Virginia Tech Massacre

Monday, April 16, 2007

My heart and prayers go out to all of the families involved in the senseless shootings at Virginia Tech. My understanding is that 33 individuals lost their lives in the massacre. What a tragedy! There is noting I can do or say that will make things any easier for those involved. I'm sure that we will hear gun control advocates ranting and raving about this unfortunate event demanding stricter gun control laws, but the gun(s) didn't do the killing, an individual pulled the trigger. Most likely, a very troubled individual planned and carried out the killings without remorse.

I have been keeping up with the reports all day and I have heard various takes on the situation. A lawyer was interviewed and suggested that the person that did the killing probably played games like "Grand Theft Auto." Personally, I don't see the validity of such games in the first place. I have a much easier time justifying gun ownership than I do allowing such games to be sold in mainstream America. What do they teach our children?

My wife and I were discussing these type games and she said that she had 4th graders that were already playing them. I can't imagine allowing a 4th grader to play such a game. 4th graders are not mature enough to play them. I'm not mature enough to play them nor do I have the desire. And the really bad thing is that when she asked how they got these games, some said that their parents bought them. I don't understand this. I just think that these violent immoral games hurt our society and as a result individuals place little or no value on human life. How sad!

Fantasy games even the violent ones are just that fantasy. They do not resemble any form of true reality. I can justify these fantasy games with magic and dragons. I even like playing some of them. But these fantasy games are a far cry from games like "Hit Man" or "Grand Theft Auto". I don't foresee anyone turning into a dragon and devouring a class of innocent students. But I also believe in the freedom that our nation was founded on. As such, where do we draw the line? I just don't have the answers and I'm heartbroken about the entire event.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter if we are for gun control or banning violent video games. Neither will bring back the students that lost their lives today. It's just all too ugly! What an unfortunate day! Once again, my heart and my prayers go out to the families. God Bless Them All!

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: school_violence, shooting, videogames, virginiatech, lostjohns

posted by WBishop at 4/16/2007 07:21:00 PM

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Original Source: <a href="http://lostjohns.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-massacre.html">http://lostjohns.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-massacre.html</a>

Licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License</a>.

William Bishop

2007-05-23

Brent Jesiek

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License

eng

Force of Nature

Monday, April 16, 2007

I broke down and turned on CNN to check out coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting. I see there and elsewhere, without really knowing the details from this morning&#39;s mayhem, that the media are turning to the question of what it all means. With the help of sociologists, CNN bloviator in chief Lou Dobbs is going to scrutinize school shootings.

It&#39;s an unspeakable tragedy, of course, and what will come to distinguish it will be the awful, heartbreaking details to be revealed over the hours and days to come. But really: does this tell us anything about any aspect of our society that we didn&#39;t know before this morning? Or before Columbine? Or the Killeen, Texas, massacre? Or Oliver James Huberty&#39;s slaughter of the innocents at the San Ysidro McDonald&#39;s. Go ahead and jump in -- you can all think of an incident that fits.

I&#39;m not sure what any of these killings says, by the way, beyond the obvious: how violent the society is, how efficient firearms are at doing what they&#39;re designed to do. But regardless of the meaning, to me, these have come part of the landscape we live in, a little like earthquakes in California. You know they&#39;re coming; you know they could be devastating; but you never know when it&#39;s going to happen.

Of course, unlike earthquakes, in theory, at least, there&#39;s the hope we might be able to do something to stop random massacres. After every one, there&#39;s lots and lots of talk; Lou Dobbs and his sociologists. Then -- then we move on, till the next time.

Posted by Dan Brekke at 03:15 PM

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Original Source: <a href="http://infospigot.typepad.com/infospigot_the_chronicles/2007/04/force_of_nature.html">http://infospigot.typepad.com/infospigot_the_chronicles/2007/04/force_of_nature.html</a>

Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0</a>

Dan Brekke

2007-05-23

Brent Jesiek

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0

eng

Tragedy at Virginia Tech

Posted by Helena Cobban at April 16, 2007 04:33 PM

Tragedy has <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6560685.stm">struck</a> the community at Virginia Tech, our state&#39;s "other" fine flagship university, which is located around 120 miles southwest of my hometown, Charlottesville.

