Georgetown students expressed an outpouring of sympathy yesterday for Virginia Polytechnic Institute after a gunman opened fire on its campus in Blacksburg, Va., killing 32 people in the worst shooting rampage in the nation’s history.

Close to 50 students and community members gathered in St. William’s Chapel last night to share their thoughts and pray for the victims. Short prayers were read, and lit candles spelling out “VT” were placed on the altar. After the service, chaplains remained in the chapel to talk with mourners.

The Office of Campus Ministry also sponsored an interfaith prayer service led by several heads of the university’s Chaplaincies Tuesday afternoon in Sellinger Lounge.

Constance Wheeler, a university Protestant chaplain, expressed pain and shock at the events during the ceremony. “We ask the question: why?” she said.

The university has also temporarily increased its police presence in the wake of the shooting.

Darryl Harrison, director of the Department of Public Safety, said DPS increased patrols around campus and will be meeting with the Metropolitan Police Department to discuss further safety measures. University and MPD officials are scheduled to convene this afternoon, according to MPD officer Barbara Cromer.

“We’re coordinating very closely with [the] Metropolitan Police Department,” Harrison said.

The university has several methods of communicating with students and faculty in the event of an emergency, including mass e-mails and Web site notices, according to university spokesperson Julie Bataille.

“We are also in the process . of developing a system to be able to communicate with students via text messaging and cell phones in the event of an emergency,” she said. “We hope to have a pilot program of that system ready by next fall.”

Student guards also cracked down on GOCard swiping for entrance into dormitories on Monday. Lizbeth Chow (SFS ’08), a student guard, said that no new procedures had been implemented as of Tuesday, but that she was making an extra effort to make sure that all residents swiped in and guests everyone were signed in by a resident.

– Susan Weeber contributed to this report.