calm as possible."
Looking ahead, the students even tried to find solutions such as sending contaminated hospital materials to an incinerator in York, Pa., and storing dead bodies in refrigerators at a meatpacking plant.
"I think the identification of a temporary morgue is a great thing," said Mike Webster, director of Campus Safety. But be prepared, he told the students, for the liability issues after destroying a local business's reputation.
Dayhoff complimented the students on their plans, which they developed after interviewing their real-life counterparts and then grappling with the scenario, created by their instructor, Volker Franke, assistant professor of political science and international relations.
"Some of those things that you didn't get right … you didn't get it right with a lot of depth and a lot of thought and a lot of integrity, and that never bothers me," Dayhoff said.
In a real incident, Dayhoff said he would have declared marshal law – as he did during Hurricane Isabel – along with turning to the National Guard and Maryland Emergency Management Agency for extra support.
"You're going to be absolutely amazed at how much of your future roles will be absorbed with public health, safety, and welfare," Dayhoff told the students. "I wish I had taken this class when I was your age. I've just had to put it together over the years."
For Leon Checca '05, acting as public information officer for one of the groups gave him a glimpse into what he might like to do after college, possibly working for the National Security Agency.
"It was definitely really interesting," he said. "We didn't really think anything would happen in Westminster. We thought it would happen elsewhere."
But if it does happen in Westminster, Dayhoff may have a few extra advisers.
"There were no incorrect or wrong decisions. What's really important is that you planned," he said. "I would go into any emergency response with you all."
For more information, contact Rita Beyer, associate director of media relations, at 410-857-2294.
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