Would GW’s response be any better?

That’s the question we’re going to be asking people today. Officials at Va. Tech are getting a lot of heat for their response to yesterday’s deadly shootings. From Time magazine:

Students bitterly complained that there were no public-address announcements on campus after the first burst of gunfire. Many said the first word they received from the university was an e-mail more than two hours into the rampage — around the time the gunman struck again.

The first shooting occurred around 7:30 a.m. University officials closed the dorm where the first shooting took place but did not shut down campus, choosing instead to rely on e-mail to notify Va. Tech students and staff. However, classes began at 8 a.m. and students were en route to class when the e-mail was sent at 9:26 a.m., two hours after the first shooting.

The e-mail read: “A shooting incident occurred at West Amber Johnston earlier this morning. Police are on the scene and are investigating.” The message warned students to be cautious and contact police about anything suspicious.

The gunman, who is believed to be a student, appears to have entered a dorm and shot two people before crossing campus to the engineering school to shoot 30 more before killing himself.

This all leads to our question: Would GW’s response be any better?

According to GW spokeswoman Tracy Schario said that in the event of an “ongoing incident,” GW is encouraged to visit the Campus Advisories Web site. “We will send a blast email, which requires a VP approval, for select incidents,” she said.

However, because of the number of people who receive that e-mail, it takes several hours to distribute, said Schario. The University can also issue a “Web alert which is a flashing icon on select gwu web sites that will direct people to the Campus Advisory.” There is also a telephone number that students and parents can call.

Is this enough? Could anything else have been done? Will the University reevaluate their response in light of yesterday’s events? Just some questions we hope to answer.