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
Security discussions arise after shootings
By Joel Runck Statesman Staff Reporter In light of the massacre at Virginia Tech on April 16, security protocols are being reevaluated and modified at campuses nationwide. UMD is also devising and implementing measures to improve security and emergency response. "I would say that the most effective means of notification that we have—and we've just installed this in the last six months— is our tone-alert radios," said Greg Fox, UMD vice chancellor of finance and operations. "Most frequently they would be used for weather emergencies, but they are also available for live-time communication for other emergencies as well." With 60 such radios distributed across major departments at UMD, locations in possession of tone-alert radios can correspond with agencies such as law enforcement and the National Weather Service during specific types of emergencies. "It's kind of the same philosophy as the old weather radios," said Joe Michela, director of UMD Auxiliary Services. "Now we have them around campus, but we have own antenna and receiver ... so that's how we get the message out to warn (people)." Michela said that during a gunman-at-large scenario, the radios would be used to notify campus police who would then notify Duluth police departments across the city. The most recent use of these radios other than monthly testing, occurred during the snowstorm closing in March. Currently, UMD has 10 licensed police officers on payroll and after massacre at Virginia Tech occurred, that same night, two officers were stationed throughout residence halls, according to Fox. In addition to police presence, Fox said that UMD has more than 100 surveillance cameras, which are primarily located in residence hall parking lots. Furthermore, Fox speculates that UMD will be receiving $300,000 from the U of M -Twin Cities Central Security to install cameras that will monitor people entering and exiting residence hall buildings. Other buildings under video surveillance include Swenson Science, the Sports and Health Center and the library. While deterrence is one measure, communicating during an emergency situation is quite another. On the day of the massacre at Virginia Tech, two individuals were gunned-down in a dormitory around 7:15 a.m. More than two hours later, 30 more people were killed in classrooms at Norris Hall, about a half-mile away on Tech's campus, according to the Associated Press. Tech sent out the first e-mail warning in regard to the first shooting at approximately 9:36 a.m. "E-mail was never intended to be a form of emergency communication," said Susan Latto, director of UMD Public Relations. On April 18, a bomb threat occurred at the U of M-Twin Cities campus, which resulted in the evacuations of several campus buildings. Latto, who has received training in emergency and crisis communication by both the State of Minnesota and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that UMD strives to have efficient response systems in place "It's like buying car insurance," Latto said. "You always hope that you will never get in an accident just because you have insurance." Certain students have not changed their behavior patterns since the Virginia Tech incident and feel a strong presence of security on-campus. "I spend most of my time in the Swenson building in the research wing," said fifth-year student Nate Bruender. "To get back there, you have to go through an alarm door with this video camera, so for me, it's not much of a worry." Other students echoed Bruender's response and feel secure at UMD. "I feel like the campus is pretty close-knit and so I don't have to go outside a lot," said freshman Grace Johnson. "I feel pretty safe in that way because a lot of doors are locked—especially at night." Both Fox and Latto said that students can do their part by reporting any suspicious behavior to authorities. "Don't be nervous about calling 911," Fox said. "(Authorities) want that call if there is a reason that you think your safety is impaired." -- Original Source:The Statesman - April 26, 2007
Statesman Editor-in-Chief Desk - Suraj Rambhia <eic@sbstatesman.org>
2007.04.17. Security truck and state police outside of Lane Stadium. Photo courtesy of Ivan V. Morozov
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 22:00:00 -0400 From: Unirel@vt.edu To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU> Subject: Security Update August 16, 2007 Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff, With the return to school and the beginning of the new academic year, I know that you may be wondering what will be different on the Virginia Tech campus. Our university experienced violence and sorrow of unimaginable proportions this past spring. Many members of our community are still struggling physically and emotionally from direct or indirect involvement in that April tragedy. I trust that our mutual support and respect for each other will help the entire university community emerge stronger and full of Hokie Spirit. Soon, we will be announcing the results of the three Presidential working groups on security infrastructure, telecommunications, and inter-departmental protocols related to the events of April 16. However, I have received many questions about the status of classrooms and I am pleased to share with you now changes that are already underway. Classroom locks General assignment classrooms have had locks installed on the doors. These locks are designed so occupants can lock the door from inside the room in times of emergency. These locks are also designed so that the door does not remain locked after someone leaves the room. This feature will prevent people from locking the door as a prank or accidentally locking the door as they exit. Police, EMS, and some departmental personnel will have a key that will unlock these doors from the outside. Building door hardware In an effort to prevent unauthorized securing of interior and exterior pairs of doors in major academic and administrative buildings, the hardware on door pairs deemed susceptible to chaining, cabling, or being tied together are being removed and replaced. This work is currently ongoing and will be completed in accordance with the building priorities established by the Virginia Tech Police Department. Emergency protocols So that students, faculty and staff know how to respond during various types of emergencies, instructional posters will be placed in all academic buildings on campus. These posters are in production and will be mounted in all general assignment classrooms early in the Fall semester. Emergency Management personnel are also evaluating hanging the posters in other high-traffic areas on campus. Residential Programs is in the process of customizing this emergency notification poster for placement in all residence halls with protocols unique to residence life. VT Alerts Virginia Tech uses several channels when communicating to the greater university community in an emergency or weather event such as campus e-mail, the HotLine, telephone trees, and the web. We have added VT Alerts, a system in which you can receive notification on any mobile device. The subscriber-only features of VT Alerts allows you to receive urgent notifications where and how you want, even if you're away from your computer or university phone. VT Alerts allows you to list up to three contact methods including text messages (SMS) to mobile devices, instant messages (AOL, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo), calls to non-Virginia Tech phone numbers, or e-mails to non-Virginia Tech addresses. Since YOU must provide us with your non-university contact information (e.g. cell phone number) we strongly suggest that everyone subscribe to VT Alerts at www.alerts.vt.edu. We are also actively considering several other emergency communication methods and will keep you informed of these developments. In the meantime, if you have specific questions about these changes or other security infrastructure initiatives, please contact Heidi McCoy at 231-8118 or by email to heidim@vt.edu. You will be hearing additional information from the university on these topics, but I wanted to provide you with a brief update prior to the beginning of the semester. Welcome back and I hope you have a successful year. Sincerely yours, James A. Hyatt Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer cc: Dr. Charles Steger Dr. Mark McNamee
Staff Editorial Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Viewpoint There are still plenty of questions surrounding what happened Monday at Virginia Tech. But one thing that isn't up for discussion is that Notre Dame should have a plan in case the unthinkable happens here. Which is why University President Father John Jenkins' e-mail Thursday discussing emergency plans was a welcome - and much needed - announcement for students, faculty and, maybe most of all, parents. That message didn't come, however, until days after the shooting - days of wondering and worrying and wanting to know what Notre Dame would do. Earlier this week, members of the administration and Notre Dame Security/Police were unwilling to comment on the University's preparedness for such an emergency, leaving students questioning if the plan was fully developed. But now, Jenkins has reassured the community through an e-mail that, while somewhat vague, promises the University will work to further prepare for anything that may come along. It's understandable that Notre Dame would need time to work out certain details before making a plan public. Still, when information of this nature isn't being released, it's important to tell people why, instead of generating anxious speculation that no plan exists. Hopefully, Notre Dame's plan will eventually include the text-message initiative, one of the few specifics Jenkins included in his e-mail. If implemented, the procedure would go a long way to helping Notre Dame not repeat the delay in warning students that happened in Blacksburg. While other details of the plan will likely always be kept secret, it's necessary to be open about all procedures and safety measures that do not compromise security - and open in telling students when information isn't released due to security concerns. -- Original Source: http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/20/Viewpoint/Security.With.Transparency-2870855.shtml
