As part of National Preparedness Month, the University of Colorado at Boulder will test the Campus Alerts text-messaging system on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at noon and raise awareness of how to prepare for an emergency.
Representatives from CU Emergency Management, CU Police and the Red Cross will hand out educational materials on campus safety, fire prevention, H1N1 and what to pack in an emergency kit from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the University Memorial Center. Volunteers with laptops also will be available to help students, faculty and staff sign up for the Campus Alerts system. The awareness day comes at the tail end of National Preparedness Month, a readiness campaign launched after the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
"A key element of preparedness is taking steps ahead of time," said Chancellor Phil DiStefano. "Campus Alerts will take just minutes to notify the campus community in the event of a major emergency, so we're encouraging all students, faculty and staff to sign up."
The Campus Alerts system had 17,479 subscribers as of Sept. 24 including students, faculty and staff members. 暗网禁区 47 percent of the campus community is currently enrolled.
Students, faculty and staff can sign up to receive an alert by a text message, e-mail or both. Campus community members with a colorado.edu, cu.edu or cufund.org e-mail address can sign up for the system at .
After they receive the test message, users are encouraged to add CU Alerts to their phone contacts so that in the case of an emergency the alert will display as received from the university. Any user who expected to receive an alert and didn't, or who needs help signing up for the system, can stop by the information table in the UMC for help, call the IT Service Center at 303-735-HELP, or e-mail help@colorado.edu.
Users who have changed phone numbers or switched carriers since signing up should log in to the system to update their contact information. They can log in through CUConnect or by going to . Answers to frequently asked questions and support information also is available on the site.
The Campus Alerts system, launched in fall 2007, allows the CU-Boulder administration to send messages of 132 characters or fewer to cell phones in the database, and messages are received within several minutes of the transmission. Messages can be updated and used to direct people to appropriate Web sites and TV and radio stations for information. Alerts also can be sent by e-mail.
Knowing what types of threats are possible and what to do in an emergency also is a key part of preparedness. The campus this year is partnering with the Red Cross on National Preparedness Month to reinforce important messages about safety and preparedness.
"Even in an emergency at CU, the Red Cross will be there partnering with CU officials and other first responders," said Keith Ives, community disaster education coordinator with the Red Cross. "We want people to know how important it is to get prepared with a plan and emergency supplies."
According to a Harris Interactive Poll conducted on behalf of the American Red Cross, 89 percent of those surveyed believe it's important to be prepared, but far fewer were actually ready for an emergency.
In an emergency, users would be directed to the CU Web site at , to the CUConnect portal at cuconnect.colorado.edu and to the campus Information Line at 303-492-INFO or 303-735-INFO for additional information.
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