Michigan State University Department of Police and Public Safety, or MSU DPPS, announced that starting on May 21 at 10 a.m. as a first test, a semesterly alert upgrade will take place for students at the university and some surrounding areas in Ingham County.
This brand new system will “provide emergency notifications and timely warnings to the Spartan community,” according to a news release from DPPS.
The mass safety notification will be heavily announced through several different ways for students to know exactly what is going on, including texts and emails, computer notifications, SafeMSU app alerts, desktop phones, MSU Green Light emergency phones and an outdoor siren on campus.
“All students, faculty and staff are automatically enrolled with the mass notification system through their MSU email," DPPS spokesperson Dana Whyte said. "So once a student starts taking classes or faculty or staff members starts working at MSU, they'll automatically get those alerts through their email. We really encourage people, if they want to receive a text or a phone call as well, to log into the system and add their phone number.”
AVAYA desktop phones in campus buildings north of the Red Cedar River will go off as part of the test with an outdoor siren tone.
Alerts will also be received throughout a zone extending just outside campus, from Saginaw Street to Mt. Hope Road. However, regardless of whether they are on campus or not, all MSU students will receive an email alert.
Whyte said these emergency alerts are intended to protect students and community members not only from threats to campus, but also severe weather alerts.
“Anyone who is a student, they will receive an email, and then if they want to receive a text or a phone call as well, they would go into alert@msu.edu, login with their net ID and add their phone number,” Whyte said. “But anyone who is a student, it doesn't matter where you are, will receive the alerts.”
Whyte encouraged students to have the SafeMSU app on their phone in order to receive the notifications in a timely manner. She added that the DPPS website and social media pages will share more information about emergency events.
