An Orange Alert regarding a drive-by shooting on Madison Street was sent to Syracuse University students around 11:45 a.m. on Nov. 24.

In an e-mail from the Academic Affairs director of Student Association, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry students received e-mails notifying them of the incident almost an hour later at 12:41 p.m., after the lockdown was lifted.

The Orange Alert system is activated when a verified crisis situation poses a threat to members of the SU community, according to an e-mail sent to students earlier this week. Orange Alert’s activation on Nov. 24 was the first real alert sent to students since the program’s initiation 13 months ago.

Students from SU and ESF update their contact information on MySlice at the beginning of the semester for the Department of Public Safety to contact them in case of threatening events on campus.

But some students said they didn’t receive text messages during the alert, and many were unable to reach their e-mails at the time.

Jennifer Ma, a sophomore wildlife science major, said her cell phone number is registered with MySlice, but she didn’t receive a text message.

‘My mom actually called me to make sure I was aware of this and told me to be careful,’ she said. ‘But I don’t how she got the e-mail. My friend said she received three e-mails almost all at once. Something’s definitely wrong with the system.’

Ma didn’t check her e-mail until she reached her residence after 7 p.m.

Victoria Reinhart, a sophomore environmental science major, was able to access her e-mail account while working at the F. Franklin Moon Library.

‘I was lucky because I had access to a computer,’ Reinhart said. ‘A lot of students were notified via text messaging or not at all. So by the time everyone found out, it was already over.’

Reinhart said she was a little relieved after finding out the location of the incident in relation to campus. But she said she’s still angry at what could have happened.

‘Say something did happen and the person came this way towards campus and none of the kids knew what was going on,’ she said. ‘The person could’ve shot any one of the kids on campus. It’s definitely not fair that we were told last.’

Reinhart also blames ESF for not having its own listserv, which could help students receive notifications faster.

Alex Kuttesch, a sophomore environmental studies major, said he was shocked to hear that ESF students received notifications almost an hour later. Kuttesch, like Ma, didn’t receive a text message even though his phone number is registered on MySlice.

‘Aren’t we all on the same email list?’ he asked. ‘I’m a little discouraged actually. We’re part of the same community. We should have the right to know at the same time.’

Jwong04@syr.edu

Published on December 3, 2008 at 12:00 pm