Wailing sirens, text messages, e-mails, desktop widgets, phone calls and LED message boards will bombard students in an Oct. 1 test of the VT Alerts system.
The Virginia Tech Police Department, Physical Plant, Office of Emergency Management and Information Technology decided to conduct the test between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., said Mark Owczarski, director of news and information.
The first test of the semester will seek to confirm that all alert systems, including the new PC and Mac desktop alert widget, are functioning properly.
"Every year, 25 percent of our students are new," Owczarski said. "There are freshmen here who have never gotten any kind of message and need to know what it looks like."
It also serves to train students how to find valuable information in times of emergency.
"The idea is for you to be aware and stay tuned for the in-depth info that you're looking for, which will be on the university homepage," Owczarski said.
Students will be notified according to the method they selected.
Tech's sirens are located on Dietrick Dining Center, Robeson Hall, Virginia Tech Power Plant, Plantation Road near the recreation fields off Southgate Drive and Tech Center Drive near the Brooks Forest Products Center. They can be heard throughout campus and in areas that are a part of the town of Blacksburg adjacent to campus.
The newest notification approach is the VT Desktop Alerts. This method sends a notification to registered computers or laptops, regardless of location as long as the user is connected to the Internet.
When an urgent message arrives in the system, the desktop alert will go off by displaying a window as well as audio to go along with it, informing the user of details of the notice.
It is not required that users be on campus to download the application or obtain any alerts through this system.
"By downloading the application, you can run a test to see what it looks like, and you can see what it would be like during a real event," Owczarski said.
Both the text message alert systems and e-mails require a confirmation from the user since this will be the only way the university is aware that a student has received the alert during the test.
According to Owczarski, the VT Alerts have been successful so far. The goal is to get a hold of as many students, faculty and staff as quickly as possible in the event of an emergency.
"Our goal isn't to surprise," Owczarski said. "Our goal is to educate."
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