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Brent Jesiek
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Brent Jesiek
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2007-05-19
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By Joe Cressman
Elmhurst Press
Tue Apr 24, 2007, 04:35 PM CDT
ELMHURST, IL - The April 16 tragedy at Virginia Tech has Elmhurst College officials looking at ways they can make their own campus more secure.
One of those ways is to teach the community how to respond to danger signs among students, said Tony Leggett, director of campus security.
"We've done a number of things," he said. "We sent out a letter to give students some of the warning signs, how to report if someone on campus they know (is) emotionally distressed."
He also has been in contact with the Elmhurst Police Department. Sometime this summer, police will rehearse practice responses to an on-campus shooter, Leggett said.
Charley Henderson, director of public relations, said the Virginia Tech massacre has everyone thinking about how safety measures can be improved.
"This campus is essentially safe, but you never say never," he said.
Original Source: <a href="http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/elmhurst/news/x1910945457">http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/elmhurst/news/x1910945457</a>
Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5</a>.
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eng
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Officials examine ways to make school safer
elmhurst press
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safety
security
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The Lancet
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2007-06-11
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<b>Editorial</b>
<a href="http://www.lancet.com/">The Lancet</a>
Available online 26 April 2007.
The blood had not yet dried in the lecture rooms of Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, before polarised camps claimed that the slaughter of 32 students and teachers vindicated their particular stance on gun control. So shrill was the debate about whether the tragedy would have been better prevented by reducing firearms through stronger gun laws or by increasing availability through liberalising right-to-carry legislation, that the more important issue of gun violence as a public-health menace has been neglected. Until the debate widens to address violence as a preventable social problem, rather than solely a legal concern, mass shootings will continue. To pretend that the Blacksburg tragedy is unique ignores the legacy of school shootings in Dunblane, Columbine, and elsewhere, and deprives people of an opportunity to reduce future risks.
Violence is a broad problem that involves communities, not just criminals, and populations around the world, not just the USA. In 2003, 1·6 million people were killed by violence worldwide, more than by road traffic crashes or malaria. One-third died as a result of homicide. The incidence is rising, fuelled by inequalities, victimisation, and lack of social trust, so that gunshot wounds are a major cause of death for young men.
Because the USA has the highest homicide and gun-homicide rates of any industrialised democracy, the country is a natural focus for attempts to learn more about violence. But despite many Federally funded programmes, objective research on interventions to reduce violence is lacking. Nor has the Campbell Collaboration, established to synthesise evidence for the social sciences, provided guidance. In 2004, the <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=RedirectURL&_method=externObjLink&_locator=url&_plusSign=%2B&_targetURL=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.nap.edu%252Fcatalog%252F10881.html">US National Research Council</a> critically reviewed gun violence and concluded that there was little quality science to inform decision making. The reason is that most studies are based on associations or on before-and-after series.
A 2004 survey from Harvard estimated that 38% of households and 26% of individuals had at least one of the 283 million private firearms in the USA. Even teenagers report ready access to guns. Several studies in the USA and elsewhere cite protection as the main reason for having a gun, despite the fact that guns are far more likely to be used offensively, including suicide, than for self-defence. The association of firearms and their use in homicide between populations (four shooting deaths per 100 000 in the USA vs 0·15 per 100 000 in Cameroon where private guns are banned) is complex and obviously involves cultural factors as well.
Yet, interventions within populations that remove guns do seem to reduce gun crime in a reproducible manner. In 2003, more than half the guns retrieved from crimes were traced to 1% of dealers. When such a dealer in Milwaukee stopped selling inexpensive handguns, local gun crime was reduced by 96% and the transfer of new weapons to criminals decreased by 44%. In Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City, policing to remove illegal firearms from the street reduced gun crime as well. Multiple interventions combining social networks with stronger enforcement can also be successful, such as the 63% drop in homicides after Operation Ceasefire in Boston. Tougher gun laws in Brazil in 2003, allied with a buy-back programme of 450 000 guns, reduced the gun-homicide rate by 8% and hospitalisation for gunshots by 4·6%.
How can such findings inform sensible policy decisions? The National Research Council concludes that individual-level data are needed. Characteristics of victims can be enhanced with WHO's <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=RedirectURL&_method=externObjLink&_locator=url&_plusSign=%2B&_targetURL=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.who.int%252Fclassifications%252Ficd%252Fadaptations%252Ficeci%252Fen%252Findex.html">International Classification of External Causes of Injuries</a>, which by introducing standard reporting criteria, enables comparisons between studies. But there are few details about perpetrators, since criminal background checks for sales by gun dealers are destroyed within 24 h and private second-hand sales, which constitute 40% of gun transfers in the USA, are not recorded. To understand assailants' risk factors requires records of gun ownership or ballistic fingerprinting, to which the powerful US National Rifle Association is opposed.
