Spartan Daily

SJSU alert system now mandatory for all students; opt out available

Leo Postovoit, Spartan Daily

The alert system changed from opt-in, which required people to sign up for alerts, to opt-out, which sends alerts to everyone and, those who wish, can choose not to receive.

“The university decided to do that (change the system) because we were getting so many complaints of people not receiving the alerts,” said Laws. “Because clearly we weren’t communicating enough to the community that they needed to go into their MySJSU, sign up for it … people had some expectation that they were going to get some notification and yet they didn’t understand the process of opting into the system.”

Junior undecided major Khanh Nguyen said she thinks it is important because it lets students know when something potentially harmful happens on or near campus.

"I didn't know about the change but it sounds awesome," she said. "They already have the information so they should be able to let everyone know."

Senior nutrition major Kylie Miraldi said she hopes the alerts come in a timely manner.

"It'd be good if it (the alerts) actually come on time," she said. "Sometimes it comes several hours after the event has occurred."

The updated alert system would alert students by email, telephone and text message, according to MySJSU’s alert webpage.

“The alert system is three components,” Sgt. Frank Belcastro of the University Police Department said. “It involves text, voice and e-mail so it really is dependent on the situation. Most times all three components will be used.”

Junior English major Shannon Heagerty said she thinks the new alert system will be a good thing for SJSU.

“I do think it’s good mostly because I never signed up for the alert system because I never knew about it,” she said. “I would always see the message a day lateror see it on Facebook.”

The new opt-out system allows more students to participate and receive alerts that are important to their safety, Belcastro said.

“Right now there are about 50 percent of the students registered in it (alert system),” he said. “So traditionally with opt-out systems the rate of participation is up in the 80 percent rate … On a campus like us with 30,000 students with 30 percent more we are going to reach a lot more students.”

Junior psychology major Jesse Koshlaychuk said the alerts don't make her feel safer, but she is glad SJSU has them.

"I don't think it should be something you sign up for," she said. "I think it should be automatic."

Students will be contacted by the information they provided on their MySJSU contact information, according to MySJSU’s alert webpage.

There will not be an extra SJSU associated fee for students participating in the alert systems besides their standard text messaging rates from their cell phone provider, according to the webpage.

Students interested in opting-out or changing their contact information can do so by logging on to their MySJSU account, according to the webpage.