Soon, college campus all over will be filled with freshman, many of them away from home for the first time in their lives. And while roommates, professors and parties are probably on their minds, so is campus safety. The Virginia Tech shootings earlier this year put a spotlight on campus security and students and parents alike want to know what their school is doing about it. In particular, many want to know how their university will communicate with students and parents in case of an emergency. "One of the big problems with Virginia Tech was a lack of communication on many levels, and at many different times before the incident occurred," says Seth Bykofsky, who has a daughter starting at Binghamton University in New York this year.

Many schools have responded to this concern by implementing new procedures and making campus safety a larger part of student orientation. At Binghamton, new procedures include a campus bell tone that sounds during emergencies, new technology for sending mass text messages and for flashing messages to students over campus computer and television networks.

But some schools are downplaying any concerns about safety. John Stein, dean of students at Georgia Tech says he doesn't think parents are all that concerned. "I just think either they have reached a point where they're thinking a little bit differently about it, or they think colleges basically have things in place." Even administrators at Virginia Tech says that while security was discussed at this year's orientation, is wasn't dwelled upon and there doesn't seem to be a higher level of interest in safety among students and parents compared to last year.

"They're obviously aware," of the events of last April, says Chris Clough, spokesman for Virginia Tech. But, he said, "There really was a fresh start and a lot of enthusiasm shown by students and families."

I am glad that Virginia Tech is returning to normal, but I find it hard to believe that parents aren't all that concerned about safety there - or on any other campus. Do you have a child going off to college for the first time? Are you worried about their safety?