Last modified: Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Counterterrorism simulation at IUPUI: Exposing students to chaos, large-scale urban crisis
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 19, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana University students will find out what it is like to be in the vortex of confusion surrounding a large-scale urban crisis when the university holds its second biennial Counterterrorism Simulation on Oct. 28, at Inlow Hall on the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis campus.
Experts from around the globe will gather to discuss current and potential terrorist threats and public policy responses.
As it did in 2009 when it was the subject of a public television documentary, the event will bring together students from IU's School of Law-Indianapolis and School of Public and Environmental Affairs who will play the roles of officials called upon to manage the aftermath of the largest terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11. This time, students and professors from the IU School of Medicine, as well as security officials from churches and major corporations located in the area, will also participate, adding to the complex realism of the scene.
During the simulation, actual emergency officials work in the respective "war" rooms with the students, intelligence reports and televised media reports arrive from a control room, live press conferences are held by the mock officials -- and all of the rooms are visible on a public Internet "dashboard."
The public is invited to follow the students as they are thrown into chaotic situations, faced with conflicting information and the need for rapid decisions, with lives potentially in the balance -- an enactment similar to situations that could take place in any city in the country.
Input from the experts
To supplement this experiential learning exercise, experts from around the globe will gather at the law school to discuss current and potential terrorist threats and public policy responses.
Former U.S. Representative Lee H. Hamilton, director of IU's Center on Congress and vice chair of the nation's 9/11 Commission, will present a keynote address on Oct. 28 immediately following the simulation. Panel discussions will follow featuring Joseph E. Wainscott, Indiana Department of Homeland Security; Greg Massa, FBI; Steven Metz, U.S. Army War College; and other experts.
Rounding out the international aspect of the gathering is Nicholas Beadle, a former senior adviser to the prime minister of the United Kingdom, who led that country's Afghanistan/Pakistan Strategy teams. He is currently working on issues pertaining to Libya, Yemen and Syria and will speak on the legality of NATO's intervention in Libya on Oct. 27 in the Wynne Courtroom.
The lectures and panel discussions are free and open to the public. Continuing Legal Education credit is available for the Beadle and Hamilton lectures, as well as the panel discussions.
See the law school's website for more information and a live link to the simulation on Oct. 28: https://indylaw.indiana.edu/programs/globalcrisisleadershipforum/simulation/.
About Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis
With an enrollment of more than 1,000 students, IU School of Law-Indianapolis is the largest law school in Indiana. Occupying a spacious, new, technologically advanced building, the school is located in the heart of downtown Indianapolis on the IUPUI campus. The school has enjoyed great success for more than 100 years in preparing students for legal careers. The success of the school is evidenced by the prominent positions graduates have obtained in the judiciary and other branches of government, business, positions of civic leadership and law practice. The school's 10,000 alumni are located in every state in the nation and several foreign countries. For more information, see https://indylaw/ or contact Elizabeth Allington at 317-278-3038 or eallingt@iupui.edu.
About the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI
At SPEA, people learn how to work in government, nonprofit and business roles to make positive changes in their communities, their states, their countries and the world. SPEA graduates lead the organizations that make and enforce laws, keep communities livable and safe, shape smart public policy, protect the planet and help our fellow citizens. For more information, see https://www.spea.iupui.edu or contact Liz Joss at 317-274-8624 or ljoss@iupui.edu.
