Letter to the Editor Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Viewpoint This past Monday, people across the country were glued to their television screens, witnessing the chaos that ensued as the result of the violence carried out on the Virginia Tech campus. Deservedly, this event received a great deal of publicity - it was on the front page of The Observer and also had multi-page layouts and analysis in the Chicago Tribune and New York Times. What didn't receive due media attention were the 37 Iraqi civilians who died the same day of the very same unwarranted and selfish violence, as well as others in Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and other war-torn regions who perish daily. These stories were overshadowed by the story which undoubtedly hit much closer to home for many on the Notre Dame campus. But we must remember that regardless of the locality of violence, it is still violence. The Virginia Tech students who died are no more or no less human than the countless people who die every day. This is neither a pro- nor anti-war debate. This is a life debate. The murders at Virginia Tech are indeed a tragedy, but please be aware that in many countries violence of this nature is part of their bleak, everyday reality. The frequency of this sort of violence should not discount its impact on our conscience. We must be thankful that we don't suffer from the fear of bombs and bloodshed on a daily basis but also be more mindful about the tragedies and suffering that are experienced by those stretched across the world. Sean Mallin sophomore Keough Hall April 18 -- Original Source: http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/20/Viewpoint/Value.Of.A.Life-2870832.shtml
Gary Caruso Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Viewpoint Rarely does a year's numerical arrangement offer a cute correlation to an icon like the parallel this year between the Class of '007 with the fictional international spy James Bond. But this week is not a cute one with the massacre at Virginia Tech. Neither is this a charming year with the carnage that defies understanding of both young Americans and Iraqis in the Middle East. The feel of our time is reminiscent of my second semester of freshman year when four students were murdered at Kent State. It may seem whimsically befitting that at this time of international strife and uncertainty, this year's seniors can be branded with the James Bond code name of "007." Yet it is evident that for the near future, the years ahead will be filled with learning experiences in hope of healing an unsettled world. Life at times is cruel, shocking and unforgiving. Ask the families of sons and daughters lost on the Virginia Tech campus. Ask the maimed servicemen and servicewomen who return from Iraq each day with the scars and nightmares of war. Within a month, the Notre Dame senior class will march onward to many personal and individual victories. Graduates will disperse in every direction like the high-flying seeds of a mature dandelion scattering on a windy day. Their choices in life can be motivated by either fear or love. All of us must decide if we are motivated by fear so that we are reactive, or if we are motivated by love so that we reach out to others in a proactive way. Tragically, many of us never know that we have a choice. Notre Dame teaches its graduates to know better, to be better and to act better - not in a self-righteous way, but in service to others. The bonds of love felt at Virginia Tech in light of this week's tragedy are the bonds Notre Dame slowly, subtly instills in its graduates throughout their four-year journey. Many times, though, graduates who believe in absolute certainties diminish their ability for tolerance, open-mindedness and acceptance. However, sometimes the greater forces of the universe change individuals through an abrupt tragedy or death. This column regularly recalls Notre Dame's so-called "angels," the great friends and teachers who change or mold a student's outlook. In my era, Frank O'Malley, Tom Stritch and Father Robert Griffin were among the iconic figures in our hearts. Most recently, former Notre Dame Security/Police Director Rex Rakow joined that heavenly group. Their thoughts, their deeds and their warmth were the formula that sprouted their wings, but more importantly, touched our hearts. The members of the Class of '007 cannot conform like puppets to a small segment of our society - although they have sought acceptance within the campus community for nearly four years. Do not confine yourselves to your sense of belonging, to your sense of behavior, or to your sense of morality. If you do limit yourselves, you will strike out against those who are different rather than embrace and tolerate others in our world. In the family of nations, wisdom is the first cousin of freedom while freedom is the glory of our nation. Without wisdom we cannot be a beacon of light. We cannot be brave, gallant or kind. This nation once stood as the beacon of truth because others yearned for our ideals. Recently, we lost our moral authority with secret prisons, torture, indifference and duplicity. Our leaders replaced wisdom with an ideology. Does anyone think the world can find answers when we have no dialogue? One thing is for sure, when the Class of '007 grasps the torch of leadership, our nation will be less bigoted and more inclusive. The world will know that this year's graduates have asked the questions and extended a hand. It may take a decade to solve today's current international mess, but it is possible to heal and unite the world. Just when we have walked through a valley thinking that the sun has gone down on us, we should remember that it always comes up again. Wisdom sometimes comes from the most unlikely sources, and we must learn to open our eyes to everyone. Robert Stroud, the famous prisoner known as "the Birdman of Alcatraz," found a baby sparrow and raised it to maturity. Whenever he thought it was time for the bird to go out into the world on its own, he said, "You best go find out who you are. Kick up dust, dance to fiddle music, taste sweet whiskey and red-eyed gravy. Bite the stars for me." In the true tradition of Bond, James Bond, this writer has high hopes for the future of this year's graduates and wishes the Class of '007 many bites at the stars. The dust, fiddle music, whiskey and red-eyed gravy are at your discretion. Gary Caruso, Notre Dame '73, is a political strategist who served as a legislative and public affairs director in President Clinton's administration. His column appears every other Friday. He can be contacted at hottline@aol.com The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer. -- Original Source: http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/20/Viewpoint/Well-Wishes.For.The.Clas.Of.007-2870849.shtml http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/20/Viewpoint/Well-Wishes.For.The.Clas.Of.007-2870849-page2.shtml
Jenkins e-mail explains University security Ken Fowler Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: News Though Notre Dame created a task force in 2006 to review crisis plans, the deaths of 33 people at Virginia Tech Monday "will spur even greater review and preparedness," University President Father John Jenkins said in an e-mail to students Thursday. Though limited in scope, Jenkins' message was the most in-depth explanation of Notre Dame's security measures since Monday's shootings. In the 700-word letter, Jenkins said Notre Dame has procedures in place to respond to natural emergencies as well as acts of violence. The University continues to search for the best ways to communicate with students in the event of a campus crisis. Jenkins noted the Office of Information Technology's pilot program to send text messages to all students who provide their cell phone numbers. University spokesman Don Wycliff said Thursday that Jenkins' letter did not go into more detail about specific response procedures as a safety precaution, so that security details of the plan would not be compromised. "There had been a sense all during the week that at some point it would be appropriate to address the issues," Wycliff said. "Today seemed appropriate." Jenkins reaffirmed the University's desire to have the service fully operational by fall and said officials would encourage students to participate in "this important and innovative communications initiative." The question of communication is only heightened by the University's decision in 2006 to de-standardize land telephone lines in dorm rooms. In an interview with The Observer at the beginning of the school year, Director of Integrated Communications Services at OIT Steven Ellis said only 60 students initially paid a $161 fee to have the dorm phones in their room. Every resident assistant, however, does have a landline, provided free. In the e-mail, Jenkins expressed confidence that Notre Dame Security/Police's (NDSP) 28 police officers and 35 additional security personnel could adequately handle major incidents on campus and work with other local emergency responders to control a crisis scene. "These men and women receive regular training to address a wide variety of emergency situations, and the department maintains a productive and close relationship with all public safety agencies in the area," Jenkins said. For emergency situations, Jenkins said, the University maintains 48 call boxes throughout campus and keeps telephones in the public areas of each residence hall. Jenkins did not detail a specific plan of action for NDSP in the event of a major campus incident and did not say what University officials have the authority to declare a lock-down on potions campus or specific buildings. "Please know that safety is of paramount importance to all of us at Notre Dame," Jenkins said. "While we believe we are ready to respond to a myriad of circumstances, the tragedy at Virginia Tech will spur even greater review and preparedness." -- Original Source: http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/20/News/Tragedy.Prompts.Campus.Action-2871131.shtml
