Waching daily May 26 2017

[TORNADO SIREN]

>> STUDENT: What's that sound?

>> JAMES BOTTONI: The WolfPack Alerts are the district's or the college's way to convert

or send out messages to our campus community as it relates to emergencies that happen to,

on, and around campus.

And I'll give you an example: if the college would happen to close for a weather-related

emergency or a building-related emergency, we would send out -- would come from this

department -- a WolfPack Alert to all those subscribers indicating that the college is

closed, and in most cases the reason will be given.

The alert will go out -- if you're enrolled -- on your smartphone.

We have a text-only version as well which will send you a text.

It will go to everyone that has a .edu.

It will be sent to their email.

It also is displayed on our webpage.

It is displayed on the college's webpage.

It is sent out in our Twitter feed.

It is sent out on our Facebook page to include the college's Facebook page.

And we also have it sent to all the public address monitors.

So it's one single message; hits about one hundred thousand accounts.

We use an opt-in model which basically means that you have to physically go in there and

tell your phone or tell your smartphone that you want to receive the information.

Some colleges, universities use the opt-out model, which means as soon as you register

for classes, you are automatically opted-in their emergency notification system.

We chose not to do that for a number of reasons.

The majority of campuses do it the way we do it, but most of the larger universities,

four-year-type universities will do an opt-out model, which basically means, you need

to go in and say, "I don't want the information."

We have an opt-in, which means you have to go in and say, "I do want the information."

You have to actually go into the webpage -- our webpage -- and click on the WolfPack Alerts.

And from there it will give you very easy instructions to either sign up with your smartphone,

which is an app, or if you don't have a smartphone, and you just want to receive the text version,

there is a text-only requirement set of procedures that you can follow.

It's very quick; it's very easy.

It takes less than two minutes to do.

Emails are automatic.

Any .edu extension is owned by the college, and that information is pushed to anything

that says .edu.

That can't be stopped.