In the wake of last year’s Virginia Tech shootings, colleges around the country searched for a way to make their campuses safer — a search made even more urgent by the Feb. 14 shootings at Northern Illinois University. The U of I has found one way to make its students and faculty more secure: texting. Check inside to learn more about a system that could save lives. Reporter Deborah Ladd also explains how to sign up for the service.

[UPDATED] A recent increase in thefts at Uni has got many afraid that students may no longer be able to keep their lockers open or leave their belongings unattended. Assistant Director Sue Kovacs comments on the numerous e-mails she has been sending about missing items at Uni. Read on to find out whether or not you should finally memorize your locker combination.

Have you seen those signs around the school about a missing black backpack? Senior editor Shivani Khanna gets to the heart of this mystery and realizes that this is more than just losing your belongings within the mess of Uni High. It's an issue of how Uni associates itself with everyone else on the U of I campus. Read on to find out whether or not junior Cheng Luo ever did find his backpack and what the implications are for future safety measures in the school.

The north and west entrances to Uni were locked this morning after the administration received word from the University of Illinois police of a possible security situation at Champaign Central High School. The "soft" lockdown is expected to last until the end of the school day.