Virginia Tech has installed electronic message boards in more than 100 classrooms and in other locations around campus to deliver information during emergencies.
The LED displays are about two feet wide, and at most times they display only the time and date. But officials are working to connect the displays to the campus’s other alert systems, which can dash out alerts to cell phones, e-mail accounts, and university Web pages, according to The Roanoke Times. Once the links have been completed, any message sent to those systems will appear on the LED displays, so that even people whose cell phones are off or not working can see it.
The university has taken many steps to prepare for emergencies since a student there went on a shooting rampage last year.
Colleges and universities are adding as many possible communications channels as possible to their alert systems. Many institutions, including Virginia Tech, have also installed sophisticated siren systems. And a few have started to use Facebook, MySpace, and other social networks for emergency communication as well. —Jeffrey R. Young
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