Security, Duke response raise some concerns
By: Zak Kazzaz Posted: 4/18/07 Two days after the Monday massacre at Virginia Tech, students nationwide remained on edge Tuesday as more details of the tragedy emerged and additional security threats occurred on several other college campuses. A bomb threat at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville Monday, just hours after the Virginia Tech shootings, caused university officials to evacuate two buildings there. Another threat received Tuesday at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, prompted the university to evacuate buildings and dormitories and cancel the entire day's classes. Although many Duke students said they are not worried about a similar catastrophe in Durham, several said that there are safety concerns for which the University cannot account. "What terrifies me, and what I'm sure terrifies most people, is that it was random," freshman Kate Van Buskirk said. "He just went in and started killing people." Some parents of Duke students also said they have been gripped by fear and anxiety regarding the issue. "I don't know what can happen or what can be done," said Ruth Azimi, parent of a Duke freshman and a Virginia resident. "On campus, everybody can get in, nobody asks for IDs, and now that's kind of scary." John Burness, senior vice president for government affairs and public relations, said Duke is currently evaluating all of its security and response practices. He added that the University is considering a system that can send out a mass text message to all students in case of an emergency. "Let's remind people what's going on, and dust [the emergency systems] off, and make sure they still work," Burness said. Junior Paul Slattery, the incoming president of Duke Student Government, said that text messages, however, might not fully address the issue. "What if a student doesn't have service or doesn't have their cell phone?" Slattery said. The shooter's student status at Virginia Tech makes such an incident very hard to predict since universities place trust in their students, Burness said. "Universities tend to be open places," he said. "With the tragedy at Virginia Tech, it wasn't an individual from the outside, it was somebody from the inside. I think our folks have planned for the best they can, but you can never plan for everything." Students said the main concern raised by recent events is the communication between the administration and Duke community. Several students also said they had been unhappy with Duke's lack of an immediate response to the situation. President Richard Brodhead released a response to The Chronicle Monday night but chose not to send an e-mail to the entire community, Burness said. Nearby ACC colleges, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University, placed their administrators' responses to the shooting on the homepages of their websites. Although Brodhead's response was posted on Duke's website, it was not displayed on the homepage. Burness said the statement was released late in the day Monday because the information about Tuesday's vigil service had not yet been finalized. He added that the administration thought The Chronicle was the best outlet through which to reach students about the day's tragedy. "I would have liked an e-mail to be sent out, given that we're in such close proximity and there's a lot of overlap of friends," Van Buskirk said. "People just had access to the news, and personally I had so much conflicting information." Some parents also said an e-mail should have been sent to both students and parents. "Right now, I think unity is very important," Azimi said. "We have to realize that being together in this moment means a lot to everyone. An expression extending that through to the parents would have been very nice." Brodhead's statement said the Office of Student Affairs would contact students with connections to Virginia Tech. Burness added that Resident Assistants would contribute to this process, ensuring that students are aware of the counseling services available to them. The majority of students interviewed by The Chronicle, however, said neither group had contacted them. -- Original Source: Duke Chronicle - April 18, 2007
By Kim Heung-sook ``We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness ... We will prevail...'' _ Nikki Giovanni, Virginia Tech Distinguished Professor, poet, activist. Ten days have passed since 33 members of Virginia Tech community died in a shooting spree. Though many journalists have written about the 23-year-old Cho Seung-hui and his victims, I'm adding my two cents as I can't help thinking about him. Human beings are like china made of the same clay and a few other elements. No matter how great or vulgar a person is, the common things he shares with others far outnumbers the differences he has. The similarity, so to speak, is the ocean and the differences, the sea foam. Whether it's God or genes that create them, it is apparent that too much or too little of some ingredients are put into certain men and women. For Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in Patrick Suskind's ``Perfume,'' it is human scent that he is born without and the lack of it turns him into a serial killer obsessed with perfume. For Anna in Leo Tolstoy's ``Anna Karenin,'' her dazzling beauty is the starting point of the tragedy she will live through. People's lives are usually ruled by their excessive or deficient qualities owing to the human tendency to determine who is desirable or not on the basis of the small disparities. Babies are babies, but babbling, smiling ones are loved whereas crying, autistic ones are shunned. Seung-hui seems to have had too much silence from early childhood, a trait reportedly attributable to his father. For senior Cho, his quietness may not have been a serious social hindrance in his youth because such a quality had been regarded as a male virtue in his native Korea until recent years. For the eight-year-old immigrant Seung-hui, however, his reticence must have incurred double trouble as American culture cherishes expression, particularly verbal and articulate. The pressure to talk, let alone the stress of adopting an unfamiliar language, must have been a gigantic challenge for the boy. Psychiatrists and psychologists debate whether Seung-hui could have avoided committing his crime had he lived in the country of his birth. Well, he might have been less lonely here. He could at least understand what others were saying and his mother might have spent more time with him. In the U.S. she had to work long hours outside home. He might have grown up as an incomprehensible, unnoticed man like his father. He might have fostered a home-grown discontent and destroyed himself and others but after a more time-consuming preparation due to the unavailability of guns here. While agreeing that he is a complex case of depression and derangement, the specialists continue to ask: ``Did he do that because of mournful love, or of anger for racial prejudice and/or maltreatment by his classmates, or frustration over prolonged economic difficulties?'' As a lay analyst, I don't think disasters, whether natural or man-made, come from one distinguishable cause. Time and conditions must have been ripe for Seung-hui to let out his anger, which had been brewing ever since he was side-glanced for being different. Many of us share his weakness, loneliness, frustration, anger and despair, but we can avoid being branded like him just because we have a little less of everything. Given the ever-spreading unfairness towards people who are considered different, Seung-hui may not be the last dangerous oddball to shock the global community in such a gruesome way. Tens of thousand are struggling against biased perceptions others have of them and they may turn into a second or third Seung-hi if their striving doesn't pay off. The best way to keep them among us would be to recognize how alike they and we are and celebrate the similarities together. If they have to vent their frustration, they should be helped to find better means than guns, which should be banned no matter what. We should prevail through ``our blood and tears and through all our sadness'' as Prof. Giovanni says, but we should never allow emergence of another Seung-hui in America, in Korea or anywhere else. -- Original Source: Korea Times http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/opi_view.asp?newsIdx=1872&categoryCode=169
The media need our help to shift their focus from murderers and violence to the compassionate healing journeys of victims' families: After the Virginia Tech tragedy, the president of the American Psychiatric Association, Pedro Ruiz, wrote an open letter to the news media asking them to stop focusing on the murderer. Ruiz warned that the publicity would inspire copycat crimes. Please visit www.lenznichols.com and sign "The Petition" encouraging the media to stop reporting the names of school shooters along with any information related to the misguided purpose of their crime. Together we can make a meaningful difference. "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead- Our prayers and thoughts are with you!
