After a student carrying a rifle was apprehended last Wednesday on St. John’s Queens campus, the number of students registered for the new text message alert system has risen drastically, according to St. John’s media relations.

According to Dominic Scianna, the Director of Media Relations, “The number has tripled in the last 24 to 48 hours” since the incident.

Scianna said that at the beginning of the day on Wednesday there were about 2,100 people signed up, while the latest figures indicate approximately 7,300 students are currently enrolled.

Many students who had the text messaging service said they were glad to have had it.

“I was in the Government Department in St. John’s Hall, and we would have been pretty out of the loop had we not gotten the text messages,” said senior Alicia Leonard.

“All in all, it was such a scary day and I’m thankful it didn’t turn into something worse.”

However, not all students jumped at the opportunity to sign up for the service after the incident.

“I think that I will sign up for it when I get a chance,” said senior Joe Cosmo.

“I think it’s a good thing to have, but at the same time I don’t feel that it might be used again while I’m [at St. John’s].”
He added, “I also don’t know what the University will do with my number after I graduate.”