Queens College to implement alert system

Students at Queens College could begin receiving text messages or voicemails in case of an emergency or dangerous incident on campus as early as this semester, The Courier Sun has learned.
Queens College signed a one-year contract with MIR3, Incorporated, a privately held company headquartered in San Diego, California, and will implement a program where the college can contact students, faculty and staff quickly during emergencies.
The system, which Queens College officials are in the process of testing, will allow students to enter their contact information including cell phone, home phone and preferred email address; and if an emergency arises at the school, the college can begin sending messages or instructions about how they should proceed.
Naveed Husain, Chief Information Officer for Queens College, said that once the college finishes testing the system, it would offer students, faculty and staff the opportunity to sign up for the service, which will not be mandatory at this time, and prioritize how they want to receive the updates.
“The more information people put in, the more successful the system will be in contacting people,” Husain said.
Following the April 16 tragic shooting at Virginia Tech University where a lone gunman killed 33 students and faculty members, Queens College, like many other schools across the country, started reexamining its security plan. Husain said the college explored a number of options for an emergency alert system before choosing MIR3.
Once the system is up and running, designated Queens College officials will be able to send messages to the campus by contacting MIR3.
“Essentially, the President’s Office will determine if the students, faculty and staff are contacted in an emergency,” Hussain said. “It can be anything from as basic as a snow [school closing] to something that is a serious emergency.”
In dangerous situations, like the Virginia Tech shooting, two-way messaging services would allow students to respond to the original message from the college and alert them if they were safe, helping the college determine where to allocate emergency resources.
Meanwhile, when The Courier Sun informed students who were on campus for their first few days of class about the potential new system, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive.
“It’s so much easier for students to find out things through a text message,” said Sylwia Sobolewski, a student from Lindenhurst.
While the service resonated with the students the most in light of the Virginia Tech shooting, they also liked other areas.
“I’m not expecting a Virginia Tech incident to happen here, but I think it would be good for snow closings,” said Reuven Moshkovski, a 17-year-old freshman.
Some students shrugged at paying the standard text message charge to receive alerts, but most said they would pay the text fees to sign up for the service.
“I think it’s a really good idea so we’re not left in the dark,” said Whitestone freshman Giovanni Catinella. “There shouldn’t be a cost on safety.”