COLUMBUS – About 6,650 people had signed up as of Monday afternoon for the new Buckeye Alert System that will send text messages to students, staff and faculty in the event of a campus emergency, said Bob Armstrong, director of emergency management and fire prevention at Ohio State.

“Our ultimate goal is to get everybody registered for it,” he said. “We want to make sure we can get a message to you in an emergency.”

When activated by OSU administration in the event of an emergency, the text-messaging service will send a message to everyone who has registered. Armstrong encouraged students, staff, faculty and parents to sign up for the service.

Sara Smith, a sophomore in philosophy and political science, lives off campus and thinks Buckeye Alert can help keep her in the loop in case of an emergency.

“It’s probably harder to get the word out to off-campus students (because) you can’t check your e-mail that often,” she said.

Brittany Shroll, a junior in animal sciences, said she thinks Buckeye Alert is a good idea, and she will probably sign up for it.

“I read about it on the OSU Web site, and I thought it was a pretty good idea,” she said. “I just haven’t gotten around to signing up yet.”

Armstrong said he has received positive feedback from many people regarding the new text-messaging service.

“This is not a system that’s gonna protect them from anything,” Armstrong said. “But hopefully it will help them understand what measures they can take in an emergency to keep themselves safe and protect themselves.”

He said he is also encouraging parents to register for the service so they can get information directly from OSU in the event of an emergency instead of simply hearing about it out on the news.

Anyone interested in registering for Buckeye Alert can do so at buckeyealert.osu.edu.