Alert Carolina is working towards a balance between detail and timeliness in its alerts, and that should be commended.
In the past, the system has come under fire for failing to report dangerous activity close to campus quickly enough, and for sending out messages about reports that were ultimately of no threat.
This year has been much smoother for the alert system, as a whole.
The Department of Public Safety should be applauded for sending out timely, informative messages that keep the community alert of issues without causing a significant uproar.
As for concerns about timeliness, efforts have been made there, too.
Due to a previous meeting between public safety leaders and former Speaker of Student Congress Paige Comparato, a placeholder message will now be used to alert students of an emergency that is being actively investigated, rather than waiting to get all the details before sending a message.
Though they will sacrifice detail, these messages gain value in timeliness.
The increased use of pictures has also been helpful. It’s one thing to know simply that there may be a man on campus who is potentially dangerous. For students to actually be able to properly identify that person only improves campus safety.
The addition of a fourth adverse weather category will also serve to accurately and quickly inform students of dangerous situations.
That is what Alert Carolina was made for, and it is comforting to know it is living up to its purpose.
Though leaders acknowledge there will probably never be a system that all parties are completely satisfied with, students can find some solace in knowing that Alert Carolina has been working to improve safety and most importantly, peace of mind.
