With recent weather and crime events in Florence, many UNA students question the efficiency of the university’s current emergency information message system, Lion Alert.

“We are mandated by law to send out the LionAlerts,” said Bob Pastula, UNA police chief. “You can unsubscribe from the LionAlerts if they are a nuisance, but they are done for (the) students’ safety.”

Pastula said that anything that may put UNA’s campus or the community in danger would cause a Lion Alert.

“It goes through a company called SchoolCast, which we’re contracted with,” he said. “They are able to send out mass email and text messages.”

Pastula said texts used in Lion Alerts only allow 140 characters. If a message is long or more information is released, multiple messages have to be sent out at one time.

“I think one Lion Alert is plenty, but they send us six or seven,” said Cat Price, a sophomore.

Some students said they find the messages to be numerous, uninformative or poorly timed. The most recent Lion Alert was a four-part message about an off-campus robbery at approximately 4 a.m. Jan. 26.

“They send them to you at strange and not always good hours,” said Alec Lewis, a senior.

UNA junior Kristen Billingsley said the alerts are helpful when they are relevant.

“I like it when I get (alerts) that pertain to me,” she said. “(I like getting alerts about) school closings for storms or bomb threats or even crime directly on campus; however, I do not like getting ‘junk mail’ about crime (that is) just in the Shoals area.”

Pastula said faculty have given the system mixed reviews because they, like students, don’t always want to get messages while they are at home.

“The students seem to appreciate it, because they’re out at that time of the night,” Pastula said.

UNA senior Tori DePung said she is grateful for LionAlerts because they serve their purpose.

“Last year, when there was a bomb threat, it kept all of us aware and helped clear the campus,” DePung said. “It keeps students alert to what’s happening in the community so we can be aware of what’s going on, and it’s a good way to keep us out of a bubble. You can turn your phone on silent, so they don’t have to annoy you.”

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