In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, universities and colleges use texting as safety tool

By Erin Frustaci, FortCollinsNow

Though text messaging has become a second or, in some cases, preferred first language among teens and 20-somethings, a more serious and practical purpose for texting has emerged in schools.

Just more than a year since the Virginia Tech school shooting, the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, an increasing number of colleges and universities around the country have implemented emergency text-messaging and voicemail systems. In Larimer County, both Colorado State University and Front Range Community College have introduced such systems within the last school year. Front Range Community College tested its system on Friday and is still working to get more students signed up.

“It’s like every time there is an earthquake, there’s a spike in people getting insurance,” said Natasha Rabe, chief business officer of Blackboard Connect Inc., the company that markets Connect-ED to schools, including Front Range Community College.

The way the systems typically work is an administrator logs onto a portal and then has the option of sending out text messages, emails or voicemails. Rabe said there is also a toll-free number that can be called to initiate the messages in case the person is not near an Internet connection.

Jose Valdes, associate director of the telecommunications department at CSU, said the university signed up for a similar service through Rave Wireless last September and has conducted two tests since then.

“We knew about these services for a while,” Valdes said. “The university was considering a means of contacting students, faculty and staff for a while. We looked at several different companies, but the process was accelerated when the Virginia Tech shooting occurred.”

Whenever a CSU faculty or staff member is provided a cell phone, they are automatically signed up; however, students have the option of opting in during registration. Valdes estimates that about 90 percent of the student population has joined—an unusually high percentage in comparison to an average of 40 percent at other schools nationwide.

Still, he said students wanted to have the choice because some are concerned about being spammed. He figures even if only 25 percent signed up for the messaging, it would still have the trickle effect. If six people get the same message in one class, the chances are it will receive attention.

Dori Grant, a 23-year-old student who is taking classes at CSU and Front Range, heard about the services but chose not to sign up. She said it drives her crazy when phones go off during class and that the emergency texting systems just aren’t necessary.

“I think people are becoming far too dependent on technology,” she said. “I guess some people want it as a safety message. To each his own.”

The way she sees it, if something horrible was to happen she figures she would hear about it and there should be a more efficient method other than text messaging.

Already though, email has become the preferred method of communication on college campuses, so it makes sense that text messaging would be the next step, or at least another piece of the puzzle.

“Text message by itself isn’t a panacea,” Valdes said. “It doesn’t cover everyone. First of all, they may have their phones turned off or may not look at the text message right away.”

Still, he says its a good safety precaution. Already he has seen improvement in the time frame for the delivery of test messages. CSU signed a three-year contract for the service and offers it free of cost to the student by absorbing the cost. He said the services cost the university pennies per student. CSU is careful to only use the system for emergency purposes, which is why only a selected few, including the CSU Police Chief, have the authority to send out messages.

In the next week, CSU will also conduct initial tests for a pilot program that would focus on individual emergencies. The idea is that a timer could be set and if the person does not get the specific destination by a given time, CSU Police Department would be notified. They would be able to view that person’s profile and locate them on campus. Valdes said it would be useful for students when they are walking alone on campus at night. Though this service would likely only be for emergencies, other schools are using texting services on a broader scope.

Rabe said some schools will create groups so specific notifications can be set to a portion of the student population. For example, a school could send out a message to all the football players if football practice is canceled. In 2007, Connect-Ed sent 240 million voice messages and 17 million text messages.

“The next wave we will see is, ‘OK, we now have it for emergencies, but what else can we do?’” Rabe said.

She said it can be used to send out information about financial aid or missing credits.

Nick Blackburn, a 22-year-old student at Front Range Community College, said he recently received an email about the system with instructions on how to sign up. He hasn’t done it yet, but said he should probably sign up soon.

“With all the school shootings, it’s a good idea,” he said. “If a text message can save a life, I think it’s worth it.”