(Note: Here is a link to an e-mail Chancellor James Moeser sent to the UNC community March 7 with an update about plans for Alert Carolina. The test of the sirens and text message system will not occur on March 19. Moeser's message said the test will be rescheduled for later this month.)
For immediate use: March 4, 2008
CHAPEL HILL - The University will launch Alert Carolina, a safety awareness campaign, March 19 with a test of new sirens that warn of a life-threatening situation.
The test will mark the first time that students and most faculty and staff will have heard the sirens. It will also kick off Alert Carolina, an awareness campaign to educate the campus about what to do in an emergency and where to find safety-related resources. A key goal is to urge students, faculty and staff with cell phones that have text-message capability to sign up for emergency alerts.
"We will inform the campus as quickly as possible when an emergency happens or we learn of a threat," said Jeff McCracken, UNC police chief and director of public safety. "Alert Carolina will better prepare everyone to know what to do, who to contact for help and where to find information and resources."The sirens and text messaging are new capabilities the University has added recently to share information quickly. The sirens are designed primarily to be heard by people outside on campus, not in buildings or cars. For those who use text messaging, that is another way to reach people inside. In addition, the University will use alertcarolina.unc.edu, a new Web site, as the go-to place for information before, during and after an emergency.
Those are among the messages the University is sending in materials now appearing on campus and in the community as part of Alert Carolina. This week, posters started going up in key buildings and residence halls, along with placards in Chapel Hill Transit buses. (A downloadable version of the poster is on the Alert Carolina Web site.) The Daily Tar Heel will publish full-page ads on Wednesday (March 5) and March 18 highlighting the cell phone number push and noting the siren test. Alert Carolina messages will also appear in computer labs, computer screens in the Frank Porter Graham Student Union and on campus cable television network.
Every student, faculty member and staff member will receive by mail a full-color brochure with a smaller version of the poster and a reusable sticker to put on a computer, desk or other flat space. Parents of undergraduates will receive a tailored version of the brochure. About 12,000 undergraduate parents on an e-mail listserv maintained by the Carolina Parent Program will receive a message from Chancellor James Moeser asking them to encourage students to register their cell phone number for emergency text messages.
"For text messaging to be effective, we need students, faculty and staff who are interested to sign up by registering their cell phone numbers," McCracken said. "It's easy to do, and we hope people who use this form of communication will respond to our appeal. It could make a difference in an actual emergency."
At the end of February, about 3,700 of the registered cell phone numbers in the campus directory belonged to students, according to Information Technology Services officials. Another approximately 2,600 numbers were registered to UNC faculty and staff. The University has more than 28,000 students and 11,500 full- and part-time faculty and staff.
To register for the alerts, go to alertcarolina.unc.edu and click on "Register Your Cell Phone." Unless the cell phone is provided and paid for by the University, the number will be treated as confidential information. Providing the number does not mean it will become public - unless the owner marks the entry public and has it displayed in the online campus directory. The University will only send text messages to test the system and in an emergency - not for advertising or other spam.
The sirens will sound during an immediate life-threatening situation such as an armed and dangerous person in the area, a major chemical spill or hazard, or a tornado. The siren warning will be accompanied by brief recorded public address announcements with instructions such as "go inside" or "take cover now," in the event of an approaching tornado. When the threat has passed, a second siren activation and announcement will signal "All clear. Resume normal activities."
During the test on March 19, which will occur between noon and 1 p.m., people outside on or near campus may hear the sirens, located at Hinton James Residence Hall off Manning Drive; the Gary R. Tomkins Chilled Water Operations Center behind the Dogwood Parking Deck; Winston Residence Hall at the corner of Raleigh Street and South Road; and off Airport Drive near UNC buildings and support facilities north of main campus off Martin Luther King Boulevard. (A fifth siren location on north campus is being explored.) During the test, no action is required. The exercise is designed to ensure the sirens work properly. The system was first tested in December after Commencement. Details are available at http://universityrelations.unc.edu/alert/sirenfacts.php.
The University will post additional safety-related announcements at alertcarolina.unc.edu, along with any other updates and resources. The Web site will help provide new details as quickly as possible.
The University will continue to use a combination of other means to communicate about safety issues including campus e-mail and telephone voice mail, the Adverse Weather and Emergency Phone Line, 843-1234, for recorded information, the University Access Channel (Chapel Hill Time Warner Cable Channel 4), and campus or local media.
The Alert Carolina campaign was developed by the University's Emergency Warning Committee, which works with UNC police and other emergency responders to inform the campus about threats to personal safety or other events that might have a significant impact on the safety and welfare of students, faculty and staff. The committee also helps coordinate communication about personal safety issues on campus.
McCracken said UNC officials plan to test every method of communication available.
"We can better pinpoint delivery of messages by testing the sirens and text messaging at the same time," he said. "For text messaging to work, we need more cell phone numbers in the campus directory. These efforts are intended to reach everyone. It's the best approach we have using the emerging technology currently available."
Contact: Mike McFarland, (919) 962-8593, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu
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