With two daughters at the University of Tennessee, I was pleased with the college’s implementation of an alert system using students’ cell phones. \u00c2\u00a0Most of the time, the alerts are of the “not unexpected” variety — muggings along the dark areas between Cumberland Avenue and campus, etc. \u00c2\u00a0They’re useful, but not panic-inducing.<\/p>\n
Last night, the alert was more serious: “Suspects armed with a gun last seen in Reese Hall. \u00c2\u00a0Unknown direction of travel. \u00c2\u00a0Two of three suspects arrested, no gun found.” \u00c2\u00a0So, the guy who actually has the gun is still at large.<\/p>\n
Both Alpha and Beta are signed up for the text alerts. \u00c2\u00a0Alpha got it; Beta did not. \u00c2\u00a0Unfortunately, Beta’s the one who needed to get it, since her dorm is in the immediate vicinity of Reese Hall. \u00c2\u00a0Fortunately, Alpha called her, and Beta stayed in her room instead of leaving to visit a friend, as she had planned to do.<\/p>\n
The only media source that has picked it up so far is WBIR, and the comments beneath the story<\/a> indicate that many students didn’t receive the message, or didn’t receive it until hours after the fact.<\/p>\n The text alerts are a cool system, but are only useful if they can reach all of the students in a timely manner. \u00c2\u00a0I hope that can be fixed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With two daughters at the University of Tennessee, I was pleased with the college’s implementation of an alert system using students’ cell phones. \u00c2\u00a0Most of the time, the alerts are of the “not unexpected” variety — muggings along the dark … Continue reading