University of Wyoming: Nearly 7,000 University of Wyoming students, faculty and staff received a text message on their cell phones Wednesday in a system-wide test of the university's new text notification system, UW Alert.

In the event of a real emergency, those signed up for the UW Alert system would have received specific instructions, not only by text, but by e-mail as well. Of the total 6,976 registered, 5,516 (79 percent) are students, the remaining 21 percent are faculty and staff members.

The text alert system is one of numerous safety initiatives now in place at UW, said Vice President for Student Affairs Sara Axelson, who led a campus-wide committee that developed the initiatives. She said text messaging is the fastest way to reach the student population, and this system provides a means to reach as many members of the campus community as possible.

Enrollment in the system has increased steadily since last fall, and Axelson encourages everyone who hasn't already done so to register for the system. Information on the system, including directions on how to sign up, can be found at: www.uwyo.edu/uwalert.

For more information, contact the Information Technology Helpdesk at (307) 766-4357 option 1 or e-mail userhelp@uwyo.edu.

Among the other campus safety initiatives are new intercom systems in two residence halls and other high-occupancy facilities and in new construction and remodeling projects; additional emergency call boxes on campus; a carillon emergency public address warning system housed in the Wyoming Union, and a referral Web site (www.uwyo.edu/campussafety) that allows people on and off campus to relay safety concerns to UW professionals.