There may be changes to Binghamton University's campus alert system after some backlash from students over the way an active stabbing investigation was handled last semester. Vince Briga explains why university leaders think they can do a better job.

VESTAL, N.Y. -- It was a scene that sent Binghamton University students into a panic.

Last month, the stabbing of fellow student Joao Souza led to an investigation on campus. The university informed students about the crime through its B-Alert system.

Then minutes before classes were set to start, another alert was sent, canceling them. This led students to criticize the handling and time it took to update them on what was happening.

"The current system takes a few phone calls to get the message out, and it might take anywhere from a couple of minutes to in the middle of the night, maybe 5 to 10 minutes," said Office of Emergency Management Executive Director Dave Hubeny.

But some students feel that's just too long. That's why university officials are now testing out new ways to get alerts out quicker and more efficiently.

"We want to make sure every system, every component of that system is working, and that way, if there's any concern, we can address those, so when they're actually needed, the message will be reliably communicated to our community," Hubeny said.

Along with utilizing old techniques like the video board, campus police are working on a button system which, with one push, would send a generic message out within minutes.

"It just says we're aware of a report of something going on that's a concern. We want to get that out to the campus as quickly as possible, and we'll follow up immediately as soon as we have some details," said Hubeny.

Currently, alerts are sent out through text message and email. The campus website also includes a banner at the top of the page with details on the emergency.

University officials say it's important to get the word out in as many ways as possible.

"There's no one single message that will reach our community 100 percent of the time, so we use multiple methods that will hopefully reach them in one of those forms," Hubeny said.

BU says it will continue to test its alert system to ensure it's working properly. There's no timetable for when the new dispatch button system will be put in place.