Apparently a single gunman went on a rampage there earlier today and killed at least 30 members of the university community-- most likely, most of them students.

Obviously, this is a truly horrible blow for all members of the community there.

Equally obviously, we know that communities throughout Iraq have been suffering blows as huge as this one-- or on occasions, even larger blows-- on a daily or almost daily basis throughout the past 3-4 years. Many communities in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from gun violence on this scale, too. And last week, Algeria, in North Africa, was the scene of two extremely lethal suicide bombings...

Can we all unite in grief together, and in sad wonder at the senselessness of ultra-lethal weapons and the tragedy of their widespread availability and use in many different parts of the world?

Can we unite in sad wonder at the depth of alienation and hopelessness that leads some people to engage in mass killings, even sometimes to the point of throwing their own lives into the project, as well?

Can we unite with a commitment to support, help, and try to repair all those bereaved by these and other acts of violence?

Can we unite around a strengthened commitment never ourselves to resort to violence, and to redouble our search for the nonviolent ways that <u>always do exist</u> to resolve any differences among us as humans?

I have only been to Virginia Tech once. It was a magical half-day I spent there, in the summer of 2005. The Friends General Conference (FGC), which is the main body of &#39;liberal&#39; north American Quakers, was holding its annual summer gathering in a small part of Tech&#39;s beautiful campus, which is built from flinty blue-grey stone in the incredibly beautiful foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I wasn&#39;t a participant in the gathering, but I made a special trip there one evening to spend a few hours with my dear friend Misty Gerner, who was then in a fairly advanced stage of her cancer. Misty, her husband, and I walked around the beautiful lawns a bit, and had dinner at a small nearby restaurant. Then Phil (the husband) left Misty and me alone a while. We walked and talked a whole lot more. She was wracked with bouts of pretty intense physical pain but her spirit was radiant.

I prefer to remember Tech&#39;s campus as the place where I talked with Misty on that sunny evening about life, death, love, God, justice, peace, and the Middle East... She died last summer. Maybe a little part of her still hovers over the Tech campus. If so I hope she can help to comfort the many shocked and bereaved people there today.

God forgive us all for having let the spirit of violence permeate our communities and animate our actions to this extent.

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Original Source: <a href="http://justworldnews.org/archives/002479.html">http://justworldnews.org/archives/002479.html</a>

Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0</a>

Helena Cobban

2007-05-23

Brent Jesiek

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0

eng

Tragedy at Virginia Tech

Monday, April 16, 2007

As I wrapped up my afternoon course today, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/16/us/16cnd-shooting.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin">my students informed me of the 31 deaths at Virginia Tech today</a>. It was the first I heard of it and so I immediately looked to the news and am now glued to the press conference airing on NBC.

It is uncanny that this shooting tragedy has occurred in the same week as Colombine, 8 years ago (the very day I was interviewing for my job here). I am not sure what to make of this event yet, other than to be utterly horrified by this event and sorrowful for the community at Virginia Tech. We don&#39;t yet know how many of the deceased are students and how many are faculty. These details are sure to emerge over time.

I am dismayed by the tone of the press, who launched into an attack of VT&#39;s President for not locking down the campus after the first shooting incident in the morning. The idea of lockdown and the idea that in the future we might have to post guards on our college campuses is frightening. This is a tragedy. This was an event that no one could&#39;ve forseen (unless I am persuaded by evidence to the contray), and to respond to this event with greater militarism on college campuses horrifies me (perhaps more than the event itself).

I will no doubt have something more to say about this event after I learn more facts and digest the coverage. In the meantime, I would appreciate any links to blogs from VT students or other bloggers covering this story.

UPDATE: From the Huffington Post
<blockquote>A White House spokesman said President Bush was horrified by the rampage and offered his prayers to the victims and the people of Virginia.</blockquote>
<blockquote>"The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed," spokeswoman Dana Perino said</blockquote>
<p>BARF!</p><p>Posted by Aspazia at <a href="http://melancholicfeminista.blogspot.com/2007/04/tragedy-at-virginia-tech.html">Monday, April 16, 2007</a></p><p>--</p><p>Original source: <a href="http://melancholicfeminista.blogspot.com/2007/04/tragedy-at-virginia-tech.html">http://melancholicfeminista.blogspot.com/2007/04/tragedy-at-virginia-tech.html</a> </p><p>Licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/">Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License</a>.</p>