ND looks into cell phone text messaging to alert students of emergencies Kaitlynn Riely, Aaron Steiner and Ken Fowler Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: News Notre Dame has procedures in place to respond to major incidents and crises, but the University is not commenting on most specifics of those plans, officials said Wednesday. Nationwide, universities have been asked about - and have offered self-evaluations of -emergency protocols in the aftermath of Monday's mass slayings at Virginia Tech University. A lone gunman apparently shot and killed two students in a dorm on the Blacksburg, Va., campus two hours before opening fire and killing 30 more people in one of the school's academic buildings half a mile away. "Suffice it to say, that plans do exist," University spokesman Don Wycliff said. "They are constantly being reviewed in light of the Virginia Tech experience, and we would be [foolish] if we do not attempt to review those plans." Wycliff said he expects Notre Dame to comment on campus security plans in the future, but he couldn't give an exact date. Notre Dame Security/Police (NDSP) Director Phil Johnson declined to comment on NDSP's procedures for crisis management plans and referred all questions to University representatives in the Office of News and Information. Wycliff declined to comment on what offices have the authority to lock down buildings or entire portions of campus in the event of an emergency. He would not say if the University has a campus broadcasting system it could use to transmit emergency messages to faculty, students and staff. But Gordon Wishon, the University's chief information officer, said Notre Dame has been looking into the possibility of compiling a database of cellular phone numbers to send text messages to in the event of a campus emergency. Wishon said the University is preparing to launch a pilot program of the text messaging system, and it will test the service throughout the remainder of this semester and summer. He said the University expects to have this service fully ready by the fall. He said the discussions and plans received more attention and support when Notre Dame eliminated standard telephone lines in each dorm room in 2006. "We began exploring that some time ago ... realizing that the primary mode of communication for college students is cell phones," Wishon said of the text messaging plan. Wishon noted that the University added voicemail service and each student is given a voicemail number, but officials believed they needed to look into other methods of communication in case of a crisis. "We knew that wouldn't work in case of an emergency," Wishon said. In addition to the text messaging plan, Wishon said the Office of Information Technology has looked into and is investigating the possibility of voice messages and video messages - available through e-mails or from a Web site - as well as the idea of utilizing the closed-circuit television system on campus for public service announcements. Wishon said the University is looking into the possibility of broadcasting an emergency tone on Notre Dame's 10 reserved cable channels to alert the University community of any emergencies if it deemed it necessary. "The bottom line is that we are looking for as many ways as we can to communicate with students, as well as staff and faculty, in an emergency or crisis situation," he said. "As terrible as Monday's tragedy is, the administration here at the University has been working to refine its crisis management plan for some time." Wishon said the work to "refine" and review crisis management plans was organized and initiated by the Office of the President. -- Original Source: http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/19/News/Campus.Security.Reacts.To.Shootings-2852847.shtml http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/19/News/Campus.Security.Reacts.To.Shootings-2852847-page2.shtml
Kaitlynn Riely, Aaron Steiner and Ken Fowler
Observer Viewpoint Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: Viewpoint Anyone old enough to speak coherently at the time still remembers the moment, over forty years ago, when they heard about JFK's assassination. Our grandparents can tell us how they listened to the radio accounts of Pearl Harbor on a December day, more than six decades gone. Every single one of us here at Notre Dame can recall where we were on the day of Sept. 11, 2001 - what we were doing, how the horribly tragic events of that morning unfolded for us and our personal feelings on the matter. Any time someone shares a personal story of That Day, I'm always amazed at the details people recall. I remember listening to Paul Harvey's show on my AM radio while driving to school when he announced the first plane crash. I remember talking about it with my friend before the start of first-hour Biology, and I remember the girl who came in and told us the other tower had been hit. I remember conversations I had that day, things different teachers said and talking with my grandparents in the evening. That was my experience, half a country away, without a personal connection to anyone involved. The mass media of the past century gave rise to a new, shared cultural experience, a common reference point that breaches distance and background: the generation-defining event. When we hear 9/11 described this way, it is absolutely on-target. This week, we have another national tragedy. News of the massacre at Virginia Tech on Monday spread like wildfire throughout both national and international outlets, even reaching most of us studying abroad in Europe within the hour. We learned of the catastrophe over television stations, through quickly formed Facebook groups, on Internet news sites and during instant messaging conversations. Solid facts came slowly, but no report could sanitize away the fear, confusion, anger, torrential grief and host of other emotions that assault us all in such times. This is the great curse of our generation's hyper-awareness and the awesome power of modern media. We cannot escape the sentiments swirling around the tragedies, and they cannot remain anonymous or distant to us. It is hard to ignore the images of grown men and women crying as dead college students are carried away, the surreal sounds of gunshots being fired on a peaceful college campus or the first-hand accounts of courage and action during the Virginia shootings. I hesitate to compare this with 9/11; the numbers, circumstances, impact, source, scope and means are worlds apart. Yet both incidents serve to painfully remind us that these events always seem to be associated with sorrow, tragedy and death. The events of Monday, though still fresh in my mind, will probably not stick with me as do those of 9/11. Sadly, the thousands of students and faculty and staff connected with the university, the thousands of parents worrying at home and the thousands of residents in the surrounding community don't have that luxury of separation. For them, this will become a "where were you when..." event. Monday will haunt their minds and stay with them for the duration of their lives. Healing can take place, and God willing, can come soon, but memories of all the little details from Monday will stick. Meanwhile, the rest of us are stuck asking ourselves: How many more of these "defining" events can we plan on seeing in the coming years and decades? And when can we expect one judged not by the body count or human toll, but by the rewards and human joy brought about? Some may say any event that becomes constantly discussed, like 9/11, does not develop its crystalline clarity in the moments of its occurrence, but rather slowly cements itself during the constant regurgitation of facts and satellite details in the months and years following. Even if this were the case, we are still left empty-handed trying to think of a ubiquitous positive event. I firmly believe that such events, incredibly wonderful instead of shockingly horrific, are entirely possible. Unfortun-ately, we are still waiting to see what such an event would look like. The consistently negative nature of these events can be explained to some degree. "Good events," for one, rarely culminate in one triumphant moment. Tragedy, on the other hand, catches us unaware. In the shock, the horrific facts come slowly and there are a thousand unknowns. With triumphant accomplishments, the event is often merely symbolic and known well in advance. The closest models I can call to mind are the fall of the Berlin Wall - which I and most of my classmates were too young to remember - and the moon landing, decades before we were born. Our generation, already exposed to so much death and murder and war and evil, still waits for its anti-9/11. We have yet to gather around our televisions and computers to share joy instead of sorrow, fulfillment instead of shock, pleasure instead of anger. We are the waiting. But for the moment, in respect for the Virginia Tech community, let us remember that we are also among the mourning. James Dechant is a junior studying abroad in Rome this semester. Questions, complaints and rude remarks can be sent to jdechant@nd.edu The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer. -- Original Source: http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/19/Viewpoint/Still.Waiting.For.Our.Victory-2852060.shtml http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/19/Viewpoint/Still.Waiting.For.Our.Victory-2852060-page2.shtml
NIU response helped by Virginia Tech lessons
Doug Finke GateHouse News Service Fri Feb 15, 2008, 09:31 PM EST SPRINGFIELD, IL - Northern Illinois University's response to Thursday's shooting rampage may have been helped by what state officials learned from last year's massacre at Virginia Tech University. A Campus Safety Task Force was created to see what could be learned from the Virginia Tech incident and how those lessons could be implemented here. Representatives from state colleges and universities, including NIU, attended task force meetings. One of the most important lessons discussed was getting information to students as quickly as possible. "The response at Northern Illinois, from our standpoint, was extraordinary," said Mike Chamness, chairman of the Illinois Terrorism Task Force. Students were notified within 20 minutes that a shooting occurred, to take cover and stay away from some parts of the campus, Chamness said. At Virginia Tech, it took more than two hours to issue an alert. Students at NIU also were relaying text messages to each other. One idea discussed by the task force was that colleges should use multiple means to convey an emergency message to students, including encouraging the use of text messaging. Rep. Rich Myers, R-Colchester, said Western Illinois University in his district just went through a drill to notify students in case of emergency. "They sent text messages to cell phones, voice mail, e-mail," Myers said. "As I understand it, it was a very successful test." What to do after an emergency is only part of the task force's responsibility. It is also examining prevention. A full report is scheduled to be delivered April 1. "A mental health survey is still being completed," Chamness said. "That purpose is to look at ways to identify potential issues and how to deal with those, how to get help to those people." That will probably require the assistance of students themselves. "Be alert. If you see something that looks suspicious, don't be shy or embarrassed about picking up the phone and calling law enforcement authorities," Chamness advised. "You may be the person who helps prevent something." At the same time, Chamness said there didn't seem to be the "red flags" in the NIU case that there were at Virginia Tech. "I don't think there's a panacea out there for how you stop this," he said. "You're talking about somebody who walked into a classroom." Chamness said state officials will meet with NIU staff in coming weeks to assess what happened and what parts of the response plan worked and if any didn't. Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, said he wants two House committees — Higher Education and Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness — to convene a joint session in a few weeks to review the NIU situation. "I want to have a joint hearing once reports are released and more information can be obtained as to how we can be better informed and better prepared," said Brady whose district includes Illinois State University. "Even though it looks like everyone worked in synch, there's always something to learn." Doug Finke can be reached at (217) 788-1527. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0. -- Original Source: http://ghns.ghnewsroom.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/news/x230383197
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Area colleges updated alert systems after Virginia Tech
