A new emergency alert system will notify all students and college employees of emergency situations on or near campus, if only the recipients will listen.
Southwestern College students and staff will receive a phone call, a text message and an e-mail when an emergency alert is sent out to the SWC community, according to Acting Police Chief Robert Sanchez. It is SWC’s first venture into mass telephonic emergency communication, Sanchez said, and campus officials said they hope students will give it a chance. Some students have already expressed concern that they will be charged for college messages if their phone contracts include call and texting fees.
Melissa Hernandez, a liberal arts major, said some students have mixed feelings about the new system.
“I see the reasoning for giving people the option to not receive a notification,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to not get these notifications, but I can see people not wanting to waste minutes or texts.”
Luis Rodriguez, a biology major, said he supports the system.
Students also have the option to choose what alerts they want to receive as well as choosing not to receive any notifications at all.
“I’m glad there is a way for us to know if there is an emergency on campus so that we don’t go near it,” he said.
Sanchez asked students not to opt out of the system. Students will only receive notifications regarding campus emergencies and nothing else, he said.
“We do not sell their information to anybody,” he said. “It does not get shared with other people and it does not notify students of school events. You can’t really put a price tag on someone’s life.”
Each message is pre-scripted to the emergency occurring, such as fire, earthquake or an active shooter. Campus police will not reply back to student messages. Students will be encouraged to refer to the evacuation plan posted in many of SWC classrooms if the situation requires such action.
Sanchez said the emergency system is part of the multifaceted plan to improve campus safety. Blue Emergency Poles ( or E-Poles) have been installed on campus. E-Poles can broadcast emergency information and can be used by students to reach 911 dispatchers if they are in danger or have witnessed a crime.
Sanchez said pressing the blue button on the E-Poles is the same as calling 911 and he urged students to refrain from using them for non-emergencies.
“These poles are directly linked to emergency services,” he said. “Abusing the system and making prank calls is a violation of the law.”