Aspazia / Mad Melancholic Feminista Blog

2007-05-21

Brent Jesiek

eng

the virginia tech massacre in the media: sermons and loners

<p>Tuesday, April 17, 2007</p>
<p>Listening to the Virginia Memorial, and all I hear is: "God-given", "God bless you", "community", "strength", "prayers", "family", "sanctuary", "violated&#39;, and of course, here come the leaders of the religious communities: "children of Adam and Eve", "singularity" (yes, unbelievable), "non-violence" (thank the buddhists), "faith", "darkness of Evil", "light", "seductive temptation" etc. The Memorial really turned into a sermon.</p><p>But that&#39;s enough. I am here to try and compare the reactions, as seen in media from different continents, to the events of Virginia Tech. A reaction where it is easy to notice how, on different sides of the Earth, people are really interpreting (or trying to convince others to interpret) the story in radically different ways. Forgive me this, but you can see framing at work in crisis communications like you never see it at any other time. Here are the main points of view - soem of which are quite disturbing:<p><b>"The Loner"</b>: now, since when mentally-ill people have become "loners"? However, this is how the 23-year-old responsible for yesterday&#39;s killings has been named by - well, basically most of the people who have been asked to talk about him, and subsequently by most media outlets?</p><blockquote>Larry Hincker, associate vice president for university relations at Virginia Tech, said: "He was a loner, and we&#39;re having difficulty finding information about him." (<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6563565.stm">BBC</a>/<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266582,00.html">Fox News</a>)</blockquote>
<p>I could not find this on the Korea Herald article though - I wonder why.</p><p><b>"The sick American hater"</b>: not stated with these words, but this is how I could refrase a sentence like this:</p><p id="quote">The gunman suspected of carrying out the Virginia Tech massacre that left 33 people dead was identified Tuesday as an English major whose creative writing was so disturbing that he was referred to the school&#39;s counseling service. News reports also said that he may have been taking medication for depression, that he was becoming increasingly violent and erratic, and that he left a note in his dorm in which he railed against "rich kids," "debauchery" and "deceitful charlatans" on campus. (<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266582,00.html">Fox News</a>)</p>
<p>Very different is the report on the BBC (which from the very beginning tried to omit information that could encourage racial hatred):</p><p id="quote">US media reported that a "disturbing" note had been found in Cho Seung-hui&#39;s dormitory, and that he had been referred for counselling after producing "troubled" work in his creative writing class. (<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6563565.stm">BBC</a>)</p>
<p>Let me say something: I have been watching the news, and all I saw was Caucasian students crying. All I could read were comments coming from Caucasian American-born (at least that is what I can deduce from the names) students. The dead killer seems to be the only "Asian oddball" (ironically speaking, of course) on campus - now no more. That is an illusion created by the media. You really have to search and look to find some facts on international student presence on the Virginia Tech campus:</p><p id="quote">Only 7 percent of the more than 26,000 students at Virginia Tech are foreign, according to the school web site. But Chinese undergraduate and graduate students comprise nearly a third of that. (<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266509,00.html">Fox News</a>)</p>
<p>Now, if you calculate, that means that about 1,820 students at Virginia Tech are in fact international students, and that about 607 are Chinese (therefore "Asian-looking"). Why have I not seen any interviews with these students? What are their reactions to a fellow international&#39;s debacle? Can they suggest what problems he might have had (such as a strong cultural shock associated with a pre-existent - or triggered - mental illness)? Why maybe he was "a loner"?</p><p>I have plenty of experience with international students and their challenges, being one myself. Some peers, especially the ones of Asian descent, seem to be having more problems. In my university, there are about 10% of internationals, and maybe half of them, if not more, are Chinese. A quite smaller chunk are South Koreans. Our university, just like VTech, has some form of international student services - VTech is more advanced apparently, as they have an <a href="http://www.uusa.vt.edu/cranwell/programsclasses.shtml">International Centre</a>, which also offers advising services to international students. However, having worked with many of them, I can tell that often such services are inadequate, and "loneliness" (as well as heavy cultural shock) are not infrequent problems reported even (or maybe even more) by students who used such services.</p><p>Moreover: what about the mentions of debauchery? I have seen it myself - and it ain&#39;t always pleasant. When I used to live on residence, I remember drunk (or drugged) people coming down from my roof at about 2 AM. They crushed on the path below, laughed, and went away. Loud parties, where booze and drugs are abundant, are a norm on residence. Should we limit them? No, but we need to help people who are not used to this kind of situation. And with the international student population growing on North American campuses growing, we might want to think about them.</p><p><b>"The forgotten issue in American media: gun control"</b>: to find this, you need to visit forums on non-U.S. media websites, and check articles on international news outlets to see how this is an important issue related to the V Tech massacre.</p><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://www.april16archive.org/archive/fullsize/_42811311_firearms_deaths3_203gr.gif"></p>
<p id="quote">The risk of being killed by a firearm in the US is higher than in any other Western nation. Of countries outside war zones, the risk is greatest in South Africa, according to a United Nations report. (<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6562529.stm">BBC</a>)</p>
<p id="quote">"No society that feeds its children on tales of succesful violence can expect them not to believe that violence in the end is rewarded" Margaret Mead. A society that feels the need to arm itself with lethal weapons for protection from society, is no society at all. It&#39;s all about fear. Steve, Livingston, <a href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=6121&&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;&edition=2&ttl=20070417193257">Recommended by 49 people</a></p>
<p>Apparently, the rest of the world can see that, no matter the pain a mentally ill young person goes through (and which, given the killer&#39;s past action, must have been significant), access to automatic army-type weapons, deregulation of access to weapons, and the U.S. "gun culture" really are the main cause behind - classroom - shootings.</p><p>Posted by steppen wolf at 11:43 AM</p><p>--</p><p>Original Source: <a href="http://skeptalchemist.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-massacre-in-media-sermons.html">http://skeptalchemist.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-massacre-in-media-sermons.html</a></p><p>Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada</a></p>