By CHRIS DETTRO STAFF WRITER Published Friday, February 15, 2008 Springfield-area colleges have systems in place to alert students to campus emergencies, and most procedures have been updated or were instituted originally in the wake of campus shootings at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va., last spring. Thursday's shootings at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb brought the importance of those procedures to the forefront again. "It's just awful," said Mike Underwood, spokesman for MacMurray College in Jacksonville. "Something like that really hits home." The University of Illinois at Springfield, Illinois College in Jacksonville and Blackburn College in Carlinville all have some type of emergency notification system where students can receive e-mails, cell phone messages or other electronic notification should there be an emergency on campus. Michelle Green, spokeswoman for UIS, said the school had a call from one parent within an hour of the NIU shooting expressing concern. UIS sent out a campuswide message to faculty, staff and students late Thursday afternoon urging them to sign up for the UIS Emergency Notification System it implemented last month. The university's chancellor or provost, chief of police or someone assigned the task sets the notification system in motion, Green said. Lincoln Land Community College recently updated its emergency procedures in response to the Virginia Tech incident, said spokeswoman Lynn Whalen. In addition to having armed campus police on duty 24 hours a day, LLCC has installed emergency phones in each classroom and has enabled all classroom doors to be locked from the inside. "We also have a good counseling and referral system should anyone need that kind of help," Whalen said. Jim Murphy, Illinois College spokesman, said more than 400 of IC's 1,000 students signed up to receive e-mail or text-message alerts last fall. "It was a response to Virginia Tech and established a way to get information to students, faculty and staff as soon as possible," he said. Blackburn College has an on-campus siren and a system to notify people via e-mail and on the college's Web site. "When something like this happens, we always review the manual," said Rusty Ingram, public relations director at Blackburn. "We have security procedures we go through, and we can lock down the entrances to campus." Ingram said the shootings at Virginia Tech "made us more aware," although he believes that because almost all Blackburn students have jobs on campus, they may be more aware. "Our thoughts and prayers certainly go out to the people at Northern today," he said. "We have a chapel on campus if students here want to talk about it." Staff writer Sarah Antonacci contributed to this report. Chris Dettro can be reached at 788-1510. On the Web For more information on the UIS Emergency Notification System, students can go to https://emergency.uis.edu A previous version of the story misstated the number of students who have signed up for Illinois College's emergency alert system. The correct number is 400. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Generic -- Original Source: http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/25291.asp
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Latest news: Investigators, loved ones try to reconcile the 2 sides of NIU gunman
Photo: ALAN LEON | RRSTAR.COM Ken Shold, an NIU almunus and father of a current student, sheds tears while praying in front of Cole Hall on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008, on the Northern Illinois University campus in DeKalb. Story: Feb 16, 2008 @ 09:40 PM RRSTAR.COM, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, GATEHOUSE NEWS SERVICE AND ESPN.COM DEKALB - A look at those who died in the shootings Visit the NIU February 14 Student Scholarship Fund For more coverage, read our special report Steven Kazmierczak had the look of a boyish graduate student — except for the disturbing tattoos that covered his arms. 9:40 p.m. NIU plans scholarship fund in honor of victims Authorities at NIU said they were creating a scholarship fund in honor of the slain students and also are discussing how to build a permanent on-campus memorial. 8:18 p.m. Virginia Tech plans virgil for NIU shooting victims Virginia Tech plans to have a candlelight vigil on Monday to show support for those affected by the shootings at Northern Illinois University. Hokies United, the student group that formed after the April shootings at Virginia Tech that left 33 dead, organized the vigil and has asked the university community to wear NIU's school colors of red and black as a sign of support and solidarity on Monday. Hokies United will also temporarily lay a red and black Hokie Stone near the campus memorial dedicated to those who lost their lives in the April 16 shootings. Students plan to deliver the stone to Northern Illinois, in DeKalb, Ill., in a week or so. On Thursday, a 27-year-old former NIU student opened fire on a geology class, killing five people before committing suicide. The shooting brought back horrific memories for the Virginia Tech community, still reeling from its own tragedy. Many people on campus donned red and black on Friday in a show of support. The latest shooting also left some families of the Virginia Tech victims feeling anguished. "It just brings it all back. I can't imagine what they're going through, but I know what they're going through," said Suzanne Grimes, whose son Kevin Sterne was injured in the Tech shootings and appeared in a now-famous photograph being carried by rescue workers with a tourniquet around his leg. "I feel their pain, and I feel their loss." Sterne, who returned to Blacksburg to pursue a master's degree, is deeply upset by the latest shootings, and is concerned about entering a classroom, said Grimes, of Eighty Four, Pa. He hopes to reach out to the victims' families and the survivors of the Illinois shooting, she said. Virginia Tech president Charles Steger also expressed sympathy for the NIU community. "This horrific news will certainly bring to mind the hurt, pain, and trauma we experienced less than a year ago," Steger wrote in a message posted on the university's web site. "I have sent my condolences and offer of assistance to the president of NIU. Our university community was bolstered and comforted by the outpouring of support from campuses around the nation and the world," Steger said. "I am sure that expressions of support from the Virginia Tech community will mean much to that now suffering campus community." 6:15 p.m. Students agree closing Cole Hall right move The decision to close Cole Hall, the scene of Thursday's shootings that left six dead, was the right one, said Lee Blank, an NIU student working toward a postgraduate journalism degree. "It would just be wrong ethically, I think, to have to open that building up again and go to class there," he said. The school has asked faculty members to return to campus Tuesday and classes will resume Feb. 25. Teachers and staff will receive extensive training on how to help students cope with returning to class. Student associations are putting a series of activities and events together to keep students busy during the days ahead. All university events, including athletic competitions, remain canceled through Feb. 24. "The last thing on people's minds right now is going back to class," said NIU junior Michelle Rzepka, who said she'd spend Monday attending the funeral of fellow classmate Daniel Parmenter. NIU will increase police presence when classes resume. The school's 45 to 50 sworn officers will be bolstered by private security guards, and police officers from DeKalb and surrounding counties will be added, NIU spokeswoman Melanie Magara said. An extra week will be added to the school year. The May 10 graduation commencement has been rescheduled to May 17. Officials have made no decision about how to handle questions about academic grades or refunds for students who do not return to school immediately or at all. Magara offered no new details about the ongoing investigation into the shooting. Authorities intend to interview the 160 or so people who were in the Cole Hall auditorium where the shooting took place, but those interviews aren't yet finished, she said. She read a written statement from NIU President John Peters, who urged students, faculty and residents to "take care of ourselves and take care of each other" as the community copes in the days and weeks ahead. "Let us continue to show the world that an act of violence does not define us," Peters said. 5:04 p.m. Classes at NIU to resume Feb. 25 Classes at Northern Illinois University will be postponed for another week, with students scheduled to return Feb. 25, the university announced this afternoon. Faculty and staff will return Tuesday, according to Melanie Margara, assistant vice president of public affairs. Margara said the weeklong delay will mean a week will be added to the end of the semester. She said this week will be used to train staff on how to work with students in the aftermath of the shooting and give the university staff and students time to recover from the event. "In the end, the decision ... ultimately gave us a little more breathing time," she said. Margara said Cole Hall, the building where the shooting took place, will be closed for the rest of the academic year. Beyond that, its future is unknown. 4:57 p.m. Seven victims of NIU shooting remain hospitalized Seven people remain hospitalized after the shooting at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Three of the patients are listed in serious condition -- including one who was upgraded from critical. The other four patients are listed in fair condition. They are at hospitals in DeKalb, Rockford, Downers Grove and Chicago. A 27-year-old graduate student from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign killed five people in a NIU lecture hall Thursday before killing himself. 3:35 p.m. Mother of victim retains her faith in goodness After learning of the death of her son, it would have been easy for Linda Greer to withdraw into her grief and shun the rest of the world. But the Elmhurst resident publicly reaffirmed her faith in God and her hope for humanity, even while family and friends struggled to cope with the tragedy that took her son's life. Dan Parmenter, a 20-year-old sophomore at Northern Illinois University, died Thursday after a former NIU student shot and killed five people in a classroom before taking his own life. Shortly after a vigil held Friday evening, Greer shared her thoughts about her son with members of the media. "He was always special," Greer said. "From the time he was a little boy, he was fearless, and he was inquisitive and he loved people. And the character traits just continued to grow as he did." Greer said her son grew up in Elmhurst and became an integral part of the community. And though she wasn't pleased that Parmenter joined a fraternity when he went away to NIU, he used the occasion to do some good by organizing bingo nights with his frat brothers at a nursing home, Greer said. Greer expressed her hope that the goodness in people like her son will triumph over the evil that took his life. "I just want people to know that Dan is gone. It was evil that his life was taken," Greer said. "There is no way to make sense of it. But because I know that so many people are praying for us and are holding us up, there is hope for the future. Evil is not going to overcome good in this world as long as there are people of God and people are praying." The Friday vigil was held at Elmhurst Presbyterian Church, just southeast of York Community High School. Parmenter graduated from York in 2006. 