Officials at Macewan University are rolling out a new way to alert staff and students in the case of an emergency – utilizing tools that are likely already being used.
On Thursday, officials executed a trial run of the new alert system at the school – a new way to reach out to people on campus in the case of an emergency.
“If Macewan has an emergency, we want to make sure the message gets out, either to stay away or ‘this is what is going on’,” Ray Boudreau, director of security at Macewan University said.
In the trial, an alert was sent out through an e-mail to 19,000 staff and students from the school’s security office, where 180 cameras track what’s happening at all times..
Over about 15 minutes, officials said more than 1,600 people confirmed they had received the message.
“That’s pretty staggering,” Boudreau said.
“This software does it quicker than what we could’ve done before.”
In the past, officials would announce emergencies over the PA system, and used amber and white-coloured lights throughout the building.
“The issue we’ve had is that if we have an emergency here, how do we alert people who are coming here?” Boudreau said.
Students and staff will also have the option of receiving a text alert as well, something student Taylor Regimbald said will be helpful.
“Sometimes I don’t always check my e-mail, so I would always get the text message, I would get it quicker probably than the e-mail,” Regimbald said.
“We want people to understand that this system is only used for one purpose, so when you get a Macewan Alert on your phone or on your e-mail, you know, open it, it’s an emergency,” Boudreau said.
It’s hoped the system will be fully implemented in a few days.
With files from Veronica Jubinville
