The two hours it took for Virginia Tech officials to e-mail students a warning about a gunman on campus has raised concern about how schools can get critical news out faster in a crisis.

 “There is no one magic communication system that we can press a button and let everyone know what is going on,” said Chris Meyer, assistant vice president for safety and security at Texas A&M, where they use public address systems, automatic phone calls and e-mail to notify students of an emergency.

“We have a full police force, with 60 officers, and we're a full operation,” UTSA spokeswoman Marianne Lewis said. “Basically, what you would do, God forbid something like this happened, is to get into a safe place, behind a locked door, and do not evacuate or move until you hear from the police.”

“When anything like that happens on a college campus, you automatically get scared because you feel like when you're in your dorm or in your classroom, you're safe,” said Dipali Pathak, a Trinity University senior. “I'll be more aware that I don't live in a bubble.”

And the fact of the matter is, campuses are largely open places where just about anyone — especially a student — is free to roam.

For that reason, college officials across the country agree that, in the end, no higher education institution is fully protected from this kind of violence, no matter how well they prepare.

“For the most part, college campuses are safe places, but no place is immune to danger,” Schreiner University President Tim Summerlin said. “Contemporary life reminds us of that fact all too often, making us only more determined to do all that we can to foster a secure place of learning.”

From staff and wire reports