3:29 p.m. NIU response helped by Virginia Tech lessons Northern Illinois University's response to Thursday's shooting rampage may have been helped by what state officials learned from last year's massacre at Virginia Tech University. A Campus Safety Task Force was created to see what could be learned from the Virginia Tech incident and how those lessons could be implemented here. Representatives from state colleges and universities, including NIU, attended task force meetings. One of the most important lessons discussed was getting information to students as quickly as possible. "The response at Northern Illinois, from our standpoint, was extraordinary," said Mike Chamness, chairman of the Illinois Terrorism Task Force. Students were notified within 20 minutes that a shooting occurred, to take cover and stay away from some parts of the campus, Chamness said. At Virginia Tech, it took more than two hours to issue an alert. Students at NIU also were relaying text messages to each other. One idea discussed by the task force was that colleges should use multiple means to convey an emergency message to students, including encouraging the use of text messaging. Rep. Rich Myers, R-Colchester, said Western Illinois University in his district just went through a drill to notify students in case of emergency. "They sent text messages to cell phones, voice mail, e-mail," Myers said. "As I understand it, it was a very successful test." What to do after an emergency is only part of the task force's responsibility. It is also examining prevention. A full report is scheduled to be delivered April 1. "A mental health survey is still being completed," Chamness said. "That purpose is to look at ways to identify potential issues and how to deal with those, how to get help to those people." That will probably require the assistance of students themselves. "Be alert. If you see something that looks suspicious, don't be shy or embarrassed about picking up the phone and calling law enforcement authorities," Chamness advised. "You may be the person who helps prevent something." At the same time, Chamness said there didn't seem to be the "red flags" in the NIU case that there were at Virginia Tech. "I don't think there's a panacea out there for how you stop this," he said. "You're talking about somebody who walked into a classroom." Chamness said state officials will meet with NIU staff in coming weeks to assess what happened and what parts of the response plan worked and if any didn't. Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, said he wants two House committees — Higher Education and Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness — to convene a joint session in a few weeks to review the NIU situation. "I want to have a joint hearing once reports are released and more information can be obtained as to how we can be better informed and better prepared," said Brady whose district includes Illinois State University. "Even though it looks like everyone worked in synch, there's always something to learn." 3:18 p.m. Godfather of NIU shooter: Reunion planned for today Richard Grafer was supposed to have breakfast with his godson Saturday. Instead, Grafer is mourning him. Grafer, godfather to NIU gunman Steven Kazmierczak, said he lost touch with his godson about 15 years ago, when the boy was 12. He wouldn't say why. it changed about four weeks ago, when Kazmierczak called Grafer at about 10:30 p.m. to reconnect. "He says, 'Hi, Uncle Rich.' I said 'Who is this?'" Grafer said in a phone interview this morning. "He told me it was Stephen." The conversation led to an apology from Grafer for not showing up when Kazmierczak's mother, Gail, died in September 2006. They talked about fishing together, which they'd done in the past, Grafer said. "We had a lot of fun together," he said. "He was a good kid." Grafer said he thought Kazmierczak had a girlfriend, though he did not know her name. He also said he was unaware of what kind of medication Kazmierczak had been taking before he stopped, which made him "erratic" over the past several weeks, authorities have said, before he shot and killed five NIU students and himself Thursday at Cole Hall. Grafer and Kazmierczak, 27, would have reunited today. "This is hard for me. He was supposed to stay at my house today," Grafer said. "He said he wanted to get back in touch and do things." 2:24 p.m. Blackhawks to honor victims of NIU tragedy The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that they will pay their respects to the six lives that were lost in the tragic shooting on the campus of nearby Northern Illinois University by wearing a Huskies decal on the back of their helmets for the game Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche. The decal will be a replica of the overlay of a black ribbon and Northern Illinois Huskies logo that appears on the university's official Web site. The team will also observe a moment of silence before the anthem for Sunday's game to allow fans to pay their respects to six bright young lives that were senselessly taken from us. The team will wear the decals for their road game against St. Louis on Tuesday and again at home against Minnesota on Wednesday. 1 p.m. NIU athletic department implemented crisis plan after Va. Tech shootings After the Virginia Tech shootings in April, the Northern Illinois athletic department upgraded its emergency crisis plan, just in case. "You hope you never have to use it," athletic director Jim Phillips said. Tragically, the plan was put into action Thursday afternoon after a 27-year-old man walked into Cole Hall and opened fire at 3:07 p.m., killing five students before taking his own life at the school's DeKalb., Ill., campus. No student-athletes were among the dead or wounded. Drew Jeskey, a midfielder on the Huskies soccer team, was in the lecture hall during the shooting but escaped. Tim Mayerbock, an offensive guard on the school's football team, was just outside Cole Hall at the time of the shooting and helped a wounded student. "The student got hit with some pellets off of one of the shotgun shells, was not in critical condition but was certainly injured," Phillips told ESPN.com on Friday night. "Tim and his friend helped the kid to safety and also took him to the hospital. He really jumped in at a horrific moment." The tragedy hit especially close for Phillips, who received a message from his wife late Thursday night that their niece was in the lecture hall but didn't attend because she was sick. "Our hearts are broken, and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," Phillips said. "But we will not be deterred. We're going to get stronger from this event." Phillips was in a meeting at the athletic department offices Thursday afternoon when university president John Peters called to inform him of the shooting. Department staff members immediately contacted the school's 17 varsity head coaches, who started the process of accounting for all of their athletes. Phillips went to inform the women's basketball team, which was practicing at the Convocation Center when the shootings occurred. He also had NIU's academic advisor check if any athletes were attending the geology class. They found out several hours after the shooting that Jeskey was safe. "I'm very proud of our staff and our coaches," Phillips said. "We were able to get a hold of all of our kids through text messaging, e-mails, phone calls, voicemails, cell phones, on-campus phones. I pray that we never have to go through this horrific tragedy ever again." After an emergency meeting with the school's administration, Phillips cancelled all athletic activities scheduled for the weekend. Athletes were given the option to go home, and counselors were provided for those who remained on campus. No decision has been made on when athletic events will resume. Teams likely will make tributes to the shooting victims. "It's still a little bit premature," Phillips said. "We're certainly going to do something. To what extent, we haven't made any final decisions." Phillips spent much of Thursday night with Peters and other school officials at Kishwaukee Community Hospital, where 18 gunshot victims were transported. Around 10:30 p.m., he spoke with Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver. "He was absolutely wonderful," Phillips said. "I just tried to seek his guidance and counsel to make sure we were making the proper decisions. He felt like we were doing a very good job. That was reaffirming." 12:22 p.m. Media at NIU 'just doing their jobs' Camera lenses from around the world focused on DeKalb this week, dwarfing this university town of about 40,000 residents with their presence. Hundreds of reporters swarmed the campus after it played an unlikely home to the country's third deadliest college shooting in history when Stephen Kazmierczak shot and killed five of his classmates and turned the gun on himself on the stage of Cole Hall. By early Friday morning, a Fox News helicopter buzzed above King Commons, drowning the whispers of several students praying below. The news crews stuck around Friday, perching their satellites and umbrella reflectors outside Altgeld Hall before filling the auditorium. Reporters inside donned badges from outlets as far away as they Los Angeles Times, TIME magazine and Spanish-language network Telemundo. Waiting for debriefings, they slugged down coffee and swapped memories of other national tragedies they've covered. Afterward, they staked out every cranny of the campus; antennae peeped from behind rows of stone buildings. The scene was decidedly quieter Saturday morning. Altgeld Hall, which served as a kind of hostel for media, sat empty. But growling TV trucks sat stationed at hotels around DeKalb, waiting to make their next move. "I think it's good," resident David Castro said of the extra attention the community is receiving, though he never expected it. "They're just doing their jobs." Castro works at Black Stone Restaurant on Lincoln Highway, where patrons on Friday seemed equally fixated by media accounts of the massacre. At breakfast, they're eyes were glued to televisions where scrolling headlines pumped details of the violence. "You really don't think it's here, in your home town," resident Jim Smith said. "It feels like it's happening somewhere else." 11:18 a.m. NIU students search for distractions Dennis Hadley walked out of a candlelight vigil in the Holmes Student Center with tear-stained eyes. But by Sunday, the DeKalb native will be through with crying. He is packing up his wife Susan and daughter Bethany and driving to the Chicago Auto Show. "It's a distraction," said Hadley, a 44-year-old graduate student enrolled in NIU's accounting program. "For a few hours, I'll fantasize about this new car or that new car." Hadley's Huskie roots run deep. His father worked at the university as a janitor and security guard. His uncle worked there as an equipment manager. His wife is a graduate, and his daughter is a senior who plans to graduate alongside her father in May. "You never think a tragedy like this will happen in your hometown," Hadley said. "This is the stuff that happens on TV. It happens somewhere else. It's not supposed to happen in a rural community like this, but it has. We're not safe out here anymore, out here in our corn." Talking about the tragedy is helping Hadley cope. He spent Friday and Saturday e-mailing and phoning students and colleagues he works alongside. They swapped stories about where they were when the campus was locked down and the minutes and hours that followed the shooting rampage Thursday. Hadley was in an accounting class with 30 other students at Barsema Hall, a block and a half northeast of Cole Hall where the shooting occurred. "Everyone's cell phones started going off and we knew something was wrong," he said. "But then we tried calling people and none of our phones worked because the lines were overloaded. We we're stuck inside the building until sometime after 4 p.m. I wasn't able to talk to my wife until about 4:45 p.m. I didn't talk to my daughter until 7:30 p.m. that night. Everyone I knew was fine. Shaken, but