With temperatures dropping and radars illustrating snow precipitation in sight, our minds anxiously wait as we constantly refresh our social media accounts in the hopes that classes will be canceled.
This was the scene for many students the night of Jan. 16 when Kennesaw State’s Office of Emergency Management Twitter account — @KSU_Safety — acquired the attention of students and faculty who were awaiting the final decision of a campus closure.
With 5,708 followers, the account operators recognized all eyes were glued to them and decided to keep the university on its toes. At 8:44 p.m. on Jan. 16, the account tweeted, “The wait is over. We are….,” which resulted in 94 retweets, 246 likes and 31 replies, kickstarting a thread of anxious reactions and GIFs from students and staff in response.
Four minutes later, following a tweet with a countdown of “3….2….1….”, the OEM settled the chaos by announcing that campus would, in fact, be closed on Wednesday, Jan. 17, due to the incoming weather. The account quickly gained more exposure when they began to personally respond to individual replies and show off their wit.
The wait is over. We are…….
— KSU Emergency Management (@ksuoem) January 17, 2018
CLOSED!!!!!!!!!!
— KSU Emergency Management (@ksuoem) January 17, 2018
Contrary to popular belief, the Twitter account is not operated by college-aged students, but it is instead operated by two university employees who have been with the department since it’s establishment in January 2015.
The primary operative is KSU alumna Christy Hendricks, the emergency management program coordinator for the Kennesaw campus, a mom of two and a current KSU student pursuing a master’s degree.
The second collaborator is assistant director James Westbrook, a family man who is known for wearing a shirt and tie to the office every day.
“If we sound like their parents, they’re not going to listen to us,” Hendricks said when addressing the language used in their tweets. “Sometimes we’re just in playful moods, sometimes we have to be dead serious but other times we like to have fun.”
Hendricks, Westbrook and the rest of the OEM team do not have the final decision in determining campus closures during inclement weather but serve as the primary liaison for communicating the necessary information in a timely manner to the university.
From their interactions on Twitter, the two operatives behind the tweets decided to continue their playful interactions with their followers when the question arose if campus would remain closed for the remainder of the week.
Aside from providing entertainment on social media during inclement weather announcements, the OEM has many responsibilities to the university.
“We’re constantly planning for days like [the snow day], we’re training, we’re educating and administering classes,” Hendricks said.
Once a month OEM hosts Emergency Management Training courses and encourages staff, faculty and students to attend.
The OEM’s social media accounts can be found on Twitter and Instagram @KSU_Safety and on Facebook under Kennesaw State University Emergency Management.