The changes come after a deadly campus shooting where a gunman killed three students and wounded five in February, and a “confusing” lockdown in March.

App notifications

Anyone wishing to receive emergency notifications will now be able to do so with the SafeMSU app, a smartphone application previously used to administer the FriendWalk system and ASMSU’s free late-night transportation service, SafeRide.

MSUPD will run a test of the new smartphone notifications Thursday. The app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Users will have to enable notifications in their settings to receive the alerts.

Previous methods of sending out alerts – SMS text, email and social media – will remain, with the app providing an additional method of communication.

“When you see things in multiple places, you’re more likely to notice them,” Deputy University Spokesperson Dan Olsen said.

There is not a desktop version of SafeMSU, but university computers will receive desktop notifications through MSU’s VPN.

The university has also entered into an agreement with Ingham County Emergency Management to expand alerts to more devices using public safety and AMBER alert capabilities available on smartphones, according to an April press release.

The alerts disseminated with these new systems will read differently. MSU’s independent police department, MSUPD, is working to update the writing and phrasing of the messages, MSUPD spokesperson Dana Whyte said.

Students and staff told The State News in March they were confused by the phrasing of a secure-in-place message, not knowing what they were being asked to do or even where on campus the emergency was.

Loudspeaker announcements

The university will also begin using speakers on the weather sirens and GreenLight emergency towers across campus to make audio alerts.

By the end of the month, MSU will run a campus-wide test of the system, according to the announcement. The date has not yet been announced.

These loudspeakers have had the capability to make emergency announcements since at least 2021, according to staff instructions for emergency drills obtained by The State News. Whyte and Olsen could not say why they weren’t employed during the February shooting or March secure-in-place.

The university is also exploring software that would enable audio alerts from desk-phones across campus, but no concrete plan is in place at this time, Olsen said.

Other expansions

Infrastructure Planning and Facilities continues to install hundreds of door locks to classrooms across campus, according to the announcement. These locks will allow those inside the room to lock it, but be accessible from the outside with keys being provided to first responders.

The Berkey Hall classrooms where much of the February shooting occurred did not have door locks.

The university also completed the first steps of the third-party security review announced in March, according to the announcement.

Security Risk and Management Consultants, the firm conducting the review, will examine the university’s response to the shooting and provide feedback on potential improvements.

MSUPD is also working with the consultants and MSU’s Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities to develop more inclusive emergency response procedures, Whyte and Olsen said.

In April, The State News reported that disabled students felt unprotected by the procedures, many of which excluded students with physical disabilities.

Previously, MSUPD did not have plans for disabled students in emergencies.

“We would recommend that (disabled students) know their own physical capabilities and how to best physically defend themselves in that situation and make that plan in place beforehand by contacting our department,” Whyte told The State News in April.