After the recent shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, officials at Ball State University are considering how to best alert students and staff during a crisis.
One option is using cell phone text message alerts and e-mail, a method that will be implemented by fall 2008, Betsy Mills, Student Government Association president, said. Students and parents have approached SGA and are enthusiastic about the plan.
Kevin Kenyon, Crisis Management Team chairman, said he has attended meetings about using electronic alerts, and dozens of vendors have contacted Ball State to offer their services.
Mills said the benefits of this system are immediate notification in an emergency and keeping students, faculty and staff out of harm's way. If Ball State uses a mass text messaging system, nearly everyone will be reached quickly, she said.
"This is the most direct way, besides word of mouth and sirens," Mills said. "It offers endless possibilities. We see this as a top priority."
Kenyon said one of the drawbacks is students and parents have to make an initial effort to give phone numbers and e-mail addresses to Ball State for notification purposes. Also, people without text messaging capabilities cannot participate, he said.
This program is designed to make sure people get emergency messages, Kenyon said. However, Mills said the system could eventually be used to advertise sporting events and university-related activities as well.
Other universities are researching ways to inform students about school emergencies quickly. Purdue University is looking into using Facebook and has started a Facebook group to explore communication potential, Kenyon said. Ball State has considered this option but is concerned groups might not be able to include everyone, he said.
Other options Ball State is considering include installing an alarm on Shafer Tower and sending mass messages to students' non-university e-mail addresses.
Mills said Ball State's Information Technology Action Group wants to try to use as many forms of emergency notification as possible and not rely on just one.
Currently, if there were a crisis, Ball State would use existing outdoor emergency warning sirens to alert the community. Also, students can look for information on Muncie radio and television stations, the Ball State Web site and in their university e-mail inboxes, Kenyon said. Information could be broadcast on the university cable television system, he said, and, when all else fails, there's the traditional emergency notification method banging on the doors.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
