“Illini-Alert: Lincoln Avenue is now open. You can resume normal traffic usage.”

This Illini-Alert was sent out at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 9, following the car accident on Lincoln Avenue that killed University student Mimi Liu. The first Illini-Alert notifying readers to avoid the area was sent out around 9:12 a.m. 

Illini-Alerts is a campus-wide emergency notification system that makes subscribers aware of all hazardous situations on or near campus, ranging from life-threatening dangers to traffic jams on commonly used roads. Signing up for Illini-Alerts’ multiple notification outlets can be the first step to becoming aware of campus surroundings and staying safe during emergencies, according to University Police Lt. Todd Short.

With recent emergencies such as the Nevada school shooting on Monday and University campus accidents occurring, Short said that “what has been happening over the last decade and even yesterday (Oct. 21) further demonstrates the importance of signing up for our emergency alert system. Anything can happen anytime and we must be prepared to take action if a similar incident were to impact our campus.”

Short, who is in charge of the Emergency Planning Department at the University, stated that approximately 28,000 people are currently using the Illini-Alerts service, including those unaffiliated with the University.

Current students, faculty and staff are automatically enlisted to receive Illini Alerts via email; however, anyone can sign up to also receive them through text messages, Facebook posts or Twitter. All University websites also display notifications triggered by the Emergency Web Alert System during activated times. Short strongly recommended that students sign up for Illini-Alerts’ text message notifications to stay safe around campus.

Tim Prinz, freshman in engineering, said he recently signed up for the service.

“They’re important to get because they’re relevant to the safety of everyone on campus,” Prinz said. “An incident on campus may not directly affect me, but it’s important to know what kind of incidents occur, how often and where.”

When asked how safe he felt on campus, Prinz said he felt sufficiently safe.

“I haven’t been to an area on campus where I feel unsafe,” he said. “Maybe I don’t feel as safe as I felt back in my hometown, but that’s because I came from a city where almost everyone knew each other, so it’s just different being in an area with many people you don’t know. Once you wander off campus though, there are areas that have made me feel slightly uncomfortable.”

Katie Bruntjen, junior in applied health sciences, said she only feels moderately safe on campus.

“I generally stay away from non-lit areas with few people around,” Bruntjen said. “I carry mace with me at night sometimes. I have never had to use it, and I doubt I will ever have to, but it makes me feel safer when I do have it.”

Although college students often carry some sort of protection, Short said it can be counterproductive in some cases.

“Mace can help in an emergency, but the thing is, if you even get a whiff of it yourself, you’ll get affected by it too,” he said. “It can take you right out of the fight.”

Short said rape whistles are also a popular defense choice that students tend to carry around, and that they can be effective in emergency situations.

Unfortunately, crime has been a reoccurring theme on campus, but students know how to avoid emergencies, Bruntjen said.

“Avoid walking alone at night,” she said. “When walking, pay attention to the things going on around you.”

Short also stressed the importance of walking with a buddy at night, and also to “take your ear buds out, lay off of electronic devices and keep eyes and ears (open). If the hair on the back of your neck is standing up, call 911, not your friends.”

Short said students should not hesitate to call 911 in an emergency. 

“We would rather check on it, than have something serious and not,” he said.

Christine can be reached at [email protected].