It was on a normal day that freshman Susanna Black decided to walk to Kramer for dinner when she received a message from K-State Alerts to take shelter immediately.
¨Thanks to K-State Alerts we realized we should probably take cover,¨ Black, a senior in Human Resource Management and Marketing said. On that day, four years ago, K-State was on a tornado watch that later escalated to a tornado warning.
Additionally, Black said she believes the system to be trustworthy. ¨You know that communication is clear and from a good source, it's not from yikyak [or] a student rumor. If it comes from K-State Alerts you know it's going to be accurate.¨
The alerts are sent through the Kansas State University Police Department (KSUDP) dispatch and an efficiency test was conducted March 7. ¨We sent out a total of 10,414 text messages, 37,453 emails, and 5,209 automated phone calls,¨ Andrew Moeller, captain in charge of support services said.
¨For the text messages, 98% were delivered in five minutes… 9,983 were received within 46 seconds.¨ Moeller said. ¨37,445 [of all emails] had all been received within one minute and four seconds… and all automated phone calls were delivered within 17 minutes.¨
What It Is and How It Works
K-State Alerts is a messaging system done through the Rave Mobile Security Company offered to students, faculty and family members of the Manhattan Campus. ¨It´s a way to get a message out to a large number of people very quickly,¨ Moeller said.
The messages can be received in the form of an email, a text message or an automated phone call. ¨If you have a K-State email account you´re going to [automatically] get these K-State Alerts,¨ Moeller said. However, the sign-up for a message or phone call alert is done through the K-State Connect account.
¨When it comes to our safety, information is incredibly important,¨ Moeller said. ¨You have to be informed so that you can make the right decisions for you as an individual and for any people that… may be in your care.¨
Heaven Cedeno, a sophomore in Advertising and Public Relations said she just recently signed up, ¨I got it because of the weather alerts and days would be cancelled because of snow.¨
Importance To Students
¨If there is [a threat] I would like to know immediately,¨ Cedeno said. There is a sense of urgency that comes from getting an alert on your phone from a situation on campus and Cedeno said she’d like to know what that was as soon as possible.
While the system is helpful for anybody on the Manhattan Campus, transfer students, international students and even many freshmen are not fully aware of K-State Alerts.
¨More awareness would definitely help,¨ Cedeno said. ¨I don't think people are opposed to it, I think that they just don’t even know it exists or they don’t know how to sign up for it.¨
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