Anxiety swept across campus Tuesday as MSU released emergency notifications and alerts reporting an “East Lansing active violent incident”.
The alert was sent at 10:52 AM, consisting of text messages, automated calls, and emails — to all students, staff, and parents. Activating sirens across campus, the messages urged everyone to avoid the area and to “run/avoid, hide/barricade or fight/confront” to ensure safety.
Two minutes later, another message was sent claiming the first announcement was “sent in error”, and to “please disregard”. The announcements immediately raised questions and created confusion. Students received different and inconsistent information, as the word “drill” was included for some notifications, and others lacked that clarification…