Police responded to a bomb threat at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Sunday evening, but it took a bit longer for students signed up for UNC's text messaging system to find out about the scare.

The slow response has left Illinois students wondering about the quality of the new University emergency text messaging system, Illini-Alert, which will be tested 10 a.m. today, said Todd Short, director of the University's office of campus emergency planning.
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The University of Illinois employs a text messaging system similar to UNC's, but Short said text messaging is just one of nine systems that would be used to alert students to an emergency on the University campus.

"One thing everybody needs to keep in mind about emergency notification systems is that you need more than one," Short said, adding that not everyone has a cell phone with text messaging capabilities.