IU Notify not meant to frighten

IU Notify’s emergency messages have the potential to leave IU students feeling either terrified and worried or informed and prepared.

IU Police Chief Keith Cash said the primary purpose of this aspect of the system is to promote community protection in a way that students will notice.

“We’re just trying to keep up with the best way to get information to people,” Cash said.

These messages can be sent out in the form of a text for immediate notification or through email, depending on the severity, he said.

Cash encouraged students to register their cell phones with the IU Notify system through OneStart. Email notifications are universally sent out, but a phone number must be on file for text notifications to be received.

“Basically the idea is to use as many tools as we possibly can to be able to notify everyone as quickly and as efficiently as we possibly can,” said Debbi Fletcher, director of IU Emergency Management and Continuity.

Two messages have been sent to the IU community through both text and email this school year. One reported a strong-armed robbery, and the other detailed an unidentified man chasing two women late at night.

On Aug. 28, students awoke to IU Notify emails and text messages sent just before 3 a.m. warning students about two females being chased by an unidentified man on Atwater Avenue. This response was much quicker than some IU Notify messages last semester.

Students received messages about canceled classes during an ice storm half an hour after classes had already been canceled. During two tornado warnings, IU Notify messages were sent after sirens had already alerted students.

“We really felt it appropriate that people be alerted to what has just happened,” Cash said of the Atwater Avenue incident. “It was something we felt they needed to know right (away).”

He said text messages are sent out if the suspect of a given situation has not been found. Texts will be sent only if it is a situation students should know about right away.

“If we send too many, our fear is that people will start ignoring them,” Cash said. “We really reserve it for those emergencies where people will have the preparation they need to immediately protect themselves.”

Fletcher said the goal of these messages is not to make students feel unsafe, but rather to permit them to take action.

“What we’re doing is raising awareness,” she said. “We’re trying to make sure that you know that something is occurring that you need to do something about.”

— Kourtney Liepelt