Self-defense a necessary skill to know during times of danger
Guest commentary By: Lach R. Liwer | Issue date: 4/23/07 Section: Commentary This week we witnessed a brutal act of violence directed randomly at unsuspecting students of Virginia Tech University. Seung-Hui Cho, a VT student, shot nearly 45 students and faculty at the school, killing 32 including himself. Much has been said about the magnitude of this tragedy, and the nature of the mental disturbance that could have allowed Cho to conceive of and carry out his heinous crime. What we gravely need to discuss, however, is how it was possible that a lone gunman could, over the course of 35 minutes, stalk through a building with over 300 people locked inside and then systematically shoot more than 45 people, the whole time remaining effectively unopposed. On September 11, 2001, the famed flight 93 crashed into the fields of Somerset County, taking far fewer lives than the terrorists who hijacked it had intended. Had the passengers of this flight not given their lives to take back the plane, countless more innocents would have perished. I did not know any of the victims of the April 16 massacre, but I assume that they were not that different from my University classmates who graduated three years ago. Thinking about that group, I feel very confident that fewer than 1 in 10 of us had ever faced real violence, whether in sports, fistfights, or military combat. This became increasingly evident a year after my graduation when I became an Army infantryman. While training at Fort Benning, we participated in rigorous aggression training like hand-to-hand combat and tactical field problems to elevate our comfort with aggression and teach us to think rationally in the face of violence and fear. It quickly became apparent that many of us displayed little physical aggression or the ability to act violently and deliberately. But as we watched each other and experienced this sensation for the first time, along with the taste of our own blood and the fear and excitement of fighting, we learned to control, to harness our aggression and put it to use in defending ourselves. There is no way to know whether the tragedy of April 16 could have been avoided or diminished under different circumstances. But it seems to me, in light of the utter failure of our security and police forces to protect those students, that we have grown too comfortable with the illusion of our own safety. We must ask whether the instructions we give our children - namely, to run and hide in the face of violent threats - is the best answer in all circumstances. It seems likely that had a group of students decided to put an end to the killing, and harnessed their own aggression en masse to defend themselves, that the outcome could hardly have been worse. We must learn a lesson from the 30 innocent dead of April 16 and the 2973 killed by the September 11 hijackers. The lesson is that ultimately we cannot maintain the safety of our communities by teaching that the best answer we have for those who would take everything from us is to remain docile. Rather, we must learn the realities of the world; there are violent people who wish to do us harm, and though there is never complete safety, we can be less vulnerable by learning to defend ourselves and those we love. By understanding and controlling the aggressive nature that mankind is so tragically capable of instead of fearing it we may diminish the likelihood that a single aggressor can destroy so many lives so easily. Lach R. Liwer is a University alum and an infantryman in the United States Army -- Original Source: Daily Emerald http://media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2007/04/23/Commentary/SelfDefense.A.Necessary.Skill.To.Know.During.Times.Of.Danger-2874218.shtml http://media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2007/04/23/Commentary/SelfDefense.A.Necessary.Skill.To.Know.During.Times.Of.Danger-2874218-page2.shtml
sell.com donating all proceeds to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund
As a graduate of Virginia Tech, I wanted to do something positive in response to the recent tragedy. My web company (sell.com) will donate ALL PROCEEDs for the rest of April to the Virginia Tech Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. Go Hokies! http://www.sell.com/announcements/virginia-tech/
Senate acknowledges Virginia Tech shooting
By: Carey Elizabeth White, Contributing Writer, cwhite@smu.edu Posted: 4/18/07 Student Senate held a moment of silence for the victims and families of the Virginia Tech shooting and discussed campus safety yesterday in the second to last meeting of the semester. Senators discussed the need to increase awareness of safety procedures in addition to voicing their support of those affected by the Virginia Tech tragedy. One senator was concerned that no one knew the correct procedures for when the tornado sirens sounded last week. Senate agreed that more concrete legislation needs to be enacted to assure the safety of the students and our campus. Student Body President Taylor Russ said, "The first thing in our minds is survival," adding that, "We really do need an effective crisis management policy, because nothing in my mind outweighs the loss of a life." The current emergency preparedness plan can be found at smu.edu/newsinfo. The Senate hopes to help create a more effective policy for fall 2007. Later in the meeting, the League of United Latin American Citizens, otherwise known as LULAC, presented its case to be chartered as an organization on the SMU campus. The league advocates civil rights, supports leadership skills and provides scholarship funds to Hispanic educational communities. Several universities around the area charter this national organization. Universities like TCU, UT, UNT and TWU each have LULAC as a campus organization. Additionally, the executive committee ruled on the David Mingus Open Meetings Act. The act will create more transparency within Student Senate, making standing committees open at all times to all Senators and officers of the Student Senate, space permitting. The act was passed. The last Student Senate meeting of the year will be held next week on April 24. -- Original Source:SMU Daily Campus - April 18, 2007
"Norris, Mark William" <mnorris@mail.smu.edu>
Seoul does some soul searching over Virginia massacre
Wednesday April 18 2007 By Mark Tran / USA 04:39pm Like others around the world, South Koreans have reacted with horror to the killings at Virginia Tech university, but they are also nervous about a possible backlash against the large Korean community in the US. The headline in the Korea Herald encapsulates the sense of alarm: Massacre puts US-based ethnic Koreans on alert. "I and my fellow citizens can only feel shock and a wrenching of our hearts," said the south Korean president Roh Moo-hyun at a press conference, the third time he has offered his condolences. The government has already held several cabinet emergency meetings since the killer was identified as a South Korean, although he had been in the US since the age of eight. South Korean citizens pray for the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre in front of the US embassy in Seoul. For the blogger, Michael Hurt, an American of Korean and African-American descent who lives in South Korea, the incident raises interesting questions about South Korean society and the "cultural context" of the killing, which he admits is highly sensitive ground. Hurt believes that the South Korean fears of retaliation are misplaced but argues that such fears are a "fair extrapolation of how foreign Others are treated as scapegoats and categorical symbols of many Koreans' opinions of other nations and races". But he raises more troubling points such as the apparent problem that Korean male students have in adjusting to the US. From conversations he has had with American academics, he says: "What came out is that many Korean men felt displaced and