Virginia Tech shooting a sign for contemplation and change
Title
Virginia Tech shooting a sign for contemplation and change
Description
By:
Posted: 4/23/07
Last week was one of tragedy as schools and universities across the United States faced the terror of threats of bombs and shootings on their campuses.
The events of April 16 have brought the issues of gun control, freedom, mental health and emergency preparedness to the forefront of the news and our minds.
But no one suffered more than the students, teachers, family and friends affected directly by the Virginia Tech shooting on April 16. For all of those with connections to Virginia Tech who are grieving from the tragedy, we'd like to express our sincere condolences.
We'd also like to commend everyone who has given University of Nebraska-Lincoln students, faculty and staff members opportunities to contemplate. We've been impressed by the outpouring of compassion that occurred on the UNL campus in many forms: signs, cards and candlelight vigils.
But Friday's events on the UNL campus put a damper upon the solemn nature of the week.
Like dozens of other college campuses around the country, UNL endured its own copycat scenario on Friday, the anniversary of the Columbine shootings in Colorado.
We can't fathom what would motivate a person to say a bomb was planted in the College of Engineering - or anywhere else for that matter.
Early Friday afternoon, a man called the dean's office claiming he planted a bomb in the engineering college. Othmer and Nebraska halls and the Walter Scott Engineering Center were subsequently evacuated and closed while police searched the building.
The terrorist threat led to the cancellation of the engineering college's recruitment day, for which some prospective UNL students traveled hundreds of miles to attend. It also fostered a sense of fear that had already emerged for some on campus who realized the Virginia Tech shootings could have happened anywhere, even here.
Luckily, the threat was an empty one, as were the dozens of other threats that shut down college and high school campuses across the country last week.
Not that the threats shouldn't be taken seriously. Virginia Tech encountered two bomb threats during the two weeks before the shooting. Police are still investigating to see if the threats and the shooting were related.
Of course, no one wants to live in fear of a similar shooting. And no one should advocate restrictions on our freedoms and civil liberties like those invoked as the United States embarked on the war on terror. At the same time, we're all left asking what can be done to prevent this from happening again.
Some are saying we need to strengthen our gun-control laws - or even more extreme, allow people to carry concealed weapons on campus for their own protection.
According to an article published in The New York Times, Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui should never have been allowed to purchase guns.
In 2005 he was declared a danger to himself and referred to psychiatric treatment, which according to federal law should have prohibited him from buying a firearm.
But Virginia's background checks failed, and Cho fell through the cracks.
To prevent gun-related tragedies of any magnitude in the future, our state government leaders need to ensure Nebraska's background checks are accurate and thorough, let alone invoking stricter gun-control laws.
Gun-control laws would not be enough, however, in a culture that is so immersed in violence. It's on our prime time television and in our movies. Early investigations suggest Cho studied violence. And as his video released to NBC indicated, he glorified the Columbine High School shooters and considered himself a martyr.
Politicians and lobbyists on both sides of the gun-control debate will use the Virginia Tech shooting to further their own interests.
But our only true solution will be to cultivate an environment in which violence is no longer seen as the first answer to every problem, a sign of masculinity or an expression of power.
Without that attitude change, what happened at Virginia Tech could happen anywhere. And we shouldn't have to live in fear.
--
Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.dailynebraskan.com/media/storage/paper857/news/2007/04/23/Opinion/Virginia.Tech.Shooting.A.Sign.For.Contemplation.And.Change-2873861.shtml> Daily Nebraskan - April 23, 2007</a>
Posted: 4/23/07
Last week was one of tragedy as schools and universities across the United States faced the terror of threats of bombs and shootings on their campuses.
The events of April 16 have brought the issues of gun control, freedom, mental health and emergency preparedness to the forefront of the news and our minds.
But no one suffered more than the students, teachers, family and friends affected directly by the Virginia Tech shooting on April 16. For all of those with connections to Virginia Tech who are grieving from the tragedy, we'd like to express our sincere condolences.
We'd also like to commend everyone who has given University of Nebraska-Lincoln students, faculty and staff members opportunities to contemplate. We've been impressed by the outpouring of compassion that occurred on the UNL campus in many forms: signs, cards and candlelight vigils.
But Friday's events on the UNL campus put a damper upon the solemn nature of the week.
Like dozens of other college campuses around the country, UNL endured its own copycat scenario on Friday, the anniversary of the Columbine shootings in Colorado.
We can't fathom what would motivate a person to say a bomb was planted in the College of Engineering - or anywhere else for that matter.
Early Friday afternoon, a man called the dean's office claiming he planted a bomb in the engineering college. Othmer and Nebraska halls and the Walter Scott Engineering Center were subsequently evacuated and closed while police searched the building.
The terrorist threat led to the cancellation of the engineering college's recruitment day, for which some prospective UNL students traveled hundreds of miles to attend. It also fostered a sense of fear that had already emerged for some on campus who realized the Virginia Tech shootings could have happened anywhere, even here.
Luckily, the threat was an empty one, as were the dozens of other threats that shut down college and high school campuses across the country last week.
Not that the threats shouldn't be taken seriously. Virginia Tech encountered two bomb threats during the two weeks before the shooting. Police are still investigating to see if the threats and the shooting were related.
Of course, no one wants to live in fear of a similar shooting. And no one should advocate restrictions on our freedoms and civil liberties like those invoked as the United States embarked on the war on terror. At the same time, we're all left asking what can be done to prevent this from happening again.
Some are saying we need to strengthen our gun-control laws - or even more extreme, allow people to carry concealed weapons on campus for their own protection.
According to an article published in The New York Times, Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui should never have been allowed to purchase guns.
In 2005 he was declared a danger to himself and referred to psychiatric treatment, which according to federal law should have prohibited him from buying a firearm.
But Virginia's background checks failed, and Cho fell through the cracks.
To prevent gun-related tragedies of any magnitude in the future, our state government leaders need to ensure Nebraska's background checks are accurate and thorough, let alone invoking stricter gun-control laws.
Gun-control laws would not be enough, however, in a culture that is so immersed in violence. It's on our prime time television and in our movies. Early investigations suggest Cho studied violence. And as his video released to NBC indicated, he glorified the Columbine High School shooters and considered himself a martyr.
Politicians and lobbyists on both sides of the gun-control debate will use the Virginia Tech shooting to further their own interests.
But our only true solution will be to cultivate an environment in which violence is no longer seen as the first answer to every problem, a sign of masculinity or an expression of power.
Without that attitude change, what happened at Virginia Tech could happen anywhere. And we shouldn't have to live in fear.
--
Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.dailynebraskan.com/media/storage/paper857/news/2007/04/23/Opinion/Virginia.Tech.Shooting.A.Sign.For.Contemplation.And.Change-2873861.shtml> Daily Nebraskan - April 23, 2007</a>
Creator
Anonymous
Publisher
Daily Nebraskan
Date
2007-09-03
Contributor
Sara AA Hood
Rights
Josh Swartzlander <jdwriter19@yahoo.com>
Language
eng
Citation
Anonymous, “Virginia Tech shooting a sign for contemplation and change,” The April 16 Archive, accessed April 20, 2024, https://www.april16archive.org/items/show/1280.