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Campus Text Alert System Scores Low on First Test
After the horrible tragedy at the Virginia Tech campus earlier this year in which 32 students were killed by a student who then took his own life, the reactions from those on the outside were many and varied. One common question, though, concerned what could have been done to alert the student body of the attacks earlier, which would have possibly saved lives. One answer has been the deployment of emergency text messaging systems that enable a campus administrator to send alerts to the entire student body. One such system got a workout this past Monday at the Boulder campus of Colorado University, and while it technically fulfilled its purpose, things weren't perfect.
At 9:43 am freshman Michael Knorps was stabbed on campus. But, it wasn't until 30 minutes later that the text message warning of the attack went out. Thankfully by then the suspect was already in custody, but that's an awfully big and potentially dangerous lag considering text messages are sent instantaneously. Meanwhile, an e-mail alert also went out, but it was another 90 minutes before that would be received. Perhaps more alarming than the time lag was the system's minimal penetration. Out of nearly 30,000 students on campus, on 500 were signed up to receive the emergency notices.
Here's hoping for some improvements before the next such warning is needed.
From textually.org
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Comments
5
Subscribe to commentsJohn ClaborneMay 30th 2009 6:43AM
Great article! Alert systems are also good for extracurricular activity cancellations and even alumni announcements. Our school uses a parent alert and notification service from http://www.orangepoint.net/schoolalerts.html. We receive alerts whenever there is a school closing due to inclement weather and emergencies. This new technology not only saves schools time – it money.
Kristin CampbellAug 30th 2007 10:22AM
This article makes a strong point. Text messaging alerting systems should be viewed as only one component of a larger alerting system, not relied on as the entire method for emergency notification. A few problems with using only a SMS alerting system: when text messages/emails are sent in bulk there is always a delay, students/faculty have to sign up for the services and not everyone does, cell phones are silenced during class. Not to bash text message alerting entirely, it can be an effective component to alert off-campus students and faculty, it just won't be the instantaneous alert that it is glamorized to be. A better solution: Indoor and outdoor sirens and strobes which have the ability to send the message out immediately to the entire campus without delays, in sync with a text message alerting system.
Bob BentzAug 30th 2007 11:05AM
It seems like the biggest failure in the system was not the text messaging but the long delay in actually sending the emergency text message out to the students and staff.
Anthony WayneSep 5th 2007 12:28AM
Many universities have signed up for emergency text message alerts since the Virginia Tech tragedy. Text messaging is clearly a superior way to reach students than email was.
Anthony Wayne
Text Message blog
http://www.textmessageblog.mobi
Donna MosherOct 17th 2007 3:46PM
There is a technology that can send secure emergency alerts to all phones in an affected area, regardless of the wireless carrier - and deliver the message in under two minutes. That technology is cell broadcast. Your phone is already able to receive such an alert. All that is needed is for you to activate the function in your handset. And for your wireless network to implement it.