CEHC Students Use Social Media to Assist NYC Marathon Security Efforts
Albany, N.Y. (Nov. 29, 2022) – Three students at the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC) recently put their social media monitoring skills to the test during the largest marathon in the world.
The students, part of the University at Albany’s Virtual Operations Support Team (VOST), were called upon earlier this month to compile a report for emergency managers that was used to monitor social media activity around the NYC Marathon.
VOST is a global movement in which trusted teams of experts monitor social media feeds for information that can help to better prevent or manage a crisis. UAlbany’s VOST is student-led and operated through the mentorship of Amber Silver, an assistant professor at CEHC and director of the Crisis Informatics Lab.
Silver received a request from the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) to activate UAlbany’s VOST during the annual marathon, a 26.2-mile race through all five boroughs of New York City, that took place on Sunday, Nov. 6.
The one-day activation included monitoring social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Reddit to look for any chatter related to emergencies at the NYC Marathon that would be helpful for race organizers to have on their radar. The students also monitored for social posts related to race security, including crowd sizes and conditions, threats, any acts of violence, health/medical issues with the runners and information about delays in transportation.
Any relevant information was compiled into a report and shared with DHSES.
“Our goal was to help prevent an emergency situation from happening at the NYC Marathon,” said Peter Tedeschi, a first-year graduate student at CEHC. “New York State Emergency Management was charged with securing the race and asked for our help in monitoring social media to make sure they did not miss anything. We sent them reports every couple of hours, and if anything came up, action could be taken right away.”
Tedeschi was joined on the VOST team by Jessica Daisak, a senior in Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (EHC) major, who is also on the master’s degree track in Intelligence Analysis, and Katie Bobinski, a senior in EHC and Criminal Justice major.
“This was a unique, real-world experience,” Daisak said. “I never thought of social media as a platform that could have credible sources for emergency management. But, it opened my eyes to the importance of social media monitoring and a potential future career path for me to pursue.”
“It was great to play a small, but important role in the NYC Marathon’s security efforts,” Bobinski said. “It shows that if everyone plays their part and maintains good communication, you’ll be prepared for anything that could happen during a large-scale event like this. We were glad to help and make sure the individuals and communities there were protected.”
The current cohort of VOST students is receiving credit through CEHC’s Research and Internship in Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity course. The activations count toward the college’s required 100 training hours before graduation.
Silver is recruiting students for future semesters from all applicable majors. Students with interest are encouraged to contact her.