The University of Hawai'i-Manoa conducted a campus-wide test of its crisis communications capabilities at 11:55 a.m. today.

This is the first test of the newly installed student test-messaging system, which more than 2,000 students have signed up for at www.hawaii.edu/alert.

During the test, all students, faculty and staff were sent test alerts by e-mail, text message and/or telephone. Emergency notification messages will direct members of the UH community to definitive sources of information via telephone or the Web.

Laura Saiki, a UH student, said she had signed up for the alert on her cellphone, but she had not received one as of 12:30 p.m.

"I'm a little bummed," Saiki said. "I think it's a great thing. Using technology is a great way to tell students if something is happening."

Also at 11:55 a.m., Campus Security officers tested their vehicles' public address systems -— installed over the past year for use in case of emergencies — in the area of Hawai'i Hall and Varney Circle.

In case of an actual emergency, Campus Security would use the loudspeakers to announce an emergency, and warn listeners to evacuate or take cover.