Creighton University launched a new system to notify students if there is an emergency on campus.
The Bluejay Safety Alert system is an enhancement to their current system.
It immediately sends students text messages about what's happening on campus no matter the time of the day.
"We just want to make sure they know and to keep themselves safe, and we are definitely committed to better their safety," said Student Life Vice Provost Tanya Winegard.
Many young adults are always on their phones, so staff at Creighton University is using that notion to make adjustments to their safety notification system.
"A very brief sound bite to let them know what happened on campus and we truly want them to pay attention," Winegard said.
In the past Winegard says emergency alerts would typically end up in student's emails and possibly go unread.
"This is supposed to be real time instant communication, if there is any kind of incident on or around campus that we can communicate to them at noon or midnight, or anytime of the day in between," Winegard said.
Students say with alerts coming straight to their phones they feel a lot safer in the case of an active shooter on campus.
""I think it will be very helpful because you would know exactly where the shooter would be, you would know how to react to the situation, like if you need to stay inside," said student Lizzie Urina.
Winegard says it's a 24 hour system that gets the message out quicker and more effectively.
It also directs students where to go for more information.
"It really targets student activities on campus in the middle of the night or when normal business isn't occurring,” Winegard said.
The text messages are not just for emergencies.
They are also used to notify students on incidents like pipe bursts or other important information happening on campus.
