Michigan State set to test alert system in months following mass shooting
Correction: This story has been updated to state that several individuals have filed notices of intent to sue Michigan State University
EAST LANSING — Michigan State University will perform a test Friday of its campus alert system, for which it was criticized in the wake of a February mass shooting that killed three students.
The test of the updated system, which takes place at 10 a.m. Friday morning, will include text and email alerts, phone calls, SafeMSU app notifications, and outdoor weather siren blasts.
Ingham County will also test its wireless emergency alert system, which use a user's location to send alerts without a prior signup or app download. The alerts will be sent within a boundary from Saginaw Street to Mt. Hope Road and from U.S. 127 to Hagadorn Road.
Marlon Lynch, vice president and chief safety officer of MSU, encouraged MSU community members to download the SafeMSU app and turn on its notifications.
"We are committed to enabling a safe and welcoming MSU for all," he said in a statement.
The expanded alert system is one part of the campus's security plan that was updated following February's shooting. The university has begun installing more than 1,600 classroom door locks and has detailed plans for expanded surveillance.
In addition, in April, interim MSU President Theresa Woodruff and Lynch said MSU was evaluating its processes for "enhancing alert messaging."
"Already, the department has updated its SafeMSU app to include push notifications in the event of an emergency," they said in an April letter. "The department also recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Ingham County Emergency Management to utilize its Wireless Emergency Alerts system to push emergency notifications to all cellphones located in and around the East Lansing campus, regardless of university affiliation."
The agreement, they said, will allow MSU DPPS to call on Ingham County Emergency Management to distribute safety messages to smartphone users who have public safety, emergency and AMBER alert capabilities on their smartphone.
In addition, exterior speakers on campus will be used with an identifiable audible tone or voice commands. Interior video monitors and various forms of interior audio devices will also be phased into the alert system.
The university's previous security measures have been the source of concern among students and the target of legal action from families of those killed or injured.
Several people have filed notice of intent to sue against the university citing a lack of proper security measures — including a lack of classroom door locks, inadequate campus surveillance and delayed alerts — as contributing to the students' deaths and injuries.
Contact Sheldon Krause at skrause@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @sheldonjkrause.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU to test alert system Friday morning five months after mass shooting
