UA to educate students on emergency perparedness

Elise Cranston thinks she knows what to do if an emergency happens, but she said she is not sure.

"I know there are blue boxes and a number we are supposed to call, but I am not sure what it is," said Cranston, a freshman majoring in history. "I would be in trouble if something were to happen."

September is National Emergency Preparedness Month, and University officials hope students will have more notice of emergencies this year.

UA spokeswoman Debbie Lane said there are many ways students can be alerted of emergencies, including the new Tide Text Alerts program.

The alerts are fast and easy to send, Lane said, but these messages are sent only in extreme situations in order to grasp the attention of students.

"Because we don't take sending messages to students lightly, we hope that students won't take it lightly either," Lane said.

Tide Text Alerts are only sent when weather will cancel class, or during an extreme situation, such as a shooting.

However, Olivia Reed, a junior majoring in international business, said she still questions some of the strategies for protecting students.

"Our dorm [Blount] feels safe, yet there is no one at the front desk at night, and there are very few cameras," Reed said.

Lizzie Robbins, a freshman whose major is undecided, said she would like it if the University had a speaker system across the campus.

"This way, students could easily be alerted of emergencies whether or not they were aware of other programs," Robbins said.

Ben Homan, sophomore majoring in philosophy and English, said he thinks students off campus should have as much protection as those who live on campus.

"Because of the growing number of students, there are more students living off campus," Homan said. "UAPD should protect all student housing, even when it is off campus, such as University Downs."

As part of the preparedness month, Gov. Bob Riley announced a project called "Be Ready Alabama" to teach citizens of every age group to handle risky situations.

"There are simple things we can do, that every family can do," Riley said in a press release. "If you have an emergency kit, if you have an evacuation plan out of your house, if you understand where the routes are if you have to evacuate your community, that's all critically important."