fine." Hadley said he's been crying a lot. His daughter Bethany, an NIU gymnast working toward an education degree, didn't want to go with her dad to the vigil today. "She wanted to sleep instead," her father said. "I know time will heal the wounds, I just don't know how much time." 10:24 a.m.: Police seize computer from hotel where gunman stayed Steven Kazmierczak checked into a hotel near campus three days before carrying out his deadly shooting spree at Northern Illinois University, paying cash and signing his name only as "Steven" on a slip of paper, according to the hotel manager. Kazmierczak last was seen at the Travelodge, where he smoked cigarettes and downed energy drinks and cold medicine, on Tuesday, hotel manager Jay Patel said. A newspaper report said that authorities found a duffel bag that Kazmierczak had left in the room, the zippers glued shut. A bomb squad was called, but investigators found ammunition inside the bag, the newspaper reported, citing law-enforcement sources. Kazmierczak also left behind a laptop computer, which was seized by investigators, Patel told The Associated Press today. "It's scary," said Patel, adding that he called police when he found the laptop and clothes, but "nobody's in the room." The discoveries added to the puzzles surrounding Kazmierczak, a 27-year-old graduate student some called quiet, dependable and fun-loving who returned to his alma mater on Valentine's Day, leaving five people dead before turning a gun on himself. A former employee at a Chicago psychiatric treatment center said Kazmierczak was placed there after high school by his parents. She said he used to cut himself, and had resisted taking his medications. He also had a short-lived stint as a prison guard that ended abruptly when he didn't show up for work. He was in the Army for about six months in 2001-02, but he told a friend he'd gotten a psychological discharge. Exactly what set Kazmierczak off, and why he picked his former university and that particular lecture hall, remained a mystery. On Thursday, Kazmierczak, armed with three handguns and a pump-action shotgun, stepped from behind a screen on the lecture hall's stage and opened fire on a geology class. He killed five students before committing suicide. University Police Chief Donald Grady said Friday that Kazmierczak had become erratic in the past two weeks after he stopped taking his medication. Kazmierczak spent more than a year at the Thresholds-Mary Hill House in the late 1990s, former house manager Louise Gbadamashi told The Associated Press. His parents placed him there after high school because he had become "unruly" at home, she said. Gbadamashi said she couldn't remember any instances of him being violent. "He never wanted to identify with being mentally ill," she said. "That was part of the problem." The attack was baffling to many of those who knew him. "Steve was the most gentle, quiet guy in the world. ... He had a passion for helping people," said Jim Thomas, an emeritus professor of sociology and criminology at Northern Illinois who taught Kazmierczak, promoted him to a teacher's aide and became his friend. Kazmierczak once told Thomas about getting a discharge from the Army. "It was no major deal, a kind of incompatibility discharge — for a state of mind, not for any behavior," Thomas said. "He was concerned that that on his record might be a stigma." Kazmierczak enlisted in September 2001, but was discharged in February 2002 for an "unspecified" reason, Army spokesman Paul Boyce said. He worked from Sept. 24 to Oct. 9 as a corrections officer at the Rockville Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison in Rockville, Ind. His tenure there ended when "he just didn't show up one day," Indiana prisons spokesman Doug Garrison said. 9:16 a.m.: NIU still unsure when classes will resume NIU administrators are "still pondering" when the campus will open and classes will restart, Pat Erickson, a university spokeswoman, said this morning. Erickson said administrators are meeting sometime this morning to discuss how to proceed. She was unaware of any plans for the future of Cole Hall, where Stephen Kazmierczak shot and killed five students and himself Thursday. Classes and events at NIU since have been canceled. "(Administrators) are taking in all the information as they're getting it," said Erickson, who did not know when more information about NIU's future would be made public. She is steering people to NIU's Web site, www.niu.edu, for more information. She said any new information would be posted as a "status update." 7:12 a.m.: NIU campus quieter; memorials draw attention The NIU campus is decidedly quieter this morning, as TV satellites and a flurry of reporters who stormed the campus Friday have appeared to disperse. Only a few photographers are lingering, milling about the makeshift memorials that have sprung up around campus. Students, who gathered last night for several candlelight vigils also have retreated. But their memorials continue to grow. At Lucinda Street and Normal Road, a memorial with candles and posters offering prayers and messages of support remains. And near the Holmes Student Center, students have placed a sign that reads "We Are NIU," where hundreds have signed their names and light candles. 6:20 a.m.: Tips offer help for grieving NIU students Northern Illinois University officials have issued a tip sheet for grieving students who are struggling to understand how a shooting rampage could take place on the university campus. The paper from the Counseling and Student Development Center and the American Psychological Association says it's typical for people to experience a variety of emotions after the tragic massacre. "You may find that you have trouble sleeping, concentrating, eating, or remembering even simple tasks," the paper states. "This is common and should pass after awhile. Over time the caring support of family and friends can help to lessen the emotional impact and ultimately make the changes brought by the tragedy more manageable." Tips include: Talk about it: Ask for support from people around you. They'll listen to your concerns and your feelings. They will comfort you. Counseling services are available through the NIU Counseling and Student Development Center. It can be reached at 815-753-1206. The center is in the Campus Life Building at the corner of Lucinda and Normal. Strive for balance: Balance pessimistic or negative outlooks or thoughts by reminding yourself of the people and events that are meaningful and comforting. Turn it off: Take a break from the news. Overexposing yourself to news of the tragedy can increase stress. Instead, focus on something you enjoy for awhile. Take care of yourself: Engage in healthy behaviors that help you cope. Exercise and eat healthy meals. Avoid alcohol or drugs because they might intensify emotional or physical pain. 6:06 a.m.: Cleanup crews leave; news crews remain at NIU Crews from Aftermath Inc., a company that specializes in cleaning after homicides, self-inflicted gunshot wounds and unintended deaths worked through the night at Cole Hall on the Northern Illinois University campus. The crews, dressed in plain clothes, appeared to complete their work just before 5 a.m., loading black garbage bags of materials into three utility vans before driving away. Cole Hall remains cordoned off behind yellow police tape. Meanwhile, media crews already are set up just beyond the police tape, preparing for another day of coverage of the tragedy. News vans that had parked just before 5 a.m. on the sidewalk outside of Kings Commons in view of Cole Hall, the scene of a bloody rampage Thursday, were told to relocate by police officers. 5:11 a.m.: Chambers of commerce set up NIU memorial fund The DeKalb and Sycamore chambers of commerce have established an NIU memorial fund through the DeKalb County Community Foundation. Donations may be sent to DCCF, 2600 DeKalb Ave., Sycamore, IL 60178. For information, call the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, 815-756-6306. Donate online through PayPal on the National Bank & Trust Co. Web site. 5:02 a.m.: Private company begins Cole Hall cleanup A private company has begun cleaning up Cole Hall after Thursday's bloody rampage. Three utility vans with Aftermath Inc. painted on their side were spotted just before 5 a.m., parked outside the building on the NIU campus. Several men, some dressed in shorts and T-shirts, were seen carrying trash bags from the crime scene and placing them into the vans. According to its Web site, the Oswego-based company specializes in "crime scene and tragedy cleanup." 3:55 a.m.: Friends of NIU victim pay respects It's quiet on the Northern Illinois University campus where memorial candles still burn despite the severe cold and frigid breeze. Hours earlier, standing before one of several makeshift memorials scattered throughout the campus, Sarah Hilby and Ashley Leach embraced. They left three roses and candles in memory of those killed this week in a mass shooting. "We wanted to pay our respects at least in this way," said Leach, 20, an NIU sophomore. Both were friends with Daniel Parmenter, one of five NIU students killed Thursday afternoon by Stephen Kazmierczak, an NIU alumnus. "We knew (Parmenter) from freshman year," Leach said. "He was around our room a lot at Lincoln Hall." Dennis O'Brien, an auto mechanic in Oswego, said he came along to pay his respects. "It's just tough," O'Brien said. "It's an upsetting thing and to just pass it by, people don't pay attention, people don't care. Columbine is so far away you don't think it affects you. But this is so close it's a lot more upsetting." 2:12 a.m.: 'I wanted to be around people who could understand' Northern Illinois University alumnus Andrew Crow relit memorial candles, straightened others that had fallen over and tended the makeshift memorial on a hill bordering the Kings Commons shortly after midnight. From there, Cole Hall — where five students were shot to death and up to 18 others wounded before the gunman killed himself a day earlier — can be seen about 150 yards away. An electrical engineer who graduated in December 2005 from NIU, Crow said he needed this. Tending the memorial is his way of paying respect to the dead and wounded. "This is more for myself," Crow said. "I needed people who know what I was feeling. I wanted to be around people who could understand." In the wee, frigid hours of Saturday morning, dozens of folks are still walking from memorial to memorial, looking for solace. Looking for solidarity. And looking to come to grips with what, until Valentine's Day, had been unimaginable. Crosses taller than a man stand vigil at the corner of Lucinda and Normal just outside the Lutheran Campus Ministries. There, NIU student Amber Larson, 21, of Stillman Valley paused with friends to write a message. Larson said the vigils on campus have given her some measure of comfort as grief has replaced yesterday's shocked disbelief of the massacre. "The vigil was good," Larson said. "It was nice to have a sense of community and know people are there for us." 1:55 a.m.: Mourners pay respects for victims of 'selfish act' Northern Illinois University is a campus in stunned grief. Outside the Lutheran Campus Ministries stand six crosses about 6 feet tall symbolizing the six who were left dead after a vicious attack on a Geology 104 class in Cole Hall on Thursday. Across the street at the corner of Normal and Lucinda, dozens of candles and posters have been left by mourners on a snowbank. Bridget Buehler, 19, of DeKalb, a sophomore NIU student, left candles at the makeshift memorials, paying her respects to the dead. "Everyone is trying to band together," Buehler said. "I think everyone still thinks it's somewhat surreal. Growing up here has made it difficult to deal with. You never think something like this will happen in your town. I never felt unsafe here or worried about anything. I had a class in that room." Where once virtually all felt safe on this campus that's still surrounded by cornfields despite significant commercial growth over the past decade, that cloak of security has been ripped away. Dave Kupcinet of Chicago came here to pay his respects along with girlfriend Chrissy Clark, a student from Pacific College in Chicago. They came looking for answers. How could someone do something like this? But Kupcinet said perhaps he knew all along there would be no answers. "Parents feel their kids are in college, in a classroom or a dorm room and they are safe," Kupcinet said. "No place is safe anywhere. It's an unbelievable tragedy that something like this could happen. What a selfish act. It's hard to accept. I can't imagine your college carreer being broken apart by something like this. Why did it happen? Who knows." 