There was a time when ‘googling' someone before a first date was unheard of, and a ‘tweet' was something only birds could make.
Now that same ubiquitous technology is being used to protect students.
The UB Alert Emergency Information system has kept up with developments in technology and social media to keep students safe. In 2007, mass text messages and emails were added to the emergency communication program. In the years following, the system expanded to include a website and most recently Facebook and Twitter alerts.
"People today want to receive information right away, and they want to share it with their friends," said Joseph A. Brennan, associate vice president for University Communications."We have started sending UB Alert messages via Twitter, knowing that this is one of the many new channels of communication that exist today."
UB's alert system is aimed to keep the university community informed and out of danger. The University Police Department, in compliance with the Clery Act, decide whether or not alerts need to be sent out. The Clery Act requires all colleges to disclose information about campus crimes.
"If there is a crime and the suspect is still on campus, and there is still a continuing threat, that's when we use the alert system," said Gerald W. Schoenle Jr., chief of UPD.
Text message and email alerts are reserved only for true emergencies and potential or immediate threats to the campus community. The only major alert students have received this school year involved a male on South Campus who escaped custody after being arrested for loitering, on Sept. 11.
Schoenle said that this alert didn't fall under what would be considered a "no-brainer mandatory alert." Judgment has to be applied in every case to determine if an alert is the appropriate action.
"[The South Campus assailant] was only wanted for trespassing but [UB Communications] felt he might cause alarm because he had a handcuff on," Schoenle said. "They thought it would best to notify because there were police looking for him."
When UPD determines that a mandatory alert should be made, the Office of University Communications prepares and sends out the message, according to Brennan.
The UB Police is very careful about how frequently it issues alerts. Minor smoke in a building, like what happened in Clemens Hall on Aug. 31, happens about 20 times a year, Schoenle said. It would be nonsensical to send out a text message and email alert to nearly 40,000 people for a situation that leaves no one in danger and is under control.
"If we sent out alerts for everything it would be like crying wolf," Schoenle said.
The alert system allows students to get informed in the quickest way possible, whether it is via text, email or tweet. In a culture where information is constantly craved, students like to be in-touch with keeping safe on campus.
"Surveys of students show that they appreciate being informed about potential dangers and actions they can take to help keep themselves and other people safe," Brennan said.
Caitlin Coeler, a sophomore English major, believes the alert system benefits students. She thinks when students are informed they can help police as well as be more aware of their surroundings.
Coeler, an admitted Twitter junkie, thinks the progression the UB alert system has made in social media is fitting. As a Resident Assistant, she is informed when incidents take place on campus. When the last alert was sent out, she received the information in a message to her cell phone before she heard her residents talking about the incident.
"It's instantaneous – if it was a serious emergency, it's more productive to get it out [by text message] than by having people yelling or there being chaos," Coeler said.
Brennan believes technology plays a crucial role in emergency communications. Still, he doesn't find it to be a "silver bullet that will always work to reach everybody." He encourages students to be conscious of what is happening around them.
To sign up to receive UB Alerts emails or text messages go to emergency.buffalo.edu. You can also follow the service on Twitter at @ub_alert.
Email: news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