steppen wolf

2007-05-21

Brent Jesiek

eng

Virginia Tech Massacre: Crucial Next Steps

4.16.2007

Horror is the natural first reaction. It is hard to get beyond tumultuous emotions given the stories, scenes, and sheer numbers coming out of <a href="http://dorshorst08.blogspot.com/2007/04/shooting-at-virginia-tech.html">the massacre today at Virginia Tech</a>. The facebook has emerged from a period as a nascent form of disaster-response, as seen often enough with individual students deaths, to <a href="http://wisc.facebook.com/s.php?q=virginia%20tech&k=20010">a full-blown mechanism</a> for channeling overwhelming public grief.

But moving rapidly beyond initial reaction is of paramount importance. Thinking clearly about the response to the incident is essential. Even as <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8OHTPMG0&amp;show_article=1">President Bush encouraged prayer today</a>, he should have done something even more important - encouraged preparation.

The grim <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,990949,00.html">prospect of copy-cat actions</a> should be a very real concern for colleges and students nationwide, especially given the magnitude of the massacre and its proximity to the anniversary of the Columbine shooting and Hitler&#39;s birthday, among other things. As with Columbine, the unavoidable deluge of media and informal attention paid to the perpetrator will no doubt serve as a regrettable temptation to some.

How can individual students possibly prepare? How will university administrations respond and prepare? These are questions that need to be moved swiftly to the front burner of public discussion.

As someone who recently departed campus and may soon be returning to that environment, I think students should demand a proactive response from administrators even as they insist on retaining the personal liberties critical to a meaningful academic environment. The report that Virginia Tech students and staff <a href="http://www.local6.com/news/12194456/detail.html">did not receive e-mail notification of the incident until 2 hours after the first shots were fired</a> is absolutely chilling.

Eerily, it seems nearly impossible to fully prevent events like the one at Virginia Tech from happening without repressing student life beyond recognition. But some measures, at least in the areas of communication, can be taken.

For starters, here are some possible proactive measures I can think of:

1. A sort of mobile phone-based Amber-type general Alert - Students could voluntarily sign up for a robocall (ironic, yes) alert to their cell phones that emergency services or the administration could send out upon receiving word of a campus shooting situation. The list would be used for no other purpose than such an alert. The same could be done with AIM addresses for a similar alert. Such a scheme would admittedly have the potential of having copycat problems of its own.