1:22 a.m.: NIU gunman's deadly rampage baffles many who knew him If there is such a thing as a profile of a mass murderer, Steven Kazmierczak didn't fit it: outstanding student, engaging, polite and industrious, with what looked like a bright future in the criminal justice field. And yet on Thursday, the 27-year-old Kazmierczak, armed with three handguns and a brand-new pump-action shotgun he had carried onto campus in a guitar case, stepped from behind a screen on the stage of a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University and opened fire on a geology class. He killed five students before committing suicide. University Police Chief Donald Grady said, without giving details, that Kazmierczak had become erratic in the past two weeks after he had stopped taking his medication. But that seemed to come as news to many of those who knew him, and the attack itself was positively baffling. "We had no indications at all this would be the type of person that would engage in such activity," Grady said. He described the gunman as a good student during his time at NIU, and by all accounts a "fairly normal" person. But other details of his life emerged on Friday, including short-lived stints as a prison guard and service in the military. Kazmierczak enlisted in the Army in September 2001, but was discharged in February 2002 for an "unspecified" reason, Army spokesman Paul Boyce said. Late Friday, a former employee at a Chicago psychiatric treatment center told The Associated Press Kazmierczak was placed there after high school by his parents. She said he used to cut himself, and resisted taking his medications. And he worked briefly as a full-time correction officer at the Rockville Correctional Facility, an adult medium-security prison in Rockville, Ind., about 80 miles from Champaign. His tenure there lasted only from Sept. 24 to Oct. 9, 2007, after which Indiana prisons spokesman Doug Garrison said "he just didn't show up one day." He said he didn't know if Kazmierczak had tried to get his job back. Exactly what set Kazmierczak off — and why he picked his former university and that particular lecture hall — remained a mystery. Police said they found no suicide note. Authorities were searching for a woman who police believe may have been Kazmierczak's girlfriend. According to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is still under investigation, authorities were looking into whether Kazmierczak and the woman recently broke up. In Chicago, FBI spokesman Ross Rice said, "I know that we're looking for a roommate, but I don't know whether it is a girlfriend or not." Investigators learned that a week ago, on Feb. 9, Kazmierczak walked into a Champaign gun store and picked up two guns — the Remington shotgun and a Glock 9mm handgun. He bought the two other handguns at the same shop — a Hi-Point .380 on Dec. 30 and a Sig Sauer on Aug. 6. All four guns were bought legally from a federally licensed firearms dealer, said Thomas Ahern, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. At least one criminal background check was performed. Kazmierczak (pronounced kaz-MUR-chek) had no criminal record. Kazmierczak had a State Police-issued FOID, or firearms owners identification card, which is required in Illinois to own a gun, authorities said. Such cards are rarely issued to those with recent mental health problems. The application asks: "In the past five years have you been a patient in any medical facility or part of any medical facility used primarily for the care or treatment of persons for mental illness?" Kazmierczak, who went by Steve, graduated from NIU in 2007 and was a graduate student in sociology there before leaving last year and moving on to the graduate school of social work at the University of Illinois in Champaign, 130 miles away. Unlike Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho — a sullen misfit who could barely look anyone in the eye, much less carry on a conversation — Kazmierczak appeared to fit in just fine. Chris Larrison, an assistant professor of social work, said Kazmierczak did data entry for Larrison's research grant on mental health clinics. Larrison was stunned by the shooting rampage, as was the gunman's faculty adviser, professor Jan Carter-Black. "He was engaging, motivated, responsible. I saw nothing to suggest that there was anything troubling about his behavior," she said. Carter-Black said Kazmierczak wanted to focus on mental health issues and enrolled in August in a course she taught about human behavior and the social environment, but withdrew in September because he had gotten a job with the prison system. He resumed classes full-time in January, Carter-Black said. His University of Illinois student ID depicts a smiling, clean-cut Kazmierczak, unlike the scowling, menacing-looking images of Cho that surfaced after his rampage. NIU President John Peters said Kazmierczak compiled "a very good academic record, no record of trouble" at the 25,000-student campus in DeKalb. He won at least two awards and served as an officer in two student groups dedicated to promoting understanding of the criminal justice system. Exactly what sort of career he planned for himself was unclear. But he wrote papers on self-injury in prison and the role of religion in the creation of early U.S. prisons. The research paper on self-injury in prison said his interests also included political violence and peace and social justice. Speaking Friday in Lakeland, Fla., Kazmierczak's distraught father did not immediately provide any clues to what led to the bloodshed. "Please leave me alone. ... This is a very hard time for me," Robert Kazmierczak told reporters, throwing his arms up and weeping after emerging briefly from his house. He declined further comment about his son and went back inside his house, saying he was diabetic. A sign on the front door said: "Illini fans live here." A statement posted on the door on the Urbana home of Kazmierczak's sister said "We are both shocked and saddened. In addition to the loss of innocent lives, Steven was a member of our family. We are grieving his loss as well as the loss of life resulting from his actions." Neighbors in the brick apartment building in Champaign where Kazmierczak last lived were shocked to hear he was the gunman. "It's not possible," said Maurice Darling, 80, who lives in an adjacent second-floor apartment. "He seemed to be much too nice." He said the tall, thin and bespectacled Kazmierczak shared the apartment with a woman and neither showed any sign of anger or aggression. "They were friendly, agreeable — just like any neighbor would be," he said. Chelsea Thrash, a 25-year-old waitress who lives with her 3-year-old daughter in the apartment directly beneath Kazmierczak's, said he was always up late and there was frequently a lot of "trampling" noise coming through the hardwood floor. She went up and knocked on the door once recently at 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. to request quiet and he said through the closed door, "Oh, I'm sorry — I dropped my weight." "It's kind of creepy," she said. "I never thought someone in this tiny corner of southwest Champaign would ever dream of that, let alone carry it out, and have that above me and my daughter." Kazmierczak grew up in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village, not far from O'Hare International Airport. His family lived most recently in a middle-class neighborhood of mostly one-story tract homes before moving away early in this decade. His mother died in Florida in 2006 at age 58. He was a B student at Elk Grove High School, where school district spokeswoman Venetia Miles said he was active in band and took Japanese before graduating in 1998. He was also in the chess club. Kazmierczak spent more than a year at the Thresholds-Mary Hill House in the late 1990s, former house manager Louise Gbadamashi told the AP. She said his parents placed him after high school because he had become "unruly" at home. She also said he used to cut himself for attention. She said he often resisted taking his medications, though he eventually became "compliant." Gbadamashi said she couldn't remember any instances of Kazmierczak being violent. At NIU, six white crosses were placed on a snow-covered hill around the center of campus, which was closed Friday. They included the names of four victims — Daniel Parmenter, Ryanne Mace, Julianna Gehant, Catalina Garcia. The two other crosses were blank, though officials have identified Kazmierczak's final victim as Gayle Dubowski. By Friday night, dozens of candles flickered in packed snow at makeshift memorials around campus as hundreds of students, mostly wearing NIU red and black, formed a standing-room-only crowd at an evening memorial service. "It's kind of overwhelming. It feels strong, it feels like we're all in this together," said Carlee Siggeman, 18, a freshman from Genoa who attended the vigil with a group of friends. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Generic -- Original Source: http://www.rrstar.com/niu/x1529756411
NIU has several examples to follow for Cole’s future
