Tonight I was watching FOX News's coverage of a terrible tragedy that happened at Virginia Tech, and they said that a better way of warning students and faculty is needed rather than relying on an e-mail system. In reality, the use of an e-mail notification system is OK, but is way too slow to reach everyone at the same time, especially when you have gunman on the loose killing everyone in sight.
Ironically, Virginia Tech doesn't have an outdoor warning siren system, that would alert everyone of an emergency like what happened on Monday. Moreover, I wonder how many students have or had NOAA Weather Radio receivers? Here would be another great way to get the warning out with a LEW (Law Enforcement Warning) alert. However, knowing most college students, they probably don't have a NWR in their dorm rooms.
What other methods could be used to alert the students of a large campus of a pending emergency?