Students continuing to sign up for emergency alerts
Contact: Elise Doster Stolzle
4/1/09
HAMMOND – More than 6,400 students, faculty and staff are currently registered for Southeastern Louisiana University’s emergency alert system FirstCall, and university officials are urging those who have not yet signed up to do so.
While all members of the campus community receive emergency information through their university email accounts, FirstCall enables students, faculty and staff to receive important notices via their cell phones via text message and voicemail -- even when they are without electricity.
Since it was first instituted in February 2008, Southeastern has used FirstCall to notify students of situations such as university closures for last year’s Hurricane Gustav and the record snowfall in December.
“During the snowstorm, the alert came right to my phone while I was driving to campus,” said junior Megan O’Neal from Baton Rouge. “It let me know campus was closed and I was able to turn around and go home. I got the information instantly on my phone, which was great because we were without power at our house.”
The program was driven by the University of Louisiana System (ULS), which implemented the emergency message system by partnering with Baton Rouge-based company FirstCall as a way to ensure the safety of all eight universities under the ULS umbrella.
“The emergency alert system has proven its value over the past year in helping to spread important information,” said Southeastern President John L. Crain. “We only use FirstCall for true emergencies, not for general notices, so we encourage all of our students – as well as our faculty and staff – to enroll in the system.”
Registering for the alert system is a simple, one-minute process that allows users to choose a variety of contacting options.
“If something important happens, I want to know about it,” said Kayla Farmer, a freshman from Hammond. “During Gustav, I got all the information I needed through my cell phone and email.”
To register for Southeastern’s emergency alert system, visit the link found at the university’s web site, www.alertregistration.com/southeastern or follow the link under the “Quick Links” dropdown menu found at the bottom of each web page.
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