Photo: Photo by ALAN LEON | RRSTAR.COM Six huskies and flowers are set up as a memorial in front of Cole Hall on Feb. 22, 2008, on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Story: Geri Nikolai, Isaac Guerrero and Sadie Gurman GateHouse News Service Mon Feb 25, 2008, 02:36 PM EST As officials at Northern Illinois University prepare for the return of 25,000 students this week, they have announced only one decision about the scene of the shootings. The building where a gunman killed five students and then himself on Feb. 14, Cole Hall, will remain closed this semester. Space has been found in other campus buildings to move all classes from the two large lecture halls in Cole. What happens afterward is the subject of speculation. Some students say they could never go back into the building and could not concentrate on academics if they did. Some suggest Cole be turned into a memorial. Others say that despite the tragedy, NIU cannot afford to raze a classroom building in an era of declining state support. Officials say they haven't discussed the future of Cole. Cherilyn Murer, who chairs the NIU board of trustees, said she doesn't know what will be done after this semester. Murer said the options include resuming classes, transforming it for some other use or closing it permanently. But it's too early to say, Murer said. "It's only been a week," she said. "Right now, the emotions are so raw that it would be premature to make a decision about what we'll do with that building." Another trustee, Barbara Giorgi Vella of Rockford, expects there won't be serious discussion of what to do with Cole until summer. At that point, she said, financial constraints have to be taken into consideration, along with the feelings of students and staff. Busy building Cole Hall, where nearly every undergraduate has at least one class, is one of the largest classroom buildings on campus, with two auditoriums seating what students estimate to be 250 people each. The idea of closing the building permanently is circulating on campus but doesn't seem practical to Justin Weaver of Beloit, an NIU sophomore. "Given that NIU already has issues in terms of space, even though it seems appropriate to close it forever given the tragic events that happened there, it still seems foolish," Weaver said. "When I looked at the schedule for reassigning classes, it was staggering how many classes are held in Cole Hall," Weaver said. "You can't duplicate that space." There are labs in the Cole Hall basement and one, for journalism students, is the best-equipped on campus for that kind of work, Weaver said. As for changing the atmosphere inside the building, Weaver also takes a practical approach. "The only thing that can change Cole Hall is time," he said. "As people at NIU graduate, new people will come in. They will know what happened but they weren't there and they won't feel the gravity quite as much." McHenry senior Colin Leicht suggested transforming the front of the building, perhaps using the large walls erected this week for students to express their sorrow. "Don't tear it down," said Leicht. "It's still a good building. NIU has had problems getting money from the state to rebuild other buildings. I don't think we're in a position to tear down a building." Rockford junior Krista Robinson said one professor asked her and other students what they thought about NIU erecting an environmental feature, perhaps a windmill, as a memorial. Robinson wasn't impressed. "I think a windmill is a good idea, but not as a memorial. I can imagine parents wondering what kind of memorial that is. It's not really relevant." Cole Hall was constructed in 1968. The general-education building contains 18,000 square feet of space. Columbine's library Other institutions have faced the question NIU now confronts. At Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., where two students killed 12 others and one teacher in April 1999, the library where most of the killing took place no longer exists. Frank DeAngelis, principal then and now, said the old library would have been forever associated with the April 20 massacre. Students, parents and community members agreed they could no longer enter the room without reliving the pain, he said. Thought was given to demolishing the entire school but that would have been a mistake, DeAngelis said. "If we tore the building down, Harris and Klebold would have won," he said. The solution was to tear out the library, which was above the cafeteria/commons area, and open the commons into a two-story space. A new library was constructed nearby and connected to the school by a hallway. The problem, said DeAngelis, is that spectators still come to the school, sometimes in tour buses, distracting the students. Constructing a memorial on campus is a problem because it becomes an attraction, bringing in people not connected to the school, DeAngelis said. That's why a separate memorial was built at a nearby park, far enough from the school so students don't see people coming and going. The new library cost $3.5 million. DeAngelis said a community fund drive, coupled with donations from building contractors, quickly raised the money. Virginia Tech ponders changes Officials at Virginia Tech are still using buildings that were the scene of the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and wounded many more before committing suicide at the Blacksburg, Va., campus April 15, 2007. Cho shot his first victims in a dorm room in West Ambler Johnston Hall. Two hours later, he opened fire in Norris Hall, which contains the school's Engineering Science and Mechanics program among others. Norris Hall would have cost $30 million to replace, according to university estimates. Instead, officials reopened Norris two months after the shootings and a task force was formed to entertain ideas for its future. In December, Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger announced the school would spend $1 million remodeling about 4,300 square feet of the second floor of the building, which will be home to the new Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention. The dorm room where the initial shootings took place is still closed, but it's not practical to close the entire 800-room residence hall, said University Relations Director Mark Owczarski. Approximately 10,000 of the school's 26,000 students live on campus at Virginia Tech. The school has 14 residence buildings and another under construction. "On-campus housing is a premium here," Owczarski said. "Honestly, students enjoy living in West Ambler Johnston Hall as they do in all of our residence buildings." Memories will remain Changing a building does only so much to relieve the hurt, said Columbine's DeAngelis, adding that he still has flashbacks. DeAngelis said he has spoken with NIU leaders. Given his experience, DeAngelis feels compelled to reach out to schools where shootings have taken place. "People still ask me, 'what was the one day when everything got back to normal?'" he said. "It's never going to come." NIU students seem to understand. Going to class in Cole would never be the same, said Leicht. "The first day, I would be a little anxious, knowing this is where it happened," he said about having class there. "After that, as long as that door stays locked, it would be just another classroom. It could have happened in any classroom. But I think that door (where the gunman entered) should be locked." "It would be difficult" to go back into Cole, said Weaver. But if it's reopened at some point, "it would be something I and everyone else would have to do. "I'll tell you this, though. I have had a lot of classes at Cole and I always sat in the first two or three rows. I will never do that again, not ever." Robinson thinks Cole ought to become part of campus learning again, at some point. "I wouldn't close it down indefinitely but definitely for the rest of the semester. Maybe open it back up next year," she said. "But let Cole Hall be for right now," she said. "Let there be a little bit of rest in Cole Hall." Geri Nikolai can be reached at 815-987-1337 or gnikolai@rrstar.com. Isaac Guerrero can be reached at 815-987-1371 or iguerrero@rrstar.com. Sadie Gurman can be reached at 815-987-1389 or sgurman@rrstar.com. What others have done Here is what other institutions have done after being the scene of multiple deaths from violence: Columbine High School: Two student gunmen, who committed suicide, killed 12 students and a teacher in the April 1999 shooting at Columbine in Littleton, Colo. The library, where most of the shootings took place, was torn out and the cafeteria below it remodeled into a two-story room. A local artist painted a skyline mural with the branches of Aspen trees and 13 clouds — one for each of the victims. A library was built nearby. Virginia Tech: Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people before committing suicide at the Blacksburg, Va., campus April 15, 2007. It is the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Virginia Tech is still using buildings where the shootings occurred. Norris Hall was reopened in June 2007. The school will spend $1 million remodeling the second floor of the building, which will be home to the newly created Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention. The dorm room where a student was killed is closed, but the rest of the 800-room residence hall is still open. University of Texas: On Aug. 1, 1966, a sniper barricaded himself on the observation deck of the tower on campus and began a shooting spree that killed 14 people and ended when police killed him. It was the worst school shooting until Virginia Tech in 2007. The observation deck was closed until 1968, then opened and closed again in 1975 because of a series of suicide jumps. In 1999, security and safety measures were installed and the deck was reopened. Crandon, Wis.: Six young adults were killed by a 20-year-old off-duty sheriff's deputy Oct. 7 as they relaxed in a home. Plans are to tear the building down and create a memorial garden, but first the mortgage must be paid. A fund drive was started but contributions dwindled when the homeowner, the father of one of the victims, announced plans to sue the county over the shooting. Nickel Mines, Pa.: A gunman burst into an Amish schoolhouse and killed five young girls Oct. 2, 2006, then killed himself. The building was demolished 10 days later and the site is used to graze cattle. About NIU Enrollment: 25,200 Budget: $104 million Founded: 1899 as satellite of Illinois State Normal School Renamed: NIU in 1957 City: DeKalb Main campus: 755 acres Regional sites: Hoffman Estates, Naperville and Rockford Programs of study: Seven degree-granting colleges; 55 undergraduate majors; 75 graduate programs, including 10 Ph.D. programs, doctoral degrees in education and juris doctorate Students: 91 percent from Illinois; 46 percent men, 54 percent women; 26 percent ethnic minorities; 862 international students from 88 nations Faculty: 1,279 Class size: Average is 28 students (18 in senior-level classes) Oldest building: Altgeld Hall, opened in 1899 Newest building: Yordon Center, opened in 2007 Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported -- Original Source: http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/x257795083
Geri Nikolai, Isaac Guerrero and Sadie Gurman
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported
Panoramic from A Concert for Virginia Tech.
A sign on the drillfield provides visitors with additional information about the April 16th Memorial, including background details and guidelines for leaving memorial items. Photo taken February 14, 2008. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0.
Hokie stone and flowers for April 16 victim Ross A. Alameddine at the memorial on the drillfield. Photo taken February 14, 2008. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0.
Image of hokie stone and memorial tribute for Virginia Tech ESM professor Kevin P. Granata. Photo taken February 14, 2008 at the memorial on the drillfield. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0.
While holding one of the victim's Hokie Stones, Jerzy Nowak - Virginia Tech Professor and husband to victim Jocelyne Couture-Nowak - embraces another attendee at the April 16th Memorial dedication ceremony. Photo courtesy of Kim Peterson and Virginia Tech University Relations.
I was a liason to an injured student in Dr. Librescu's class. She was injured from the jump out of the window, not a bullet. The student and her family believe that Dr. Librescu's actions saved her life. Her aunt was the artist. Her aunt also created a portrait of a deceased victim who lived near her. Dr. Librescu's portrait was given to me following the graduation ceremony that this student was able to walk in. I passed it on to the family liason for the Librescu family and it was well recieved by his survivors.
Promotional flyer for "Hokies for Huskies" candlelight vigil at Virginia Tech, organized by Hokies United. Original Source: http://www.hokiesunited.org.vt.edu/Vigil.jpg
In honor of the Virginia Tech Tragedy, NASCAR Whelen All-American Series driver Corey Agee of Martinsville, VA, shows his newly designed helmet for the 2008 racing season.