disempowered as males who lived in a society that catered to them, while in the US, those forms of automatic power and status - being male, rich, or having come from Seoul National University - mean nothing. And at the same time, Korean women experience a social liberalisation compared to where they would often be in Korea." In further food for thought, Hurt notes that the record holder for the worst shooting in modern times was an off duty South Korean policeman who went on a drunken rampage in 1982, killing 57 people and wounding 38 before blowing himself up with several grenades he took from the police armoury. The Marmot's Hole, however, has no truck with cultural explanations about the Virginia Tech killings. "Cho Seung-hui is about as representative of the Korean community as the Columbine shooters were of the white community, that is to say, he's not. In fact, if there is any group that seems "predisposed" to this sort of violence in the United States, it's not foreign Asian students, it's white males." Contemporaria This post was last changed at 04:39 PM, April 18 2007, at a time when the top headline on Guardian Unlimited was Secret UN report condemns US for Middle East failures, and the top headline from the BBC was More 'chemical castrations' plan, and there were posts elsewhere tagged with these same keywords: Korea The post was written by Mark Tran. You can email the author at mark.tran@guardian.co.uk Comments well, that's all very interesting, but if he had been in the US since he was eight years old, I can't help feeling that it's American culture which would have had the larger impact. Not saying US culture is inherently fucked up, just that the examples given of removal of status / general culture shock leading to 'disempowerment' are probably not applicable here. He was mentally ill, as are many human beings, and it led to the worst possible consequences. His 'heritage' is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. Posted by Joshy on April 18, 2007 5:50 PM. Have to agree with Joshy here. Race and national heritage are largely irrelevant. America is a nasty place full of guns. Posted by Carts on April 18, 2007 6:36 PM. Not necessarily. You don't know how much of an influence American culture played in the boy's life. Asians sometimes stick together in their new country. The common language and culture binds them together in a foreign land. Just because he grew up in the United States does not necessarily mean that he accepted US culture and was integrated into US culture. His parents may have been the type to only socialise with other Koreans, and that may have trickled down to him. I was born in Asia, and have been in the US since I was 3 (with a brief, 6 year stay in the UK for university and graduate school). My parents primarily socialised with other people from their country. I chose not to, but then again I was younger when I came to the United States than Cho was. He probably felt very alienated in school when he first arrived, and if he didn't get over that alienation and those feelings of exclusion and isolation, coupled with his mental and emotional problems... Well, we can see the result. It's too bad that his teachers treated him like such an anomaly. They probably exacerbated his problems and fed his resentment. His peers also may have exacerbated his problems by not knowing how to reach out to him, and by not making an effort to get to know him as a person. A lot of people, particularly people at the margins, do not react positively to the social environment found at universities. He actively resented the people there, and by extension, the way they chose to socialise. Because he couldn't integrate himself, and probably because he was rebellious towards integration, and because of all his problems, well -- I think it's understandable that he could be pushed that far. I'm not excusing his actions, but as we are slowly becoming aware of the facts, it's clear that he was extremely disturbed. Posted by Brinstar on April 18, 2007 6:38 PM. Surely the sick young man was American, he had American citizenship, evn if he was of Asian background. But the point is being missed, in a typical American way, blaming the perpretator completely while choosing to ignore the environment. I live in China but am from Ireland, each has it's own proportion of troubled young men but the law doesn't give them ridiculously easy access to guns. This is not a racial problem it's a gun law problem.I'm saying that if every country had the same law as the one which exists in America, the same proportion of massacres would occur. But the gun law lobby will always place the blame on the victim, it suits their purposes. Am I saying the guy was right or innocent? - no, I'm not. I just want to make that point clear, but he was a sick man living in a society that has a sick law. Posted by Tomco on April 18, 2007 6:44 PM. I agree with the sentiments pertaining to race and nationality - these had nothing to do with his behavior. Rather, it was his mental illness that had everything to do with it. Koreans are very successful in America, and my experience has been that they assimilate well. Posted by cafeej on April 18, 2007 6:45 PM. Brinstar is correct. Immigrant communities often stick together in ways that prevent full assimilation to US society. Many such communities live in subcultures of their own making. Not placing any blame here, just making a statement. It's very sad to see a situation like this turning into a knee-jerk political debate on why people hate the US and its' people. While I completely agree that stronger gun laws should be in place in this country, I find the rants I have seen on these blogs to be pathetic. Posted by Alwick on April 18, 2007 6:55 PM. The above clowns seem to think national origin is irrelevant, unless, of course, one is American. School related deaths are down by half since 1990, with 50 million more citizens today. The above posters only display their bigotry, by ascribing some intrinsic essence of the 300 million who live in the States. Interestingly, 19 people were gunned down in Rio yesterday, but I don't see any amateur sociology about the diseased Brazilian culture in these pages. Hypocrisy.... Posted by ambivabloke on April 18, 2007 7:09 PM. I'm a British guy and I've been learning Korean for about one year, which isn't easy. Throughout that time I've met quite a few Korean people in London and, just as in South Korea, they have been kind, very helpful and supportive. I've been helped at night in Seoul by a young man who asked me if I was a Christian and then told me his name and plenty of other episodes that leave me with a very positive impression of Korean people and the culture. I think this guy could have been from any country and cultural background. Killing can't be justified in anyway but maybe the winner takes all culture of American society can be traumatic to those who feel left out or don't feel suitable to the challenge. Posted by simeonbanner on April 18, 2007 7:15 PM. I have seen no significant evidence of anti-Korean or anti-Asian sentiment since the events at Virginia Tech this week, at least none that I have seen. I read a fairly geographically broad number of online newspapers every day. Someone may use it as an excuse eventually, or decide to blame some event on what has happened. Nevertheless, the "stereotype" for Asians in the US is positive, with exceptions in areas where there is gang activity that breaks down along national lines, primarily in some western states. Asians frequently are viewed as industrious in the workplace and high achievers in academic pursuits by other Americans; to the point where (in the past) some of my friends of Chinese and Korean background said this so-called positive stereotype was driving them nuts. It was as if they were not allowed to be "average." I am thanking god the killer was not a Muslim. There would have been hell to pay. Posted by Phosphat on April 18, 2007 7:21 