Emergencies can happen at any time, so
Senior Renee Connor said she has been registered to receive the notifications since her sophomore year and knows how important it is to
stay informed.
“I mean, in an emergency you want to know what is going on. Especially for those people who are on their way to campus, it can keep them from walking into danger,” she said.
Over half the students on campus signed up for the old system, but now, everyone will need to re-register with the new E2Campus system to receive the alerts. Senior Systems Programmer Dan Drumm said signing up is the surest way to receive notifications critical to safety and well-being.
“Whether it’s an emergency like a chemical spill in Phillips or just alerting students about a snow day,” he said, “it’s good for them to know so they can plan for it.”
Even though UW-Eau Claire has yet to use the emergency notification system — with the exception of testing — Drumm said the university wanted to make sure students have the most up-to-date means of contact during an emergency.
Previously, the notification system would only alert students by text or e-mail. Now, with E2Campus, students can receive emergency notifications instantly to all registered mobile phones, wireless PDAs, smart phones and satellite phones. It also allows the possibility for alerts to be posted on the UW-Eau Claire homepage, as well as iGoogle, MyAOL, and My Yahoo! pages.
“We were happy with our last notification system but we’re just looking to do more in the future with more technology,” Drumm said.
The new system, he said, also has the option for a blog, which would allow officials dealing with the emergency to update people on the status of
the event.
Students can sign up by logging onto the E2Campus page and registering a cell phone. Once registered, additional services like an e-mail address or alternate phone number can be added to the system. Students can also register family e-mail addresses and phone numbers to notify them in case of a campus emergency.
Connor said she thinks more people would sign up for the notifications if they were reminded more frequently to do so.
“I remember getting an e-mail, but that was it,” she said. “Especially if people forget or get new phones or something, it can’t hurt to remind us.”
Drumm said this system is especially important considering the tragedies that have happened at other universities. Students should be aware that if it does happen here, they will be informed, he said.
“I think a lot of students think it can’t happen to them or happen here,” he said. “I certainly hope that’s true, but just in case, it is good to know as much as possible.”
To register and receive alerts, visit the E2Campus webpage at http://emergency.uwec.edu.