2. A specific pattern on tornado sirens or the lighthouse horn - <a href="http://hippieperspective.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-shooting.html">As suggested in part by Erik Opsal on his blog</a>, this would stand to get a general message across quickly. A specific distinct pattern of sounds (if possible) for a shooting situation could be conveyed to the student populace beforehand.

3. Chancellor&#39;s Blog - The chancellor should have a simple blog as a central resource wall for students and staff to turn to to get the most comprehensive and official news in the event of a crisis.

Really, I am deeply saddened. The heinous actions of one domestic terrorist have ended the lives of 33 people - and stand to irreversibly alter the American higher educational experience for the worse. The lack of clear ways to prevent similar situations makes me almost physically ill. But forcing ourselves beyond the shock in short order is key.

Moving forward, students on campus need to walk the unenviable tightrope of being wary of both unhealthy paranoia and potential copy-cat actors.

I am thinking about a lot of friends out there on campuses. Sleeping in the dorms tonight will be tough. Going to class tomorrow will no doubt be difficult. So as you join facebook groups to grieve, join one - or start one - dedicated to putting forward pragmatic suggestions for dealing with the Virginia Tech incident in a concrete way on the UW campus and other campuses out there.

It&#39;s a crucial next step.

UPDATE: <a href="http://ntcoolfool.livejournal.com/">Liveblog of the days events</a> from Bryce, a Virginia Tech student. Via Technorati.

posted by Brad V at 5:42 PM

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Originally posted on April 16, 2007 by Brad Vogel on Letters in Bottles blog:
<a href="http://lettersinbottles.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-massacre-crucial-next.html">http://lettersinbottles.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-massacre-crucial-next.html</a>

Licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License</a>.

Brent Jesiek

2007-05-10

Brent Jesiek

eng

Virginia Tech, In Light of Tragedy

Submitted by boldfaith3 on Wed, 04/25/2007 - 11:29pm.

Let me start by saying I am a student at Virginia Tech on my way to a degree in mechanical engineering. I have not been on this site in a while due mainly to the events last week which I am sure most of you have heard about. In light of the tragedy we have been forced to undergo, I have a lot to say. Let me first start with my story.

On April 16, 2007 I slept through my 8am engineering lecture. This is something I try not to make a habit of, but with this class it has happened quite a few times. I woke up somewhere around 9:30 when my fiance called me and told me she was coming over. This was unusual since she normally has class at this time. That was when she told me that they had closed down all of the campus buildings. My first thought on this was that there was another bomb threat (We had two bomb threats in one of our buildings the week before). That was when she told me that there had been a shooting in West Ambler Johnston, a residential building where I lead a small group Bible study for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. I was fairly shocked at this. I have heard about school shootings at colleges before but there is rarely ever a crime of that magnitude at Virginia Tech. We have had a small number of sexual assaults and one student was killed last year I believe, but it is rare enough that it still comes as a shock. Moving on, my fiance came over and we proceeded to check e-mails and the news to try to figure out what was going on. This is also when we called our parents to let them know we were safe (mine actually called me first). As we were talking to our parents, they asked about something that came on the news saying that there were some 22 students killed. This was entirely unbelievable and confusing. I could only think that my parents were looking at something wrong because there was no way that 22 students had been killed when I had originally heard that one student was shot in a residential building. All this time we had been recieving e-mails about lockdowns and telling us to stay where we were. During this confusion the number of sirens that screamed past my apartment brought a painstaking realization that this was real and all I could think of was something went really wrong. That&#39;s when other people started spreading news around and all the facts began to unravel. By the time we had our information all sorted out, we were horrified to realize that 33 students had been killed, 31 of them (including the shooter) during classes in Norris hall, an engineering building.