PM. Tomco, He was not an American Citizen, but a permanent resident, which is why the media refer to him as a "South Korean" rather than "Asian-American" or other term. simeonbanner, What does learning the language have to do with anything? Sorry, but, one cannot say all South Koreans are nice, polite, etc....do you know the level of racism levelled against ethnic-minorites (blacks, chinese, SE Asian, etc) in South Korea (you should go there)? Even the large Korean-American community has tensions with other communities...but then again, that is the problem with the US...all ethnicities have their demarcated lines and cannot leave their respective communities. I do not think this has anything to do with race, nationality or anything, but certainly US youth culture is a bigger problem. But what I can't understand...why is the Asian/Korean-American community shocked that 'one of theirs' has gone off the rail? As if to say it is (or should be) only white/black/latino people that could ever commit a crime. The level of (over)reaction by the Korean-American community is a little too much...yes, he was Korean, but he was also crazy and disturbed, which was the reason why he did such things. And South Korea...feeling a backlash....maybe the way they treat(ed) Americans in their own country, especially minority Americans after a tragic, unexplained accident a few years ago. Again, an over-reaction to a tragedy done by a crazy person (or is it still 'alledged'?). I don't see why the whole nation has to apologise; the US is not sensitive enough to want to attack a whole nation because of one man's actions...oh, hang on a minute... Posted by fraggler on April 18, 2007 7:30 PM. Offensive?...No...Unsuitable?...Not at all...Sadly Misguided?...YES Posted by TorontoAnthony on April 18, 2007 7:40 PM. @ Brinstar: "it's understandable that he could be pushed that far". Bollocks. Millions of people around the globe live in countries and cultures that are different to their own. They don't go on killing sprees when it all gets too much. Posted by Ringpeace on April 18, 2007 7:43 PM. I think it was Ian Fleming who wrote that if you wanted a really precision contract killing carried out, get a Korean assassin to do the job. Posted by brenzone on April 18, 2007 8:09 PM. brenzone: your comment is incredibly crass but I hope it does not get deleted. Not sure there is very much that can sensibly be said, apart from a call for a serious examination of American gun laws. If you need to pass a test to drive a car, I fail to see why gun ownership should not be contingent on extensive testing and a medical exam. You're not allowed to drive if you cannot see adequately enough, why on earth should deranged people (as Cho clearly was) not be filtered out through some sort of psych profiling? Posted by Zerotolerance on April 18, 2007 9:05 PM. It doesn't matter what culture this disturbed young man grew up in, trying to analyze it from that point-of-view only leads to generalizing and jingoism. Every society and culture on Earth has mentally ill individuals and many countries, if not all of them, have had incidents where an individual snapped and reacted with violence towards innocents. We can try to blame US culture like American movies, video games, heavy-metal music, anti-depressants or what have you, but the bottom line is that there are millions of Americans who grow up in the United States without ever using violence towards others. If you took away all the guns in the US, which would be nice, wouldn't have stopped this man from murdering people considering how pre-meditated the massacre appears to be. That said though, I think the real discussion should be the US' loose gun laws especially in Republican dominated states like Virginia. Posted by BlueJayWay on April 18, 2007 9:12 PM. Tomco - the shooter was not a US citizen. He was a legal resident alien. It doesn't matter what culture this disturbed young man grew up in, trying to analyze it from that point-of-view only leads to generalizing and jingoism. Every society and culture on Earth has mentally ill individuals and many countries, if not all of them, have had incidents where an individual snapped and reacted with violence towards innocents. We can try to blame US culture like American movies, video games, heavy-metal music, anti-depressants or what have you, but the bottom line is that there are millions of Americans who grow up in the United States without ever using violence towards others. If you took away all the guns in the US, which would be nice, wouldn't have stopped this man from murdering people considering how pre-meditated the massacre appears to be. That said though, I think the real discussion should be the US' loose gun laws especially in Republican dominated states like Virginia. Posted by BlueJayWay on April 18, 2007 9:14 PM. as a trainee shrink comment, lets be clear "mental illness" neither can explain or remove culpabilty for such actions; such actions are explained quite uniquely by the individual here concerned and his life story experience and then his actions, and they are not so generalisable to other people in ie the "mentally ill" population and a repressive backlash to those considered "mentally ill" would only increase the burden of human suffering! but that is not to say those who continually express violence and violent phantasy as a subgroup should not indeed be very carefully helped/ and the general public protected. Posted by ladolcevita on April 18, 2007 9:14 PM. It is disheartening to read what most of you feel about Americans. I am an American from North Carolina, and I think it is ridiculous to think there is going to be some backlash towards South Koreans over the Virgina Tech tragedy. Not only is it ridiculous, it's insulting. I have to assume you bas your opinions on our post-9/11 society. Granted, issues of racial tension in our society, and there is a population of people who were angry with Muslims after 9/11. I won't deny that, but it is a completly different situation. The terrorists who attacked the US were representatives of an evil and radical ideology. They were part of a population who hates America and its people. (How comfortable were Britains with Germans after WWII?) Even still, the majority of Americans understand the difference between Islam and radical Islam. The Virgina Tech murderer, however, was an individual who acted on his own. Americans are not all Axe-wielding white supremacist barbarians. Just because he happened to be a Korean doesn't mean we are going to begin hunting down Koreans and getting our revenge. Give Americans some credit. Posted by byronimation on April 18, 2007 9:48 PM. It's all pretty tragic. The guy was clearly mentally ill, he had easy access to guns and he decided to use them. The question of his nationality/race etc is rather beside the point. I have lived in several countries and ALL of them have their fair share of disturbed individuals either through abuse, disenfranchisement or physiological mental problems. For example, seemingly random attacks by students on fellow students or teachers in Japan are a fairly commmon occurence and in the UK people regularly lash out at others in violent ways. The main difference is quite clear - in most US states guns are easy to get, in most other parts of the world they are not. It's hardly rocket sicence now is it? If America as a nation wants to retain the right to bear arms then that is their choice and I wouldn't presume to tell them otherwise, but is it not alright to point out that maybe, just maybe it might be a good idea to look into exactly who you are selling guns too? Is that really so hard? As someone mentioned earlier, it's easier to buy a lethal firearm in Virginia than drive a car because you actually have to prove yourself competant to get behind the wheel. Madness. Posted by JawbreakerWiseman on April 18, 2007 10:23 PM. Interesting point about the sexes in Korea. The Korean-American women I know are amazingly