Cornell Police and federal law enforcement continue to investigate last week’s hoax email threat sent to members of our community and to other universities. While it was quickly determined that the threats in the email were not credible and that there was no immediate danger to our community, I wanted to remind you of the ways we will let you know when there are actual threats on our campus.

The Clery Act requires Cornell Police to provide timely warnings when we learn of a serious or continuing threat on or near campus. There are two kinds of alerts you may receive from Cornell:

• CornellALERT messages are emergency notifications sent to the campus community any time there is an imminent threat to the health or safety of the community. This could include natural incidents like a tornado or other dangerous weather, discovery of an explosive device or other hazard, an active threat situation or a change in the university’s operating status due to an emergency or weather event. Cornell community members receive CornellALERT emergency messages via email and on the mobile phone number listed in their Cornell personal contact information. If you have not listed a mobile phone number, I strongly encourage you to do so. I also encourage you to download RAVE Guardian, a free mobile app that turns your smartphone into a personal safety device.
• Crime Alerts provide information on how to protect yourself against a specific threatening circumstance that may be ongoing, or a recent occurrence that remains unresolved and could continue to pose a threat. They are sent to all students, faculty and staff in the campus community via email and are posted to the Office of Emergency Management, CUInfo and Cornell Police websites.