Universities review campus security
plans after Virginia Tech shooting

By Alan Scher Zagier

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Cell phone text messages. Loudspeakers on towers. Cameras that detect suspicious activity.
   Colleges and universities are considering these and other measures in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre, seeking to improve how they get the word out about emergencies to thousands of students across sprawling campuses.
    The University of Washington in Seattle is weighing whether to use warning sirens. Clemson University in South Carolina recently installed a similar system for weather-related emergencies and now may expand its use.
    “You’re going to see a nationwide re-evaluation of how to respond to incidents like this,” said Jeff Newton, police chief at the University of Toledo.
    Chuck Green, director of public safety at the University of Iowa, said school officials were discussing a new outdoor warning system just a day before the Blacksburg shootings. The technology would allow for live voice announcements as well as prerecorded messages.
    “We’d like the option to hit one button to reach large numbers of people at one time,” he said.
    Virginia Tech officials did not send an email warning about a gunman on campus until two hours after the first slayings, drawing criticism that they waited too long and relied on email accounts that students often ignore.
    At many schools, officials want to send text messages to cell phones and digital devices as a faster, more reliable alternative to email.
    Many schools consider texting a key way to reach this generation of students. “They consider email snail-mail, and really don’t use it as much,” said John Fry, president of Franklin & Marshall College, near Lancaster, PA.
    At Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, officials installed more than 100 “smart” cameras after two off-campus slayings. The cameras are linked to computers that detect suspicious situations, such as someone climbing a fence or falling down, and alert not only campus security but also Baltimore city police.
    The Virginia Tech massacre could bring about widespread safety reforms at colleges and universities, much as the Columbine shootings in Colorado led to security improvements at primary and secondary schools.
    Text message alert systems are already in place at some schools, including Penn State University, which started its program in the fall. The system has transmitted 20 emergency messages since its start, ranging from traffic closures to weather-related cancellations or delays.
    California State University in San Bernadino, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, has experience dealing with emergencies. It was evacuated in 2003 because of wildfires and closed again last year because of high winds.
    Officials now have an automatic phone bank that calls every campus extension in an emergency. The school also has a flashing electronic bulletin board at its entrance and a mass emailing system.
    The university had already been considering a similar system for text messaging. “What happened at Virginia Tech will certainly accelerate looking into these issues,” campus spokesman Joe Gutierrez said.
    Despite the safety reviews, nothing short of a total lockdown would ensure the safety of campus communities, said Major Frank Knight, assistant chief of police at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC.
   “Stopping an individual with a weapon from getting on campus is nearly impossible,” he said. “We can’t ever guarantee the security of the campus 100 percent.”