Shaking It Out

By Marcela Iraheta | Staff Writer

Students could be seen gathered outside the library on the main campus during the Great Shake Out on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023 at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, Calif. They are studying for Bio 3. (Akemi Rico | The Corsair)

Students could be seen gathered outside the library on the main campus during the Great Shake Out on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023 at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, Calif. (Akemi Rico | The Corsair)

Students could be seen gathered outside the library on the main campus during the Great Shake Out on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023 at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, Calif. (Akemi Rico | The Corsair)

A group of friends gathered outside the cafeteria during the Great Shake Out on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023 on the main campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, Calif. From L to R: Alex Gorelik, chemistry major; Yusef Abdul Mohaimin, civil engineering major; Yitian Hu, economics major; Taiga Terunuma, business major; John Reed, business major. They had heard about the earthquake drill, but didn't realize it was happening at the time. "We found out from our professor, it was like last week she told us," said Reed. (Akemi Rico | The Corsair)

Josephine Fischer / The Corsair

Josephine Fischer / The Corsair

Great ShakeOut drill reveals flaws in the emergency system. 

On Oct. 19, Santa Monica College (SMC) participated in the statewide Great ShakeOut. A drill meant to improve readiness in school in the event of an earthquake. The event was scheduled to start at 10:19 a.m. with no alarm to signify the drill at the main campus, yet students and faculty were spotted evacuating buildings earlier. 

Students gathered in front of the library and on the lawn even before the drill, chatting and looking at their phones. Others continued to enjoy their meal at the cafeteria. Some took out their laptops and were attempting to continue studying outside. “We basically got kicked out of our classroom pretty early because of the Shakeout, and we wanted to go to the library, but apparently, we can’t,” said SMC student Maya Kedem. 

The drill started in 2008 with the purpose of educating people everywhere on earthquake readiness and ensuring emergency systems are functioning.  “There’s definitely some things we could work on, but as far as the drill, I think people listened and were willing to do it, which is good.”, stated Vice President of Student Affairs Michael Tuitasi.

Santa Monica College (SMC) Police Department Officer Anthony Angel during the Great ShakeOut 2023 drill at SMC main campus, Santa Monica, Calif., on Oct 19, 2023. (Danniel Sumarkho | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) students during the Great ShakeOut 2023 drill at SMC main campus, Santa Monica, Calif., on Oct 19, 2023. (Danniel Sumarkho | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) Center for Students with Disability Specialist Carla Alvarado works as a Building Monitor during the Great Shakeout 2023 drill at SMC main campus, Santa Monica, Calif., on Oct 19, 2023. The Building Monitor's job is to make sure their assigned building is fully evacuated during emergency evacuations. (Danniel Sumarkho | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) Center for Students with Disability faculty Steve Diaz during the Great ShakeOut 2023 drill at SMC main campus, Santa Monica, Calif., on Oct 19, 2023. (Danniel Sumarkho | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) students during the Great ShakeOut 2023 drill at SMC main campus, Santa Monica, Calif., on Oct 19, 2023. (Danniel Sumarkho | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) Vice President of Student Affairs Michael Tuitasi during the Great ShakeOut drill at SMC main campus, Santa Monica, Calif., on Oct 19, 2023. "That concludes the drill!", he informs the crowd of SMC students and faculty waiting. (Danniel Sumarkho | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) students during the Great ShakeOut 2023 drill at SMC main campus, Santa Monica, Calif., on Oct 19, 2023. (Danniel Sumarkho | The Corsair)

The drill was also intended to be tested at The Center of Media and Design (CMD) campus, where it malfunctioned. Students were not alerted until 10:46 a.m. on the PA system that the drill had malfunctioned and was canceled. Chief of Campus Police Johnnie Adams explained, “Our IT is looking into the matter. We did have a glitch in the system. Part of having a drill is to identify these glitches and shortcomings so that we can correct them before a real disaster occurs, and that's what we found out.”

SMC is looking to test the alarm and notification systems regularly. “We plan to implement the devised solution, conduct further testing, and initiate a non-intrusive drill in coordination with campus security personnel within the next few weeks”, Director of IT Calvin Madlock stated.