New security measures in the works

U of M follows other examples to increase security on campus

Magally Zelaya, staff

As early as next term, a new text-messaging system will be used to notify U of M students and staff in the event of an emergency on campus, notifying them of appropriate emergency procedures such as evacuation, avoiding the campus, or finding and remaining in a safe location. The system also has the capability of leaving a voice message on landlines.

The university currently asks all students and staff to activate their email accounts to allow for notification of important events such as strikes and facility closures. Though effective, the process can be slow.

Vice-president (academic) Debbie McCallum said that installing the system is “high on [the university’s] priority list” and that two models are currently being evaluated. Though exact dates are not known McCallum said, “I’m hoping this [academic] year.”

Registration in the system is free to both students or staff.

If and when messages are sent, the university will pay that cost in addition to all other associated fees.

“The university will pick up the cost of acquiring the system. It’s actually relatively inexpensive. We just pay for a one-time setup and then a very small monthly fee,” said McCallum.

In addition to the text messaging system, the University of Manitoba is also considering installing a speaker system throughout the campus, including classrooms, hallways, tunnels, and outdoor areas.“

That [security measure] is a little bit more complicated because it requires a lot of cabling but we plan to do that as well.”

In September of this year, the University of Calgary purchased a messaging system from Aizan’s Technology, a company that provides “intelligent hosted voice solutions,” according to the company website.

Lanny Fritz, director of campus security at the U of C said, “The idea really was born out of the experience of Virginia Tech,” where a student killed 32 students and staff over two sets of shootings two hours apart on April 16, 2007.

“What we learned there was that much of the communication was through text messaging and it was from students text-messaging each other, so we decided to try and build on that.”

Fritz said that they have not yet used the system but have run tests with the 6,123 students and staff that had registered to ensure that the system is compatible with all of the different cellphone providers. He added that security is a priority at the University of Calgary and that they have various security measures in place. “We see the text-messaging program as a communication tool within our emergency response program,” he said.

The U of C also has 40 television-like electronic billboards that provide information about university news and events that Fritz said could be used to provide security news and instructions. As well, 85 per cent of the campus is under video surveillance.

Security services at the U of M said that there are 285 security cameras on university grounds, but were unable to speculate what percentage of the campus this constitutes.

Registration in the system is not mandatory at the U of C, and McCallum said that she does not expect it to be mandatory at the U of M, either.“It always has to be on the student to elect to participate. I’m optimistic that most students will,” said McCallum. “I would hope people would register because it’s their own protection.”

Fritz said that the U of C never considered making it mandatory, pointing to the fact that not all students have cellphones. He hopes that the more than 6,000 that have registered for the service would forward messages to others.

Boston University implemented an emergency notification system program in August and made it mandatory in October. Entitled “Send Word Now,” the program is also a response to the Virginia Tech shootings.

Last month, 73 per cent of the 43,000 students, staff, and faculty at Boston University had registered. Those who had not provided their mobile contact numbers were blocked from registering for spring term courses and those enrolled in the fall term who had not provided their contact information were unable to drop courses.

“It is absolutely imperative that all students comply,” said Peter Fiedler, vice-president (administrative services), on the university’s website. “It is the university’s duty to protect the safety and health of its community.”