CANTON -- SUNY Canton University Police will stage an exercise to help the campus community understand the procedures and precautions necessary during a lockdown situation, while testing its new Canton Rave Alert system.

The 30-minute shelter in place drill commences at 9 a.m. Thursday, March 24, at the main campus, 34 Cornell Dr. Everyone on campus is encouraged to stay inside, or go inside the nearest building and wait for the completion of the test.

"We want everyone to go into an interior room, close and lock the door if possible and stay away from the windows," University Police Chief Alan P. Mulkin said. "Although this is just a test, similar to a fire drill, we want everyone to follow our directions as if this were an actual emergency."

Mulkin has invited area police agencies to participate in the exercise and to help the officers increase their familiarity with the campus. The officers will conduct a building-by-building search of the campus to observe the effectiveness of the lockdown.

"There will be a sizable police presence on campus during this time," Mulkin said. "We don't want anyone to be alarmed by their presence. Their sole purpose will be to help us conduct the shelter in place drill."

All campus activities and classes will be active during the test and the entire procedure should not affect regularly scheduled college activities.

College officials will signal the beginning and ending of the shelter in place exercise by using its new Canton Rave Alert system.

"Everyone with a campus email address should receive notification of the drill," said Kyle A. Brown, the chief information officer for both SUNY Canton and SUNY Potsdam. "Many of the subscribers will also receive text and voice messages as well. The new Rave system completely integrates with Facebook and Twitter and will create a single, unified message delivered across all platforms."

The college formerly used New York Alert (NY-Alert) in a similar capacity, but found Rave to be a more viable long-term solution for addressing campus emergencies, notifications and weather related cancellations. Earlier in the semester, the college encouraged that faculty, staff and students enroll in the NY-Alert. Brown said those who enrolled previously have been loaded into the new system.

During a series of campus communications, college officials will ask the on-campus community to update their information in anticipation of the practice lockdown.

SUNY Potsdam is also planning to roll out its own Potsdam Rave Alert system within weeks of SUNY Canton's drill.

The two colleges purchased the service together through shared services personnel in the Administrative Affairs division. The efficient strategies used to levy shared procurement were implemented by SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. Combined purchasing allows both colleges to adopt new technologies with significant savings for both campuses.