Universities Across the Country React to the Virginia Tech Massacre

The tragedy at Virginia Tech has universities across the country preparing for any such event that might happen in the future. Universities are installing fire alarms with monitoring systems and automated emergency warnings that will broadcast over the loudspeakers within the classroom buildings. Typically, these systems can be activated from a single location.

Other means of emergency communication implemented by many universities include telephone speaker address systems that announce emergency warnings over the telephone speakers in all offices. The emergency announcement would typically override any communication for which the telephones were presently being used.

A reverse 9-1-1 system will also be used in residential buildings, such as dormitories and university apartments, at some universities. Typically this consists of a county-wide web-based communication that telephones rooms in residential halls if an emergency were to occur.

At many Universities, P-A systems on University Police cars are used as a last resort in case of failure of other systems.

If your university has not implemented or made public any emergency communication systems, you should question the security of your campus. Incidents such as the shooting at Virginia Tech University can not be prevented altogether, but the number of deaths can be reduced if students are warned in a timely manner.

If you suspect any plans another individual might be making to commit such a crime immediately contact city or university police.