6
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2007
1931
NEWS | THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MOD. MA2MA90
WWW.KANSAN.COM
>> CAMPUS SAFETY
Alert system still under development
University continues work to utilize emergency text messages for students
By Maggie VanBuskirk mvanbuskirk@kansan.com
Last week's hunt for an alleged campus gunman had University of Kansas students checking their text messages. In May, Provost Richard Lariviere requested that students, along with University faculty and staff, submit telephone numbers and service providers for an emergency text messaging system.
On Friday, students received e-mails about the threat, but not text messages.
Maggie VanBuskirk
"It would have been nice to know what was going on before I got here and walked around campus," Megan Sanders, Lenexa junior, said.
Campus police search yields no results
buildings and an outside perimeter from Jawhawk Boulevard to Sunnyside Avenue for the alleged gunman. Buildings were not evacuated and campus was not placed on lockdown. An e-mail was sent to University students, faculty and staff notifying them of the situation. Police completed their search and said there was no evidence of a threat.
On the morning of June 1, a University of Kansas employee reported seeing a man carrying what he thought was a rifle on campus. University of Kansas Public Safety officers, Lawrence Police Department and the Douglas County Sheriff's Department responded to the call. Officers searched
Sanders signed up for the text messaging service in May and was surprised to find police and news crews on campus Friday. She checked her e-mail at Anschutz
LIBERTY MOVIELINE
HALL 749-1912
CONTACT
CINEMA 749-1927
www.libertyhall.net
NOW SHOWING
Away From Her (PG-13)
OPENS Fri June 8:
4:30 7:00 9:30
Sat June 9 - Sun June 10:
2:00 4:30 7:00 9:30
Mon June 11 - Thu June 14:
4:30 7:00 9:30
"The University wants that kind of data for reasons like today," Turvey said on Friday. "Today is a good example of the need for communicating rapidly with people in our community."
Black Book (R)
Wed June 6 - Thu June 7:
5:00 8:00
Fri June 8:
4:10 ONLY
Sat June 9 - Sun June 10:
1:30 4:10
Mon June 11 - Thu June 14:
4:10 ONLY
According to Mike Reid, director of marketing for Kansas Memorial Unions, text messaging is the quickest way to contact students because of the number of cell phones on campus today. Reid estimates that 90 percent of the student population carry cell phones, making it a faster tool than computer e-mail for releasing emergency information.
Wed June 6 - Thu June 7:
7:00 9:30
Fri June 8-Wed June 13:
7:05 9:35
Thu June 14:
7:05 ONLY
Hot Fuzz (R)
Year of the Dog (PG-13)
Wed June 6 - Thu June 7:
4:40 ONLY
MATINEE MONDAY
ALL TICKETS $5.50
TUESDAY
IS 2-FOR-1 ADMISSION
WED/THURSAY
STUDENTS $5.50
the fall. Eventually, students may be able to choose to receive text messages about campus events, news,
Library and received a message detailing the morning's events. Sanders then checked her text messages, which were empty. Lynn Bretz, director of communications for the University, addressed the lack of text messages.
@KANSAN.COM
Coverage of Friday's security scare
Friday's first emergency e-mail had a 40-minute delay because of a coincidental maintenance test being performed on the University's computer system at the same time the events were unfolding. Bretz said.
"We are in the process of developing the system," Bretz said. "We have to have everyone's cell phone number and carriers for it to work, and that information is still being collected."
"The University considers an
Marlesa Roney, vice provost of student success, said text messages will be sent in emergency cases. E-mails and the telephone voice mail system will also be used.
event an emergency if there is a risk to any member of the University community" Roney said.
Lariviere's e-mail was sent on the last day of spring classes. Despite the late request for emergency contact information, more than 5,000
students have submitted the information. Bretz said it was a good start but the University still needs student cooperation.
Robert Turvey, director of student information systems, said the University will promote the need for students to update and add emergency contact information more prominently on Enroll & Pay.
The emergency text messaging system is scheduled to begin in
sports and educational departments. Building closings and changes in bus schedules may also be sent.
Edited by Joe Caponio
》 ROTC
Enlistment remains steady
By Joe Caponio jcaponio@kansan.com
University officials said that the number of students enrolling in the Army ROTC program has not changed since President Bush's implementation of a major troop deployment to Iraq.
Maj. Gary Farley, assistant professor of military science and operations officer in the Army ROTC program, said that other than a spike shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the number of students who joined and completed the program has remained fairly steady since then.
15 students graduated from the Army ROTC program in both 2006 and 2007, and program officials expect that number to increase to 18 in 2008.
"We haven't seen much change at all," Maj. Farley said.
In his January State of the Union address, President Bush announced his intention to send an additional 21,000 troops to Iraq. According to the Congressional Budget Office, that number could eventually grow to 48,000, raising the total number of U.S. troops in Iraq to more than 180,000.
Maj. Farley said that part of the reason students aren't being discouraged by the push to send more troops to Iraq is that the students are still months away from facing the possibility of deployment.
"I don't think that what's going on over there has a great impact on a student who is set on joining," Maj. Farley said.
The completion of the ROTC program is just the first of three phases that each cadet must complete. While in the ROTC program, the cadets are taught military values, problem solving skills and ethics through various activities.
Following graduation from the University, the cadet is sent to a four-week training session at either Fort Sill, Okla., or Fort Benning, Ga. where they learn basic tactical leadership skills.
The third and final phase for cadets is officer basic training. This is a three-to-six month program where the soldiers learn the specialized skills needed for their specific branches and jobs.
Matt Fortier, Overland Park senior, said that becoming an officer in the U.S. Army is something he has wanted to do since childhood.
>>See ROTC on page 10