successful and ambitious. Don't know any Korean-American men though. I do think however that the central debate here should focus on the ease of obtaining a gun. The gun laws here in the U.S., especially Virginia and most other states in the south, are absolutely antiquated. My hope is that Virginia and other states with lax gun laws use this incident as a wake up call and pass stronger gun legislation, instead of letting the NRA and the hunting lobby decide our policies. I just don't understand gun culture. I grew up in Connecticut, which is probably one of the safest, boringest states to grow up in. CT has strong gun laws, and our schools were pretty much violence-free. It seems to me that saving innocent students lives is more important than placating a small minority of white men obsessed with guns. On another note, I think teachers, especially at the middle school and high school level, need to be more involved in sticking up for students that are on the fringe. When I was in school, I remember teachers often just letting kids be picked on, or worse, joining in. I really upset me to see that. Teachers can help prevent students from forming "cliques" by assigning seating and making classmates work occasionally with other classmates that might not normally hang out with. That's how I would approach teaching, it I was in the position to do so. Posted by AC89 on April 18, 2007 10:24 PM. What I notice is the focus on 32 deaths on an American university campus, while today 160 people died in Baghdad from an insurgency caused by American imperialism. Certainly this says a great deal about the relative importance which the media places upon humanity: Americans are worth much more than Iraqis, if one is to believe them. And the fact that we pay more attention to Virginia says we too are being successfully manipulated by the same media which does little to contribute positively to a sense of community locally, nationally, and throughout the world. Sorry if this sounds a bit self-righteous, but I include myself in this, so to hell with the media, including the Internet. I'm going to read. Posted by Leftacentre on April 18, 2007 10:58 PM. Does the leader always have to have a pun in it? Posted by Level7 on April 18, 2007 11:35 PM. Virginia Massacre: Isn't blogging a twee yuppie distraction. Myriad blogger's who take the time to recant their ancestry, and hopefully ad lib assassin Cho's raison d'etre should really be ashamed of themselves. Without doubt he was a walking time bomb waiting to blast off - that it took so long, speaks volumes !! Virginia Tech officialdom should be incarcerated, quartered and hung out to dry. They failed their staff, alumni and students miserably. Therein lies the NUB - not sociopath Seong Hui.Migrant, permanent resident, green card holder, and would be Martin Byrant ( Australia's mass murderer. Sentenced to Life in Port Arthur. Tassie ) His Teacher's and room mates were well aware of his idiosyncratic behaviour, yet conveniently overlooked it, and mildly chastised him ? Perhaps most US Uni students go through this form of weaning, and hopefully ..just.. grow out of it. It's a crass understatement. Staff should undertake counselling to set them straight. Administrative procedures and protocols ( were there any ? )should have set alarm bells ringing, especially after 9/11. Zero tolerance - this guy should have been expelled or shunted sideways. Yes, irrespective of his paying fees. There are standards to uphold which are universally accepted, and unless one has a valid reason for weird dialogue or ' lone-wolf ' conduct, it may have in the short term prevented this tragedy. He was student iomcompatible. The Psycho's would have forseen his condition..day one. Like in the Armed Forces, he wouldn't have made it pass recruitment. Perhaps, we are all guilty by association.We condone all sorts of burlesque, risque standpoint behaviour at some time of our lives. In hindsight, could we have prevented such a horrendous oucome ?? Guess again. Posted by aussiechick on April 19, 2007 6:22 AM. Nice point LeftofCentre, I was in Europe in 2001 whilst some 3MM people (over a 3 year period) died in a civil war in Congo. This amounts to ~3000 people per day. People in Europe were more concerned over Bush's stumblings, the Kyoto protocol..etc. News coverage was terrible (do a search of BBC and see how many articles pop up). The only reason Europe cares about Iraqi deaths at the moment is because the US invasion is the direct/indirect cause. There was little concern over the 100,000 deaths/year (mostly children) that the UN (and I might add Europe-supported) sanctions caused. As a more ripe example, look at Darfur. More people are dying in Darfur on a daily basis then in Iraq but you could not tell that from the media coverage. In the end, I believe the media gives people what they want. Many Europeans hate Bush and they like to see him fail (hence the focus on Iraq). Many Europeans resent the worldwide attraction toward US "vulgar" culture and like to see its failings (e.g. gun laws, uninsured, suburbanization, SUVs. materialism). Many often simplify quite complicated issues, over-emphasize isolated incidents, fail to understand that the US is not as black/white as they think, fail to factor in the diversity/scale/dynamism of the USA, and forget the problems in their own backyard (Erfurt in Germany - 16 dead, Port Arthur in Australia- 35 dead, Dunblane in Scotland - 17 dead, Polytechnique in Montreal -14 dead). Posted by patapsco on April 19, 2007 7:04 AM. If all of the people that have died in famines, ethnic cleansings, fights over which end of an egg to eat from etcetera, over the past, say two decades, had lived and multiplied; how would they have been fed, sheltered and employed? Posted by Level7 on April 19, 2007 1:20 PM. I am a US citizen; my father is Korean and my mother is English. I think that what happened at Virginia Tech had three main factors: Suung-Hui Cho's mental problems, his environment and the ease of buying guns here in the USA. From all I've gathered, it sounds like Mr Cho had serious mental problems. One of his relatives was quoted as saying that his mother mentioned that Mr Cho was autistic; however, there has been no indication as to whether this was a diagnosis by a professional or a speculation based on his symptoms and history. Whatever his diagnosis, it seems clear in hindsight that he was a seriously troubled person. His environment was not helpful, to say the least. I read one account by a former high school student that Mr Cho was bullied into reading aloud in class by the teacher who threatened to give him an F for participation if he did not. The other students started pointing, laughing, mocking his manner of speaking and yelling "go back to China!" This story absolutely gave me the creeps... and a shudder of sympathy for the butt of the whole incident. My parents met and married at a time in the USA when mixed race marriages were looked down on and actually illegal in some states. They were only able to marry when they showed the justice of the peace their passports because if they had been citizens of the USA, their marriage would have been against state law. I was the first non-white child in my school, all the way up until high school. I was often the target of bullying and harassment based on my race. And not always by the other kids; a fair number of teachers also harassed me. I think the combination of Mr Cho's mental problems and the harassment he suffered throughout his life in the USA combined to drive him over the edge. Why did he kill when so many others (including myself) do not? I'm not sure. All I can say is that if you subject enough people to stress, a small percentage, perhaps only a fraction of one percent, will go over the edge and start to kill. The FBI includes having suffered bullying in the ten point checklist they have compiled of other school shooters. The third factor was the easy availability of guns. I've read