The events in Blacksburg on April 16 demand a more mature evaluation of gun violence, based on the right to health instead of the right to bear arms, and which places public welfare above self-interest. The National Research Council's call for accurate, individual-level data from rigorous studies is essential, in order to provide robust information on which sound interventions can be based. But until such data are available, the best current evidence clearly supports an immediate reduction in the availability of firearms as a public-health priority.
--
Reprinted with permission from Elsevier (The Lancet, 2007, Vol 369, Issue 9571, p 1403)
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eng
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Clare Truter, Rights Manager, S&T, Elsevier (permissions@elsevier.com)
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Gun violence and public health
editorial
gun violence
public health
risk
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Sara Hood
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Chammarra Johnson
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2007-08-19
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<b>SHOOTING: Study shows that often many common myths about school shootings are not necessarily correct.</b>
By Chammarra Johnson
Staff Writer
Following the recent shooting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, an article released on MSNBC.com last February has many people talking about the many misconceptions regarding the perpetrators of school shootings and what this means for colleges across the country.
The list was compiled from a 2002 study by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education. The researchers studied various case files and other primary sources for 37 attacks by current or former students. They also interviewed 10 of the perpetrators in these attacks. According to the list, the most common myths are:
There Are No Profiles - There is no accurate way to profile students for being at risk of committing crimes like this. When creating a profile, you will be at risk of having many innocent people fit the 'profile' and many attackers who do not. According to the article, "The demographic, personality, school history and social characteristics of the attackers varied substantially. Attackers were of all races and family situations, with academic achievement ranging from failing to excellent."
He Just Snapped - Attacks are not usually impulsive. Instead, the attackers usually plan their attacks, spending time forming the idea and gathering weapons.
No One Knew - Before most attacks, the perpetrators reveal to someone their plans, usually a friend, classmate or sibling. However, this information rarely makes it to an adult.
He Hadn't Threatened Anyone - A person doesn't need to vocalize a threat to pose a threat. A student who is seeking revenge, has spoken of bringing a gun to school, etc, is a threat. According to the article, "Most attackers did not threaten and most threateners did not attack."
He Was a Loner - Most of the perpetrators of school shootings were kids who participated in clubs, sports or other activities. Only one-quarter of shooters were "fringe" students.
He Was Crazy - While most of the perpetrators had a history of suicidal thoughts, depression and trouble dealing with loss or personal failures, only one-third had ever been seen by mental health professional and only one-fifth were diagnosed with a mental disorder.
If Only We'd Had a SWAT Team or Metal Detectors - SWAT teams usually arrive once an incident is over and metal detectors won't deter students intent on killing themselves or others.
He'd Never Touched a Gun - Most shooters have touched a gun at some point in their lives and many acquire guns from their homes.
We Did Everything We Could to Help Him - Most perpetrators of school shootings have felt bullied, persecuted or injured by others before committing their crimes and most have tried to get some sort of help.
School Violence Is Rampant - It may seem as though we see school shootings in the news on a regular basis, but school shootings are actually very rare.
So, in light of the recent shooting at Virginia Tech, do UC Irvine students feel more at risk?
Anthony Marsh, a fourth-year history major, feels that we are not at risk. "In California, there are stricter gun control laws so it isn't as easy for people to wantonly walk into gun shops and purchase them."
Another student, who wishes to remain anonymous disagrees. "This shooting has shown me that violence like this can occur anywhere, even on college campuses. What I am most afraid of is that in Irvine, we won't be prepared if something of this nature happens. The administration and police might not know what to do."
Professor Linda Vo, an Asian-American studies professor, hopes that we will use this tragedy in order to strengthen our own school policies. "I do hope that we use this opportunity to reevaluate our mental health policies on university campuses and make improvements where necessary. College campuses are now more diverse than ever before, so it's important to have counselors who are trained to work with their needs.
Everyone is making changes in response to this tragedy in order to better serve the school community in a time of crisis. Currently, the UCI Police Department is going over and revamping procedures in order to prepare for such an event. But if something were to occur, would they be ready? Hopefully, we will never know.
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Original Source:<a href=http://www.newuniversity.org/showArticle.php?id=5713>New University - April 23, 2007</a>
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Zachary Gale <newueic@gmail.com>
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Campus Mourns Virginia Tech Tragedy (Part 2)
myths
profile
risk
school shootings
university of california - irvine