The University is implementing a text messaging system through the Emergency Peer System, which UNC System schools purchased six months ago.

Students, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to sign up through MyPack Portal to receive text messages from the University in the case of emergencies.

But the system is not without flaws, according to Director of Environmental Health and Public Safety David Rainer.

He said the University decided to implement the system after a Chancellor’s Liason meeting where students expressed interest in the idea.

“We decided to implement it primarily because the students recommended it, and they’re used to text messaging,” Rainer said.

But Rainer said the system has technical limitations.

“Text messaging gets no priority over voice on the cell networks,” he said.

According to Rainer, the emergency text messaging is carried out by third-party providers and not the actual cell phone carriers.

“In an emergency, text messaging may not be as fast as students are used to seeing text messages,” he said.

According to Will Quick, previous student body president and graduate student in business administration, he proposed this idea last year and suggested the University use a free text messaging system.

The only drawback is the service would send students two messages per week that were coupon sponsors, but Quick said students could choose which coupons they wanted to receive.

Quick said the service would be a great advantage to student groups as well.

“You could use it for emergency text messaging, but you could also go in and have groups sign up to use it as well,” Quick said.

Even professors could have their students sign up and send them text messages when classes got cancelled for example, Quick said.

“I thought it would make a good service for groups.”

But Quick said the University wasn’t interested in any of the groups students proposed.

“The University just decided they would rather allow emergency text messaging … [by buying] one and not having to worry about outsourcing,” he said.

Despite these technicalities, Krystie Nguyen, a junior in history and education, said the system seems effective.

“It’s a great idea, especially because of what happened at Virginia Tech,” she said. “The more forms of communications between the school and students, the better it is for security and safety.”

Nguyen said this kind of system is beneficial to students.

“I would readily sign up for receiving these messages and encourage all my friends at State to do so as well,” she said.

According to Rainer, the University’s plan is to test the system after Thanksgiving break.

“The thing that everyone needs to remember is it’s different when you test it on a quiet Tuesday morning when nothing is happening,” he said.

Rainer sent out an e-mail to students explaining how they can input their cell phone numbers to be able to use the service.

Universities across the nation are trying to implement text messaging systems, Rainer said. Some, he said, have gone well, while others have not.

According to Rainer, other universities said 15 to 60 percent of their students have registered to receive these text messages.

“We’d like people to register,” he said. “We hope they sign up.”

The messages, Rainer said, can only be about 140 characters, so they may state that the University has an emergency and people should check the Web site for further information.

Other methods, including broadcasts and the radio, will also be used in case of emergencies, he said.

According to Quick, if students had more of an incentive, more students might sign up, but he still thinks the idea is a good one.

“It’s definitely a very efficient method,” he said. “So many people have cell phones now.”