BOISE -- It's been three and a half years since the tragedy on the Virignia Tech campus in Blacksburg.
Seung-Hui Cho, 23, killed 32 people before turning the gun on himself in the deadliest shooting incident by a single gunman in U.S. history.
The incident resulted in changes to the gun laws in Virginia and also changed the way security and alert systems are designed on campuses across America.
Boise State was among the universities who stepped up their system because of what happened 2,000 miles away.
On top of the death and chaos surrounding the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech, criticism surfaced over how university officials and local police responded to the situation.
No official lockdown was ordered, but according to one faculty member, taking such a measure would not have worked for Virginia Tech and the town of Blacksburg that surrounds it.
"People are wondering why we didn't evacuate," said Andy Schaudt, a faculty member at Virginia Tech. "I can't imagine if they told everyone to go home. The whole entire town would be under lockdown. It would just be chaotic."
In the aftermath of such a catastrophic event, it's easy to ask how other universities, including Boise State, would respond to a similar sitation.
"I think that's one of the differences that you see in our scenario for security," said Frank Zang, the Boise State communication director. "Boise P.D. are the community partner to provide security. Being in a downtown area, it helps to provide a lot of resources for providing quick responses when things are happening."
Other security measures in place on BSU's campus include 38 emergency blue phones that have a direct line to the Boise Police substation. Not only that, but two security officers assigned to residence halls, an emergency cell phone program and online crime reporting.
