Administrators urge students to sign up for new alert system

By Richard Nieva

Final decisions and preparations are being made for Santa Clara's new emergency notification system, "SCU Campus Alert," which can reach the campus community within a half-hour via phone calls, text messaging and e-mail during an emergency.

The push for an efficient alert system came in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy. The university had actually purchased the system in the winter, but due to staffing and technological issues, it had not yet implemented the system, said Charles Arolla, director of Campus Safety.

The logistical problems have since been addressed.

"For now, we're just concentrated on getting it up and running as an emergency notification tool," said Arolla.

Should an emergency arise, an administrator can trigger the system by either calling into the system or logging on to a secure Web site, according to Jeanne Rosenberger, vice provost for student life.

The person sending the alert can then record a voice message that will be forwarded to a host that carries the personal information of subscribers across the country. There are two host locations in the United States, in case one should be compromised for one reason or another, such as a natural disaster.

From the host location, the message is then sent out to the entire community.

During practice runs at training sessions, Rosenberger said there was a barrage of phones ringing and text alerts within two minutes of when the message was sent.

The system, called Connect-Ed, is operated through the NTI Group, a company that specializes in mass notification services.

Other schools have recently adopted similar alert systems since the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Stanford University, Northwestern University, Syracuse University and Skidmore College are among those who have taken new security measures.

Only a select group will have the authority to trigger the system at Santa Clara. They will most likely be members of the university's policy group, a small committee that would get together in an emergency to analyze and act.

"It'll be somewhat of a diverse group, but it will be concentrated because that's a very powerful tool and you have to be careful of how you use it," said Arolla.

The university is also still in the process of deciding when exactly to use it. Because of the sheer power of the tool, the university wants to be certain of its actions.

Rosenberger said there will be obvious situations in which they would use it, such as in the event of an active shooter. However, she said often it relies on judgment.

The challenge now, as Rosenberger sees it, is getting students to enter into the system.

"Now that we have the ability to notify students, I hope they will take advantage and give us the information," Rosenberger said.

Since last Friday, there were about 700 students in the system, out of about 7,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Arolla said that with students, faculty and staff combined, the system could potentially include over 10,000 people.

"Even though I don't personally feel like I'm at a huge risk, I know that things can happen. And it's way better to be prepared," said freshman Erikka Fisk, who has signed up for the system.

For her and many others, safety has been a real concern since the recent events at Virginia Tech.

Still, a far greater percentage of the students have yet to register.

"I just forgot. I've been wanting to. It's definitely something I really need to do, I should do. When I read the e-mail I was on my way out to class," said junior Neeraj Miglani.

Rosenberger understands this, but she urges students to take a few minutes out of their time to sign up.

The university is doing a few things to help the process along. Since every returning student will be registering for classes in the coming weeks, Rosenberger said there will be a prompt to remind them to register for the notification system as well.

One opportunity will come with the new freshman class, said both Rosenberger and Arolla. The university can capitalize during orientation, and have students sign up before they even begin the school year.

Rosenberger stressed that the effectiveness of the system only comes with student participation. It is no good to send out an emergency message if no one receives it.

"We'd love to never have to use it," Rosenberger said. "But when we do have to use it, it would be nice if the most people possible could be in there."

Contact Richard Nieva at (408) 554-4546 or rnieva@scu.edu.