The first thing I want to say about this event is that it was deeply disturbing and I am still horrified that something like this has happened so close to home. My deepest sympathies go out to any of the families and friends of our hokie family who were involved in this tragic event. I have been praying for you all that God will show you his comfort and healing power through your grief. I did not know anyone involved personally though I have many friends who did and I know a few people who should have been involved. One of my roomates also slept through a class that morning after being up all night to do work. His class was in one of the rooms in Norris Hall that was attacked. One of my small group members who lives in WAJ lost her roomate. I have realized through this tragedy, the importance of those people around me and the relationships I have which so often suffer for the sake of homework assignments. I believe that many of us have felt the impact of this as we realize how many of our friends and teachers we forget to express our gratitude and appreciation for as we struggle to meet deadlines. If there is one thing I have learned from this it is that people will ALWAYS come first. In the week following this tragedy I have broken down in tears more times than I can remember. I think about the people around me that I could have lost and then I think about the pain that those people are going through who did lose their dear friends and family. The pain that I went through was difficult but I cannot begin to imagine the pain of friends and family. I can only offer again my deepest sympathies. If anyone should need someone to listen, please don&#39;t hesitate to do what you can to express your grief which I would not expect to be anything less than inexpressible.

All that being said, I will say this: <b>Virginia Tech will not be remembered for this tragedy. We are a community like no other I have ever experienced, and that is what we will be remembered for. We are hokies. We will not allow this school to become synonomous with tragedy and sorrow, but with coming together and rebuilding. I have never been more proud to be a hokie.</b> The support that has come together from this school has been incredible. Students coming together to embrace others that they don&#39;t even know in a simple gesture of understanding and common grief. We are grieving as a body and we are moving forward as a body. This is a community where teachers are encouraging students to grow and continue to move forward and to prove that we can get through this together. A community where students are encouraging teachers and giving them strength to keep going when many of them are simply unable to continue teaching. <b>This is a community that defines the very term community and says that we are here to help each other. I have never been more proud to be a hokie.</b>

Along these lines, we also fall behind President Steger. This is our President, a hokie. I have grown tired and disgusted at the attacks on how this situation was handled. Campus was locked down after the first shooting. Yes, campus was reopened. Under the shield of safety we have all learned to live at ease, with no fear of any kind of danger, let alone a danger of this magnitude. There are certainly more precautions taken at night with regards to walking alone or letting our friends walk home alone, but for the most part we have all felt entirely safe. It is a perfectly natural response then after being told that the shooting was a domestic issue to believe that there was no harm to any other students. The first shooting was initially believed to be caused by someone who was angry with their girlfriend. The decision to send students back to classes may not have been the most cautious decision, but it was certainly reasonable under the conditions and I find it highly unlikely that anyone else would have done differently. The terrible tragedy following could not have been forseen by anyone. That being said, there are arguments that Cho (the shooter) should have been taken out of school. He was a loner type of student who had been believed to have issues before with anger and also looked into for stalking a number of women. Let&#39;s start with this, He was taken out of his classes and taught one on one by his english professor who believed he had psychological issues. He was also sent to counselling which he did not continue to go to for very long. You can&#39;t force a 22 year old student to go to counselling. His writings were disturbing and somewhat violent but there was no apparant threat of danger to anyone other than himself. He had not told anyone, as far as we know, of any thoughts that could have indicated his later actions. This was certainly a troubled kid and the university did try to get help for him. It bothers me that people think now that their first thought was that it was him. Yes this may have been true, but looking back we can always make guesses as to who we think may have done something based on their personality. That doesn&#39;t mean that it is always true and doesn&#39;t mean that it could have been anticipated. Couselling and Corrective measures were taken and though they were obviously not enough, this could not have been forseen. <b>We want to lay off on the blame and have people realize that we are here for each other. This is our community and we will not allow it to be torn apart with blame and guilt.</b>

I will say once more that through this tragedy I have realized the importance of life and those people that share it with us. This was a tragic and horrifying event that hit entirely too close to home but unfortunately there are similar events that happen all over the world constantly. Just after this hit the news there were tickers showing hundreds killed by bombings in Iraq. We don&#39;t want this to be a juice story. We don&#39;t want our suffering to become exciting headlines. This is a terrible thing that we are grieving over and we offer each other all the help we can. We remember the things that have happened and come together to move forward. But we also want to remember the suffering and pain that is occuring accross the globe. As Americans, especially on the Virginia Tech campus, we don&#39;t expect tragedy of this magnitude, but many other places do and for that reason it is ignored. We no longer want to ignore that suffering that is constantly occuring around the world but to bring all of this tragedy into the light all at once so we can all move forward and bring this world to a better place where the media is no longer captivated by bloody headlines. We want to see the change in this world and see the inspiration of so many people who work to make that change.

