Halifax, Canada (AHN) - Dalhousie University launched on Monday a mobile-phone based text alert system to warn students, faculty and staff of campus emergencies such as shoot-outs, fire or a chemical spill. The newly launched text messaging service will complement seven other alert systems which includes emails and the old-fashioned bullhorn.

Krista Olmstead, the university's communications and marketing specialist for computing and information, pointed out it was the first educational institutions in the Halifax region and one of the few across Canada to initiate public communication via short messaging service.

Olmstead explained to Metro Halifax, "A lot of people still have their phones with them no matter where they are, so it's a way that a message can get out to them."

Dalhousie students are enjoying the widespread use of information technology across the campus. On February, student Luke Acker launched a campus-wide blog called soci-able.ca to expedite communication among 20,000 full-time students. Among the topics tackled at the cyberspace hangout are student loans, tuition fees, the price of beer and the latest postings on YouTube.