Of the many methods to reach out to the University community in the event of a critical emergency, University affiliates say they are confident the emergency text message notification system is one of the best.
While some University affiliates may have concerns about the effectiveness of the notification system, most say it’s one of the most effective ways to relay emergencies, since most students carry their cell phones at all times.
“Rutgers implemented the emergency text notification system in April 2007 to complement the methods we already used to disseminate urgent information to the students, faculty and staff,” said Emergency Management Director Daniel Pascale via e-mail correspondence. “It is used only in the event of critical occurrences, such as major weather events that force the cancellation of classes or imminent threats to the safety or security of the campus community.”
The University uses several other methods to reach out to the community and communicate in the event of an emergency, he said. These methods were in use before they launched the text message system.
“Text messaging works very well, but it is just one of many methods Rutgers utilizes,” Pascale said. “These include e-mail, University Web sites, RU-tv, campus radio, local media, messages on the NextBus LED signs at bus stops and even door-to-door notification.”
Emergency Management runs campus-wide tests every month, he said. The last test was conducted on Oct. 22. In addition, frequent small-scale internal tests are conducted throughout the year, and the University community is notified about the tests through e-mail, Web site alerts and RU-Info Facebook alerts.
Emergency Management staff is able to keep track of how many people on campus are receiving the text message, Pascale said.
The number of messages, as well as the rate per minute at which they were sent, is calculated during the campus-wide test, Pascale said. During the most recent test, 84 percent of the University population subscribers received the text.
“On the most recent test that we conducted, more than 29,000 of the approximately 35,000 subscribers received the test message within 15 minutes,” Pascale said. “Messages were sent at a rate of roughly 20,000 per minute.”
The message delivery rate, which is a function of the cell phone provider’s local capacity and overall load, was 2,000 text messages per minute, he said.
School of Arts and Sciences first-year student Tahia Haque said although she did not receive a test text message during the last campus-wide test, she plans to make sure she subscribes to begin receiving the messages because communicating via text message is the best way to reach out to students.
“Obviously, if something happens, we always have our cell phone with us,” Haque said. “[The emergency text message notification system] seems very legitimate.”
But some students are worried about the effectiveness of the emergency text message notification system. Although Emergency Management runs campus-wide tests every month, some students said they did not receive a test text message.
School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Stephen Antisz thought he subscribed to receive the text message notification when he updated his phone number in the University directory, but never received a message.
“I updated my number like six months ago, and I never got [a test text message] but everyone else I know did. I don’t know why,” he said.
Haque said if students are concerned about their safety on campus, they should take the necessary steps to make sure they are subscribed to receive the text message.
“I’m sure people who want to get the test text would go out of their way to get it,” she said.
School of Environmental and Biological Sciences junior Shakira Williams said she received her test text message last month and felt secure about her safety on campus.
“I think it’s a good idea,” she said. “It’s an easy way to get in touch with students in case of an emergency and it’s fast.”
Haque said in the event of an emergency, students would best respond to a text message that would tell them how to find their way to safety, rather than hoping they were on their laptops to receive an e-mail or check a Web site.
Pascale said the text messages would provide emergency precautions and procedures to follow depending on the type of emergency, in a quick and to-the-point way, because messages are limited to 160 characters.
“Every situation is unique, so the exact message would depend on the nature of the emergency,” he said. “In general, the message is brief and may be used to alert the community to a specific event, direct individuals to proceed to or avoid a specific location or advise them where to find additional information.”
School of Arts and Sciences junior Jazmine Gray said the short text messages are a good way to notify students quickly and easily about evacuation or precautionary procedures.
“It’s at least an attempt at some form of notifying students,” Grey said. “If anything, it wouldn’t be harmful, so it doesn’t hurt to attempt it.”
To receive the text message, any University affiliate can apply by providing their cell phone information at http://www.personalinfo.rutgers.edu.
For more information about emergency procedures to follow or about the text message notification system, visit http://www.rehs.rutgers.edu.
U. trusts text messages
Published: Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, November 11, 2009
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