COÖP is designed to surround its participants in nature and community. The time away from technology and cell phones allows the COÖP participant (COÖPers) to maximize their outdoor orientation experience. While COÖPers are out of reach during their four-day trip, COÖPers and their families should rest assured that COÖP takes safety very seriously.

COÖP invests a tremendous amount in training its leaders to prevent, prepare, and respond to emergencies that may come up. It has designed an experience that is both fun, but safe for its COÖPers and leaders. Accidents, however, can and do happen. In addition, life doesn’t stop while the students are attending COÖP. Emergencies back home also can happen.

In these situations, COÖP uses these emergency communication protocols to keep everyone informed.

Emergency at home

If something has occurred (death in the family, family emergency, etc.) that requires a COÖPer to be pulled early from his/her COÖP trip, please follow these protocols:

Have COÖPer’s emergency contact the Columbia University Public Safety office at 212-854-5555. Public Safety will put that person in contact with the proper administrators who can contact the COÖPer, and if necessary, get that COÖPer back to campus.

Depending on the time of day and situation, COÖP can reach most COÖPers in about an hour and can have a COÖPer back on campus in half a day.

Emergency on the trip

If a COÖPer is involved in an accident or medical emergency of some kind, the COÖP student leaders and Administrators work together to use their training and systems to (1) stabilize the situation, (2) secure help from a professional first responder (if necessary), and provide whatever needed medical treatment is required.

A COÖP and/or Undergraduate Student Life Administrator reaches out to the participant’s emergency contact to inform that person of the situation. If that person cannot be reached, Undergraduate Student Life then reaches out to other authorized contacts.