Ok I have mixed reactions about this whole thing. This system is great if there is something like another VT incident, but last night's incident seemed to spark a panic. If they hadn't sent out the messages 95% of us wouldn't have even heard about this and most people would have slept better.
The whole "displaying a handgun thing" is something that seems to be done more to try to get a reaction rather than someone going on a shooting spree. If they had the intention to use it, displaying the gun before using it would be pretty stupid. THen again, if you're going to go shoot people... you probally aren't thinking the best.
I guess being safe is better than being sorry, but working people into a panic because they think a situation is worse than it is is also a little bad... I mean look at the first few posts, "There is a gunman loose on campus" and people started thinking we were going to be the next VT, rather than reading the message that this is more of a domestic disturbance and just be cautious.
It's kind of like someone yelling "fire" in a theater when someone lights a cigarette...
Atleast we know the system works now