Every student can register his or her cell phone number or e-mail address by going to www.police.msu.edu and clicking the Register for Emergency Text Message Notifications link.

This is a step in the right direction for campus security because most students own a cell phone with texting capabilities.

Texting is an easy way to reach thousands of students at once. The program will be most effective if a majority of students add their numbers to the program, but it only takes one student in each classroom to announce such an emergency.

MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said a message would only be sent out in the event of an extreme emergency, such as an active shooter, weather emergencies or chemical spills.

Signing up is free, and students will only have to pay if their phone providers do not allow them to receive free text messages.

However, if such an emergency does occur on campus or in East Lansing, students most likely won’t be thinking of the extra 10 cents on their cell phone bills.

While the sign-up process is simple, not many students visit the MSU police Web site on a regular basis.

It would benefit more students if a link or reminder was placed on a Web site they use regularly, such as stuinfo.msu.edu or any class registration Web site.

This new program may conflict with many professors’ desire for students to turn off their cell phones during class.

Too bad. Student safety is more important, so set phones to “vibrate” or “silent” mode.

In a smart, cost-saving move, the university created the program internally.

When Central Michigan University considered installing a similar system, prices were about $400,000, and the school had an inundation of venders trying to sell emergency contact systems.

But MSU police records and technology manager John Prush created ETXT, which works off the university’s server through the Academic Computing & Network Services.

This saved millions of dollars by using university resources.

It assures students will receive only credible information.

However, the university will still need to take steps to ensure student information is secure and will not be released to telemarketers or any other undesired parties.

In the end, this program utilized an efficient tool to reach out to about 50,000 students on a campus with more than 50 acres.

This should help alleviate the fears of students and parents concerned about campus safety.

In the unlucky event that something does happen in East Lansing, at least students can find out about it, which allows them to react as quickly as possible. It’s unfortunate we must take these precautions but at least we’re prepared.