<b>We are hokies. This is our community. We will not be defined as a headline but as a hopeline

If you would like to give money to support the families and the healing process of those here at Tech please visit this site to do so: http://www.vt.edu/tragedy/memorial_fund.php</b>

God bless you all and may His grace embrace us all giving us comfort and protection.



For these three remain: Faith, Hope and Love. But the greatest of these is Love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

Original Source:
<a href="http://www.progressiveu.org/022902-virginia-tech-in-light-of-tragedy">http://www.progressiveu.org/022902-virginia-tech-in-light-of-tragedy</a>

Creative Commons License: <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0</a>

boldfaith3

2007-05-10

Brent Jesiek

eng

The Virginia Tech Tragedy

Thursday, April 19, 2007

College is supposed to be an overall positive experience. You&#39;re finally getting to sort everything out in terms of what you want to do in life, where you&#39;re headed and learning and growing as a young adult while having some fun in the process.

For many peeps it&#39;s the first time you get to step out, live away from home and get your first taste of adulthood. It&#39;s the last time in your life when the only responsibilities you have are to get up, go to class and study your butt off unless you also have a job you&#39;re juggling to help pay your tuition.

I guess it&#39;s why I enjoy walking around on various college campuses when I do <a href="http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2007/01/sabre-child-running-wild.html">follow Dawn to various fencing tournaments</a>. It takes me back to my own college days in that respect. It&#39;s hard for me to imagine what it would have been like to have that peace of mind shattered by a gunman suddenly popping up in one of my classes, firing shots at me and my classmates, then to discover a day or so later that he was a classsmate that peeps had been seeing <a href="http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/bawnews/vtshooter419">disturbing behavior patterns</a> about for two years leading up to that horrific incident.

Even the folks who weren&#39;t in those Norris Hall classrooms that morning are haunted by &#39;That could have been me&#39; thoughts. I can only imagine what was going through people&#39;s minds as their buildings were on lockdown wondering if the incident was over of if their building was next on the shooter&#39;s target list.

What about the peeps who for some reason decided not to go to class that morning? I know they feel just as hurt as the gun shop owner who sold Cho the weapons he used.

How would I feel about that? How do you put that behind you and move on with llfe, if you ever do? It&#39;s also tough at that age to lose a classmate because up until you get past your college years and your ten-year high school reunion you have this false feeling of immortality. You walk around in your late teens and 20&#39;s with this attitude that you have plenty of time to accomplish the things you want to do or get your life together.

There are 32 people that have been tragically taken from us including Cho. But to the Virginia Tech students who may be reading this blog, life does go on. In 1966 The University of Texas suffered a similar <a href="http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/mass/whitman/index_1.html">tragedy</a>. It took a while but people eventually forgot until Monday that a deadly shooting occurred on its campus. It brought back the flood of memories in Austin and on the UT campus of what Charles Whitman had done almost 41 years earlier.

It was interesting to read Nikki Giovanni&#39;s account of her 2005 encounter with Cho in <a href="http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2007/04/nikki-giovannis-encounter-with-cho.html">her writing class</a> she was teaching at Virginia Tech. I think what needs to happen in the wake of this tragedy is to strenghten the ability of college professors and administrators to compel folks with disturbing behavior patterns to undergo counseling once its verified.

Would that have prevented the shooting? That&#39;s a debatable question. As far as the <a href="http://news.bostonherald.com/international/asiaPacific/view.bg?articleid=195549">gun issue</a> I&#39;m going to deal with that another time. In this post I want to continue focusing on the 32 people we lost, the folks at Virginia Tech and their families who are grieving and trying to make sense out of an irrational situation.

We will never know what types of contributions those fallen people would have made to our society and others around the world. We can only guess about that as we mourn them, memorialize them and sadly have to move on.

Posted by Monica Roberts at 1:39 AM

Originally posted on TransGriot blog:
<a href="http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-tragedy.html">http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-tragedy.html</a>

Licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/">Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License</a>.

Monica Roberts

2007-05-10

Brent Jesiek

eng

Virginia Tech Tragedy: Human Nature & Networks

By Aaron Mannes

While the Virginia Tech tragedy has spawned the predictable media frenzy, there has - so far - been an admirable lack of speculation about the killer, his motives, or what this event says about American society. Leftist philosopher Herbert Marcuse once observed, "Not every problem someone has with his girlfriend is necessarily due to the capitalist mode of production." Humans are complicated and there are dark places in the human soul that will emerge. Sometimes ideologies and causes will spark these evil inclinations. But they exist and have emerged in every time and place.