comments elsewhere that suggest that if students had been allowed to carry concealed weapons to class, Mr Cho's rampage would have been stopped sooner. This seems to me to be wildly unlikely. If there had been other students carrying concealed weapons, I suspect the headline would read "USA gunman kills three before being shot down himself; forty seven onlookeers also killed in the crossfire" Without one of these three factors, I suspect that today would be just another day at Virginia Tech and most students' main concern would be whether they would pass their next test. Only one of these three factors is not readily changeable--Mr Cho's mental illness. The harassment he suffered and the easy availability of guns could be changed. I suspect, however, that most people in the USA will simply blame the whole incident on some innate evil in Mr Cho. That's a lot more comfortable than facing the possiblity that others may have been indirectly complicit, after all. Posted by MsEithne on April 23, 2007 8:31 PM. -- Copyright Guardian News & Media Ltd 2007 Original Source: Guardian Unlimited http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/archives/2007/04/18/seoul_does_some_soul_searching_over_virginia_massacre.html
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One of the items on display at the Alumni Center Art Exhibit. On 4/16/08, as part of the Day of Remembrance observance, the Holtzman Alumni Center Museum displayed examples of art, crafts, quilts, and other memorabilia contributed since April 16, 2007. This is one of over 60,000 items that will eventually go to Special Collections at Newman Library. A teddy bear from the Voices of September 11th sent to President Steger with a letter that said: "On behalf of the staff and members of Voices of September 11th, I wish to offer my deepest and heartfelt condolences for the tragedy which the Virginia Tech community has suffered. Like September 11, 2001, your loss is one of national proportions, devastating your individual families and community, but also weighing on the hearts of those who you may never meet. After the death of my 24-year-old son in the attacks on the World Trade Center, my family received an outpouring of support from around the world. Of the most poignant and memorable was a small teddy bear carrying a message of hope. Such a tangible symbol of caring and support helped us to stay strong in those trying days and weeks. From one community affected by a senseless act of violence to another, I offer you these teddy bears not only as a gesture of goodwill, but as a promise of support. Our doors both literally and figuratively are open to you. I hope that as your collective journey of healing begins, the lessons we have learned workig with the 9/11 families and others traumatized by terrorism may serve...to you in the months and years to come. You are all in our thoughts and prayers. Sincerely yours, Mary Fetchet Founding Director Voices of September 11th"
Sepultan en Puerto Rico a víctima de matanza en Virginia Tech
BAYAMÓN | AP Abril 24, 2007 Tras una ceremonia en la que nadie quiso hablar de la matanza que cobró su vida, el estudiante puertorriqueño de la Universidad Virginia Tech Juan Ramón Ortiz Ortiz fue sepultado este martes en un funeral privado. En lugar de hablar de su muerte, sus amigos y familiares prefirieron hablar de su vida. Fue lo más cercano a la perfección, expresó Jesús Ortega sobre su amigo desde la infancia. Ortiz Ortiz fue una de las 32 personas que mató Cho Seung-Hui, un estudiante de literatura inglesa de 23 años de edad, antes de suicidarse con una pistola el lunes de la semana pasada. Juan fue un árbol que dio fruto a temprana edad: benignidad, paciencia, justicia y amor. Celebremos hoy la vida que con tan sólo 26 años Juan compartió con nosotros, dijo el profesor Amado Vélez, de la Universidad Politécnica donde estudió el joven. Vélez destacó que la timidez del joven era opacada por sus acciones: Hablaban más de lo que la alocución podía decir. Durante los actos fúnebres, los padres del joven ingeniero acompañaron en todo momento a la viuda Liselle Vega Cortés, quien también se encontraba en Virginia Tech al momento de la masacre. El trío permaneció silencioso y en aparente calma durante la triste jornada de despedida, en la que amigos como Ortega volvieron a sonreír al recordar el amor de Ortiz Ortiz por el ritmo de salsa, al que dedicó parte de su vida. Era tan fanático de la salsa que una vez... puso música de salsa (en el automóvil) y se llenó de tanta alegría que se bajó del carro y bailó en el mismo medio de la acera, relató Ortega. Para el párroco de la Iglesia San José, José María Almendariz, la muerte de Ortiz Ortiz fue inexplicable. No hay ninguna explicación humana para el dolor que no sea mirando a Cristo, expresó a los más de 200 amigos y familiares que abarrotaron la Iglesia San José de Bayamón, a las afueras de San Juan. La matanza de Virginia Tech ha sido considerada la peor masacre estudiantil en la historia contemporánea de Estados Unidos. -- Fuente Original: El Universo.com - Guayaquil, Ecuador http://www.eluniverso.com/2007/04/24/0001/14/E53E61E6CC9C4BA6A5C38563C829AFA0.aspx
José Darío Maldonado Jefe Unidad de Negocios Internet DIARIO EL UNIVERSO jmaldonado@eluniverso.com
I was in his playwriting class last fall. I was always a quiet guy myself, not really making too many friends during my years at Virginia Tech. On a couple of occasions, we'd end up sitting close to each other. I had always thought that Cho was a little "off" but since I was strange in my own right, I didn't think too much of it. People like Cho and I never seem to make friends easily and the fact that we were both loners of sorts made me pay a little more attention to him that usual. Just before Christmas I passed by Seung Cho while he was walking around the Drill Field, a little more sad-looking than usual. I offered him a cigarette which he refused with a wave of his hand. I then tried to talk to him about one of the plays we had recently reviewed in class and he finally started talking a little. We talked about the plot and the characters when suddenly Cho asked me what others had thought about his "Richard McBeef" story. It was then that I told Seung Cho that some of the others in the class were a little concerned with his writing. Seung seemed to get a kick out of that because he suddenly had a smile where only a grin existed before. I told him that some people were talking about him before class, talking about he was a little strange acting and with this play of his, some other students joked about him being a charter member of the trenchcoat mafia. Cho wondered what that was, so I told him about the whole Littleton, Colorado school shooting. He seemed intrigued by my words. We talked a little more about "sticking it to the man" and how good it feels to break things sometimes. I used to steal cars and smash them into buildings, Seung mentioned he liked to hurt things. I didn't ask anymore questions. After that day I thought differently about Seung-Hui Cho. I thought I might read about him in the paper one day, and not for any good reason. And then it happened. All over the news. School shooting at Virginia Tech. My first thoughts when my mother called and asked me if I was okay was, " I wonder if it was Cho?!" After getting off the phone with my mom, I smiled a little knowing that Cho had gotten what he wanted. Revenge. Cho Seung-Hui has gone and done what many of us "loners" only wish we had the courage do to. I too have often thought of taking my anger out on innocents, but unlike Seung Cho, I just don't have the courage to pull the trigger. He did. I feel bad for the victims, but not too much. Perhaps people will start paying closer attention to us loners before we end up making ourselves popular, for all the wrong reasons! -- Original Source: http://thestoriesyoucannottell.blogspot.com/2007/04/seung-cho-and-what-i-know.html Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5.