Security alerts prompt Faculty Senate meeting
Kendra Jones Issue date: 12/5/07 Section: News The University of Hawai'i at MÄnoa Faculty Senate Committee is scheduled to discuss campus security issues today at 3 p.m. in the Architecture Auditorium. The meeting is open to UH students. At a Faculty Senate Committee meeting on Nov. 21, the faculty senate unanimously affirmed that the campus community needs to be alerted to threats in a timelier manner while using better methods. During that meeting, a question arose from the faculty members about the obligation to notify the campus immediately and allow room for people to decide how to react for themselves. There was also concern that an Oct. 25 e-mail alert was too brief, vague and an insufficient way to notify the campus community. A mass e-mail notification was sent Oct. 25 by Campus Security to UH students and staff regarding a man who was overheard talking to himself about planning to shoot 30 UH students. It was not included in the e-mail that the suspect was known to the Honolulu Police Department and had a history of mental illness. Laura Saiki-Chaves, vice president of Associated Students of the University of Hawai'i said, "When it comes to alerting students of the possible dangers on campus, we believe that no measure is too small. Though e-mail alerts were sent to students, it was definitely not enough. There were many students who ... had absolutely no idea about the security alert." "E-mail is useful for those who may be sitting in front of their computer at the time of the incident, but by large is woefully inadequate," said Jerome Comcowich, a committee member from the School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology. Comcowich said he thought a more effective way to notify the campus would be to have security vehicles use their public address system to broadcast a warning throughout the entire campus. Gregg Takayama, UH director of communications, said the response would have been more intensive had HPD considered it a serious threat. Enabling the campus-wide PA system would have resulted in major campus disruptions, Takayama added. Takayama told the committee that had the threat been immediate, the loudspeakers would have been utilized. Radio and TV stations would have been asked to broadcast an emergency message. He also said that many buildings on campus have fire alarm systems that can be enabled to make public announcements. These systems, however, have not been tested and not all of the fire alarms have been retrofitted to function as PA systems, the committee members were told. "If we as a nation learned anything about the Virginia Tech shootings (it) is that having an efficient alert system can not and must not be overlooked," Saiki-Chaves said. UH is currently looking into including mass text messaging as a means of notifying students and faculty of emergencies, Takayama said. Takayama added that Information Technology Services will be testing a mass text-messaging system at the end of this year. If the tests are successful, ITS hopes the system will be available for students to volunteer their cell phone numbers by early next year. "The idea of sending mass text messages is excellent," Saiki-Chaves said. "A person would not have to be connected to the Internet or checking their e-mail to be notified, as it would happen instantly via their cell phone." Members present at the student affairs meeting agreed that security should have broadcast the information to the campus community immediately because many people had no knowledge of the threat. Many people, including Sheri Fong, an assistant professor for anatomy, biochemistry and physiology, have said that had they known sooner, they would have opted to stay away from the campus that afternoon. "I'm disappointed with UH's general handling of the situation," said senior Caitlin Jackson, a kinesiology major. "I'm stressed out enough with classes; I shouldn't have to worry about my safety being compromised." In contrast, freshman Troy Muenzer said, "UH Campus Security did a perfect job, and I feel safe seeing that they were taking action and communicating with HPD." Several people said while they were nervous and felt vulnerable being on campus, they went to class anyway. Stacy Little, a senior speech pathology and audiology major, said, "I did know about it, and I still attended class because I guess we live in a world where we think, 'It won't happen to me.'" Some other recommendations from Faculty Senate Committee members at the last meeting to improve campus security: * Set up a campus hot line for emergency situations. * Consider creating an automated mass telephone alert system to call all campus numbers during an emergency or a threat. An automated warning would give directions, such as directing people to check their e-mail or a designated Web site. * Use the blue campus phone system as an emergency alert system. The blue lights would flash to cue people to check their e-mail or a campus hot line for further information. -- Original Source: The Voice - Ka Leo http://media.www.kaleo.org/media/storage/paper872/news/2007/12/05/News/Security.Alerts.Prompt.Faculty.Senate.Meeting-3133290.shtml
Issue date: 4/18/07 Section: News Matthew K. Ing Ka Leo Editor in Chief Two days ago, the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, to many students, felt like a relatively safe academic environment. But after Monday's massacre at Virginia Polytechnic University, mixed feelings have filled the campus. Delcey Pa, a UHM freshman planning to major in business, first learned about the shooting from friends late Monday morning. "Since I heard about the shooting, in the back of my mind, as I walk around, I know something like that could happen, but I really don't think it would," Pa said. "I'm just glad I wasn't there." Out of 20 students interviewed by Ka Leo, all 20 felt that there was a possibility - though highly unlikely - that an incident similar to the Virginia Tech shooting could occur at UHM. "In Hawai'i, we have more family and more aloha, I guess," Pa said. "In the mainland, it's a whole different perspective and whole separate world. But it could happen." Sophomore Mark Villegas agreed that the chances of a shooting were highly unlikely, but he said that the incident prompted him to reanalyze his campus safety. "It (the shooting) made me curious, what would have happened at UH," Villegas said. "If there were two shootings in the dorms, would security be able to prevent it from happening somewhere else on campus?" On Monday afternoon, UHM interim Chancellor Denise Konan offered her condolences and support to students through various campus resources in a mass e-mail. Among the resources mentioned was the Counseling and Student Development Center, "a University service that provides a variety of counseling and testing services for students and uses a holistic approach to promote wellness and personal success," according to the e-mail. The Counseling Center, located in the Queen Lili'uokalani Student Service Center, Room 302, offers free and confidential services to students. Jeff Brooks-Harris, PhD, a psychologist and counselor with the Counseling Center for 12 years, said that he hasn't seen an influx of appointments since Monday's incident, but he said that's typical in an event such as this. "Most students are not going to choose to go to a counselor," Brooks-Harris said. "It's probably much more important they talk to each other." Just as counselors urged students at Virginia Tech's convocation service yesterday, the American Psychological Association suggests as a first step in reacting to the shooting to "talk about it." Psychologists from college campuses around the nation compiled a Web site yesterday with resources on how to deal with the psychological after-effects of the shooting, available at http://www.apa.org. Other recommendations include limiting the amount of news coverage you expose yourself to, helping others do something productive and giving yourself time to grieve or experience a full range of reactive emotions. Brooks-Harris said that, just as after Sept. 11, students in Hawai'i experience mainland tragedy at a less severe level than those did in New York or New Jersey. "But in any crisis, whether it's a plane crashing into the World Trade Center or a professor committing suicide or a shooting in Blacksburg, it brings things closer to home," he said. "When we have our own preexisting fears and doubts, these things could bring them up, causing people to feel unsafe." The Counseling and Student Development Center is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and always has at least one psychologist on call. Students should call 956-7927 to make an appointment. -- Original Source: The Voice - Ka Leo http://media.www.kaleo.org/media/storage/paper872/news/2007/04/18/News/Counseling.Offered.In.AfterEffect-2848728.shtml http://media.www.kaleo.org/media/storage/paper872/news/2007/04/18/News/Counseling.Offered.In.AfterEffect-2848728-page2.shtml
Social networking sites help students cope - 1000-plus online groups created after VA Tech massacre
Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: News By Alyssa S. Navares Ka Leo Managing Editor More than 1,000 Facebook groups and MySpace pages started in response to Monday's deadly shooting, some supporting victims and others blaming 23-year-old gunman Cho Seung-Hui. Blogs and social network sites have changed ways of communicating and coping with tragedy, as younger generations use the Internet to discuss and to express feelings about the massacre. On many pages, people have removed their profile photos and replaced them with a black ribbon and Virginia Polytechnic University logo. Thousands of miles from Blacksburg, VA, University of Hawai'i at M?noa students recognized the online mourning by adding the UH logo and the phrase, "All One Ohana. Today, we are all Hokies" to the profile photo. UHM alum Gary McRawr and sociology major Milena Kulig created separate Facebook groups, both of which have more than 200 members. "I'm hoping to get UH alums and current students [and] faculty involved," McRawr said, "and possibly even the community colleges across the state to be aware of the situation." McRawr started the group "UH is praying for Virginia Tech" the day 32 people and the gunman were killed, becoming the deadliest shooting in U.S. history. Thirty people joined Kulig's group, "UH Manoa Supports Virginia Tech," within the first five minutes of creating it Monday evening, and by Tuesday it had grown to more than 200 members. Kulig started the group after joining one from another school and realizing that UHM did not have one. "The turnout is way better than I thought it would be," she said. "Honestly, I was just thinking that a few people who were as shocked and saddened by the situation like I was would join." Other people have used these social networks to vent about the shooting and its killer. More than 200 online groups on both Facebook and MySpace started in response to the Virginia Tech senior and immigrant from South Korea. Virginia Tech students described him as a loner who said little. "He should of just shot himself and not killed anyone, but no, he had to make everyone suffer," wrote Cory Hills, a student from Wellsville Senior High School in New York, in the "I Hope Cho Seung-Hui Burns in Hell" group. Racist remarks about Cho appeared throughout online blogs and social sites in response to his South Korean ethnicity. Some bloggers called him "a Kim Chee eating mofo," while others referred to him as a "slanted eye freak." But having a negative reaction after a tragedy is typical, according to the American Psychological Association. University psychologists nationwide created a Web site with advice on how to cope with the Virginia Tech shooting. Negative viewpoints should be balanced to maintain a healthier perspective of one's self and the world, the APA Web site states. In Facebook group "Cho Seung-Hui is pure evil," Tennessee Brentwood High School student Leigh Durham was the first out of the 85 members to comment in support of Cho, sparking crude remarks from others in the group. "How about people stop focusing on this guy and think about all the people that were affected by this," she wrote on the posting wall. "Wasting your time bashing this guy isn't going to make things any better." One student from Drexel University in Pennsylvania called Durham a moron and an idiot an hour after she posted her comment. Asking for support, online or in-person, can be comforting and helps because speaking with others who share similar experiences prevents feelings of loneliness, according to the APA site. Because cellphone networks, like Verizon Wireless, became stressed hours after the shooting, people shifted to the Internet. Virginia Tech students created an "I'm ok at VT" group in Facebook, which included a list of murdered and injured victims. The West Virginia Blogger compiled personal sites for those killed as an online memorial. Others traded photos and videos online as well. Online networks related to Virginia shooting Facebook - about 450 groups "UH M?noa supports Virginia Tech" "Cho Seung-Hui is pure evil" MySpace - about 550 sites www.myspace.com/thehokies www.myspace.com/virginiatechshooting Blogs - about 350 sites The West Virginia Blogger: www.bloggingwv.com Virginia Tech Blog: www.VTtragedy.com -- Original Source: The Voice - Ka Leo http://media.www.kaleo.org/media/storage/paper872/news/2007/04/19/News/Social.Networking.Sites.Help.Students.Cope-2869752.shtml