Students at Florida A&M are not taking advantage of the E2 Campus emergency alert system.
The system has been at FAMU since 2005, two years before the Virginia Tech massacre. Although the service is licensed for 10,000 users, fewer than 3,000 of the 13,000 enrolled students are active users are registered for the system.
The E2 Campus system is a self-service, web-based mass notification system to communicate urgent messages to students, faculty, staff and parents. It is designed for FAMU law enforcement to send messages in a timely manner, making people aware of situations occurring on or near campus.
“More of the employees are signed up than students,” said Lt. Angela Kirkland, the investigations commander for the
FAMU police department. “Students don’t know the value of the system.”
Sgt. Sherri Luke of FAMU’s Crime Prevention Unit said FAMU was the first school in Florida to have the system.
“A lot of students don’t sign up,” Luke said. “We give them the tools, but it’s their choice to use it.”
The program can be accessed from FAMU’s homepage or www.E2campus.net.
Students are informed about the service during orientation, move-in day and throughout the semester.
“I heard about E2 Campus from one of my colleagues, but I don’t know how to access it,” said Phillip Washington, a senior pre- physical therapy student.
FAMU law enforcement’s objective is to inform users about incidents within five minutes of their occurrence. Dispatchers and police send alerts and then confirm the incident by investigating the scene. The system also alerts users on the weather and other catastrophes that may hit campus.
“The overall system has good intentions; however, from my experience, I have received emergency notifications one or two days following the actual incident,” said Chartzi Spell, 22, a senior finance student.
The goal of the Crime Prevention Unit is to target students when they register for classes to increase the number of students enrolled in the system. A program called “Text it, Tell it,” by the Student Government Association, is also on the table.
“The E2Campus system works and it saves lives,” said Kirkland.