Knowing that tragedies are part of the human experience - whether from natural or man-made causes - it is essential to take proper steps to ameliorate their impact. Dwight Eisenhower once observed, "Plans are nothing; planning is everything." Predicting the exact shape of the next tragedy is rarely possible. But the processes of preparing for some kinds of disasters and attacks will help develop the systems and habits necessary to respond to whatever fate throws. Lives were saved on 9/11 because some WTC tenants had consistently practiced evacuation techniques in the wake of the 1993 bombing.

University Presidents are akin to mayors. Universities are attractive targets and favorable locations for a variety of adverse events (violent attacks, disease outbreaks, criminal activity, and mass disturbances.) Undoubtedly yesterday&#39;s tragedy will increase interest in disaster planning at universities. One factor that should become central to planning is the ubiquity of mobile communications technology. Students texted each other to stay abreast of events and of course, there is the now famous celphone video. Properly harnessed this technology could have been an invaluable resource - not only for informing the students and public about evolving events - but for helping authorities locate the injured and track the killer&#39;s movements.

This is the age of the network, and the ability of people to quickly form networks and exchange information is an integral part of disaster response and mitigation. In the wake of Katrina, evacuees formed online communities to support each other emotionally and also through practical measures. We have seen the bad guys (terrorists and criminals) and commercial interests make creative use of communications technology to organize internally and get their message out externally. There is no reason the good guys can&#39;t do the same.

April 17, 2007 11:08 AM

Original Source: Counterterrorism Blog
<a href="http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/04/virginia_tech_tragedy_human_na.php">http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/04/virginia_tech_tragedy_human_na.php</a>

Creative Commons License: <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.5/">Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5</a>

Aaron Mannes

2007-05-10

Brent Jesiek

eng

Student Use of Technology During Virginia Tech Tragedy

Posted Friday, April 20, 2007 by Eric Schnell on The Medium is the Message (Blog)

As the Virginia Tech tragedy unfolded students used a familiar the technology to keep connected with the events, friends, and families: Facebook.

Using laptops and wireless connections, students created new Facebook groups on the fly as the day unfolded. Thousands of people joined a group called "I&#39;m ok at VT," which was used by students to announce that they were safe, ask for details about friends unaccounted for, and to report the names of victims. Other groups such as "VT Unite" were also created and thousands of people world wide not associated with VT joined them.

The use of this social networking site to publish and discover information and report personal experiences was a natural since it is what today&#39;s students use to gather online. Facebook provided immediate and quickly-updated information.

As I watched the quality of the footage released much it was obviously generated by camera phones. In my <a href="http://ericschnell.blogspot.com/2007/01/technology-trends-for-2007.html">Technology Trends for 2007</a> post I described the emergence of a concept called <a href="http://ericschnell.blogspot.com/2006/11/rock-concert-20-mobcasting.html">Mobcasting</a>, a phenomenon where event observers capture events on their video phones and podcast the footage on a blog. I described how the the resulting aggregation of content will lead to live event coverage by bloggers that is more in depth than can be captured by mainstream media. This tragedy demonstrated of power and potential of this concept.

Unfortunately, there was dubious information also being created. There has already been media debate about the accuracy of the information that was contained on these sites. Of course, traditional media outlets have processes they use to vet information before it is released. While this verification of information takes time it is not flawless (Dan Rather, Jayson Blair). The trade off is that is one wants to have information faster it may not be as dependable or reliable.

Still, I think there&#39;s a great potential for the ability to connect individuals that are there on-the-ground during events as they unfold and using blogs, RSS feeds, and Facebook as tool for publishing their personal experiences. While some can argue the result may not be as accurate as mainstream media, the coverage is significantly more complete.

Original Source:
<a href="http://ericschnell.blogspot.com/2007/04/student-use-of-technology-during.html">http://ericschnell.blogspot.com/2007/04/student-use-of-technology-during.html</a>

This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/">Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike 2.5 License</a>.

Eric Schnell

2007-05-10

Brent Jesiek

eng