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5
Memorial stone of Waleed Mohamed Shaalan on 4/16/08. Photo by Brian Sewell. -- Original Source: http://flickr.com/photos/briansewell/2419984312/in/set-72157604577382666/
Memorial stone of Leslie Geraldine Sherman on 4/16/08. Photo by Brian Sewell. -- Original Source: http://flickr.com/photos/briansewell/2419171037/in/set-72157604577382666/
On the morning of April 16 I was in my office at George Mason University recording a podcast with two colleagues. When we came out of our recording session, I sat down to check my email and saw on the news feed that there had been a shooting at Virginia Tech and that as many as 16 people were believed dead. I could hardly believe what I was reading. How could so many students and faculty be killed in one rampage? Little did I know that I knew only half the story, half the tragedy. As each hour passed we learned more by updating our browsers and each time the number of dead and wounded grew. And each time I wondered if the people I knew there in the History Department were safe? Were the children from my neighborhood who attend Tech safe? Not having names to put with the numbers made the waiting so much more excruciating. Later that day I saw a former student in our main student union building. From the stricken look on her face, I knew something was wrong. When I asked, she told me that her sister's best friend was among the wounded and had been shot in the leg. We hugged one another for a moment and agreed that this young woman, at least, had been a little bit lucky--she would be one of the survivors. That night, I had to sit down with my two children, ages 10 and 8, and explain what had happened. Why it was that the free access to handguns in our society made it so easy for someone to carry out such vengeance on those he believed were at the root of his own personal darkness, and why now, perhaps, my boys understood why their father hates handguns so much. I told them about the time I was one of the lucky ones--when the man who had shoved a pistol under my nose decided to run away rather than shoot me. I told them that I never, ever want them to own a handgun as long as they live. Then I had to explain to them why they didn't have to worry that their father, a professor like those who died at our sister institution in Blacksburg, was in no danger at his job at George Mason. Children need such certainty in moments of crisis. But was it wrong to lie to them? To tell them George Mason is a safe campus when it is no safer than any other campus in America? Over and over I tell my children that telling the truth is the most important thing. But on April 16 I just wanted them to feel that their father was safe. And, of course, I was lying to myself for exactly the same reason.
By: Alexander Trowbridge, Staff Writer Posted: 4/25/07 The shooting at Virginia Tech last week put the gun control issue back in the national public forum. While Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine dismissed taking political advantage of the incident as deplorable, both pro-gun groups and those advocating gun control rallied for change. Barbara Hohlt, executive director of States United to Prevent Gun Violence, said stricter gun laws could have saved lives at Va. Tech. "We do a very poor job in this country at doing adequate background checks." Pro-gun advocates attacked gun-free safe zones such as the Va. Tech campus, which they claim prevented victims from protecting themselves. Carl Abbe, the owner and president of Calibers Indoor Gun Range in Greensboro, said gun-free zones let criminals know that no one is there to stop them. Abbe said Va. Tech should consider arming and training select members of the campus community to defend their fellow classmates. "If that one professor who blocked the door had had a handgun, he would have been able to do more than just block the door," Abbe said. "He would have been able to stop that man." The N.C. House passed a bill on Thursday that would allow judges to carry concealed weapons. Rep. Walter Church, D-Burke, sponsored the bill and said it was a response to the shooting of a judge in a courtroom in Atlanta last year. "The judges that I've talked to thought it was a good idea," Church said, adding that even those who don't carry guns appreciate the attention to their security. The passage of the bill just days after the shooting at Va. Tech concerned some N.C. residents. Lisa Price, executive director of the North Carolinians Against Gun Violence Education Fund, said courtrooms already are protected. "In general, we dislike putting guns in more places," Price said. The issue of gun control is complex, and in North Carolina it is not always divided along party lines. Though Church sponsored the bill allowing judges to carry concealed weapons, he said he supports gun control and restrictions. He said the lack of a waiting period to purchase hand guns in Virginia is ridiculous. "I would support someone having a waiting period, especially those with mental cases." Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, voted against Church's bill. However, she said she would oppose restricting everyone with a history of mental illness from purchasing a gun. "That is a very broad category of illnesses," she said, adding that while those at risk for violence should not be eligible to purchase handguns, not everyone with a mental illness is violent. -- Original Source:The Daily Tar Heel - April 25, 2007
Shooting points to need for less restrictive gun laws
By: Danny Mistarz Posted: 4/24/07 After the tragic events that took place at Virginia Tech April 16, the anti-Second Amendment crowd has once again reared its ugly head. The usual claims of guns causing violence and the necessity to ban personal ownership have come out. But what if one person, a student, a professor, the RA in the dorm, had been carrying a gun? Would dozens of lives have been spared? The state of Virginia's legislature had a bill proposed last year, HB 1572, proposing that handguns be permitted on college campuses for those persons with proper permits and certification. The bill was shot down in subcommittee, never making it to the house floor. At the time, it was celebrated by a VT spokesman as a stride toward continued public safety. Was the wrong decision was made? Guns are used 2.5 million times in self-defense annually, saving approximately 2,575 lives for each life lost annually according to the Second Amendment Foundation; could HB 1572 gave saved thirty-one lives on the morning of April 16, or even just one? Let's assume that guns were permitted on campus at Virginia Tech, and that one student or one professor in the engineering building was carrying that day. This coward would never have been able to level a gun on hundreds of his classmates had he known there was the possibility of having to defend himself. What if a student on the hall of the dormitory had a gun, just in the room for protection? Certainly the first two gunshots, would have been heard and within a minute of the start of a rampage, 31 lives could have been saved. All it would take is one person, carrying one gun. No gun law could stop people who want to get guns from getting them any better than our current drug laws work. Perhaps the gun laws that need arguing against are the gun laws that limit us, not the laws that protect us. Danny Mistarz Pratt '09 -- Original Source: Duke Chronicle - April 24, 2007