Some students on campus received false emergency alerts around 8:30 p.m. Oct. 5.
The messages warned students to “calmly evacuate all buildings” and “wait for further instructions.”
The same number sent a correction message soon afterwards saying there was an emergency on the campus of “UNIVERSITY PARK.”
The messages originated from Lonestar College in Houston, TX, said Rod Jones, assistant director of media relations. Jones received an update Oct. 6 from Rave Mobile Safety, the contractor that provides the emergency alert system.
“Lonestar just recently set up their system and loaded a set of data that included contacts from both past and present students – rather than just their active student population,” Jones said.
The alerts started because of a potential gas leak and were meant to evacuate students from all six Lonestar campuses, as well as the University Park campus. Students who were once affiliated with Lonestar also received the alerts, affecting several colleges in the Oklahoma and Texas area.
Other schools that reported receiving the message include Oklahoma University, University of Texas, Texas Tech University, Stephen F. Austin University, and the University of Texas at San Antonio, according to OU’s The Daily.
Several students posted on Facebook, warning other students about the potential danger.
“I was in my sorority house and asked if anyone got the same message, and they hadn’t,” said Shelby McCarver, acting sophomore. “We immediately posted about it on Facebook to see if anyone else had received it. Most everyone I talked to hadn’t.”
McCarver called OCUPD, who said the message had not come from them.
“We waited it out for a while then realized other schools were getting the same messages,” she said. “While we’re still weirded out by it, we figured it would be safe to leave and go back to our rooms.”
Methodist RAs also notified campus police about the alerts, who later instructed students to disregard the messages because they did not come from OCU.
Dancers in the student choreography show were rehearsing in the Ann Lacy School of American Dance & Entertainment when the emergency texts went out. The students paused the rehearsal and evacuated the building until they confirmed their safety.
“I didn’t get the alert, so I figured it was a scam,” said Patty Irwin, music theater sophomore. “My mom gets the BlueAlerts, and I know she’d call me if it were a real emergency.”
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