Comments on: Alert! Warning System Overused

By: jaimiesuzi

jaimiesuzi — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 00:49:12 +0000

I was really annoyed about the Tornado hawk alerts. I had 4 voicemails and 5 calls from them. One would suffice. And the 2 emails after the tornado watch had past was just ridiculous.

They need to figure out a better system.

Iowa City did a good job though- they had sirens going for like 20 minutes and then a man on a megophone let me know what was going on!

By: AFRO

AFRO — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 16:23:13 +0000

I love that I got a phone call early in the morning telling me there was an “active shooter” in Iowa City. When I think of an active shooter I think of a disturbed, white, male with a semi-automatic assault rifle and a sawed-off shotgun who is avenging all the perceived wrongs by shooting innocent victims in a crowded area/building. So, I stayed home.

I also love the “damage control” call three hours later telling me that there really was no threat to the UI campus (after the “shooter” was already dead).

HawkAlert no longer has the “chilling” effect it should have if used properly. Instead, I’ll likely take my chances the next time I hear a phone call that says, “If you have any information, call nine-hundred eleven immediately.”

By: Morgan Engling

Morgan Engling — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:55:56 +0000

Remember that time when Hawkalert called me twice, and while I was listening to my second Hawkalert, my phone had an “incoming call” from Hawkalert? Oh yeah that was this morning. Then they sent me two emails AFTER the tornado warning expired. Good job guys.

By: lindsaymcafee

lindsaymcafee — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:02:01 +0000

I could not agree more. While it is nice to receive the tornado warning when most of us are holed up in a dark hole trying to cram corporation law into our brains, with little or no access to a view of the outside world, receiving 3 text messages, 3 phone calls, and 3 emails, it was probably unnecessary to warn us of possible flooding (we know that standing/rushing water where it usually isn’t is unsafe and cause for caution) and severe thunderstorms (I’ve never understood the need for this sort of warning anywhere; thunderstorms are severe by their very nature, no? But I’m sure there is a plausible explanation). Or, if all three warnings were deemed necessary, perhaps the University could have economized the process a little and sent out one, all-inclusive message. I can’t imagine that it’s very cost-effective to activate the process 3 separate times.

I will add, that you know it is finals time when a law student hears the tornado siren (whilst sitting on the top floor of one of the taller buildings in Iowa City) and, instead of evacuating, angrily slams her noise-canceling headphones and continues reading.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:57:51 +0000

I completely agree that they are being misused. The morning of the shooter message was extremely disorienting. With the implications that come with a campus shooter how can you give students a “warning message” about a possible gunman on campus and not cancel classes or tell students to stay put until they hear of something else? A more competent person needs to be put in charge of this system.