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TechnographSchools develop text alert systems
Universities act decisively after previous failures
By Verena Dobnik and Ryan J. Foley, The Associated Press
Posted: 9/27/07 Section: News
NEW YORK - When a masked freshman came to campus at St. John's University with what police said was a loaded rifle sticking out of a bag, the school alerted students via cell-phone text messages within 18 minutes.
And when a suicidal gunman was reported to be on the loose at the University of Wisconsin, the school sent out mass e-mails and took out an ad on Facebook to warn students.
As the school year starts, colleges around the country are applying the lessons of Virginia Tech and using high technology to get the word out fast in a crisis.
"This was certainly a surprise. No one thought that we would be testing this latest technology this quickly for an emergency," said James Pellow, executive vice president of St. John's.
The 20,000-student Roman Catholic school in Queens activated its new text messaging system just three weeks ago. The scare came on the same day that the student paper ran a front-page story on the system, under the blaring headline: "In case of emergency."
This week's incidents at St. John's and UW-Madison - both of which ended without bloodshed - underscore how campus security has changed since Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus in April. The system sends a message to cell phones, digital signs, computers, PDAs and beepers. More than 70 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds own a cell phone, and 92 percent of them text message, according to a 2006 Pew survey.
"What better way is there to get in contact with people who always carry technology, or are within shouting distance of it?" Lenhart said. "This is a huge development in terms of school security."
And when a suicidal gunman was reported to be on the loose at the University of Wisconsin, the school sent out mass e-mails and took out an ad on Facebook to warn students.
As the school year starts, colleges around the country are applying the lessons of Virginia Tech and using high technology to get the word out fast in a crisis.
"This was certainly a surprise. No one thought that we would be testing this latest technology this quickly for an emergency," said James Pellow, executive vice president of St. John's.
The 20,000-student Roman Catholic school in Queens activated its new text messaging system just three weeks ago. The scare came on the same day that the student paper ran a front-page story on the system, under the blaring headline: "In case of emergency."
This week's incidents at St. John's and UW-Madison - both of which ended without bloodshed - underscore how campus security has changed since Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus in April. The system sends a message to cell phones, digital signs, computers, PDAs and beepers. More than 70 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds own a cell phone, and 92 percent of them text message, according to a 2006 Pew survey.
"What better way is there to get in contact with people who always carry technology, or are within shouting distance of it?" Lenhart said. "This is a huge development in terms of school security."
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