On the Ethics of Bad News
description: [This is a copy of my initial reaction to the media coverage of the VTech shooting, posted on my Wordpress blog. Unfortunately both links are now defunct - I wish I had saved a page of the "godblessvtech" blog, because it was to me a poignant illustration of the possibilities of the Internet for creating and reaffirming community. At the same time, however, I was disgusted by CNN's use of digital media - particularly video - to create what I saw as a voyeuristic experience of the event.] "On the Ethics of Bad News" Posted April 16, 2007 http://zozer319.wordpress.com/ I didn't really hear about this until late tonight, partly because all the people working out around me at the gym with TVs had them on stupid MTV the whole time. Anyway, I just wanted to share with you all two remarkable (for very different reasons) things I found online when doing a search for some overview of the shooting. I send them in particular because they are both temporary postings but say an awful lot: First, a striking example of a good use of the Internet, not only to share information but as a sense of non-physical community. I found this blog (probably just set up today, for this purpose only, so not actually a blog per se) on Wordpress - it's just a list of names and people asking for information on whether the individuals listed are okay. http://godblessvtech.wordpress.com/2007/04/16/hello-world/ Scroll down to read the progression of the information gathering and messages left. Also note the amount of information gleaned from Facebook. Second, a striking example of outright voyeurism disguised as comprehensive journalistic coverage. In browsing CNN's coverage of the story, I was disgusted by the amount of video - not of interviews and re-runs of news stories, but the amount of direct footage of the shootings/events themselves; http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/16/vtech.shooting/index.html There is no clear line between information and too much information, but that might be close. Thank go…
creator: Anna Brawley
date: 2007-05-23
contributor: Anna Brawley
language: eng

John and Elizabeth Edwards Statement on Virginia Tech Shooting
description: Apr 16, 2007 We are simply heartbroken by the deaths and injuries suffered at Virginia Tech. We know what an unspeakable, life-changing moment this is for these families and how, in this moment, it is hard to feel anything but overwhelming grief, much less the love and support around you. But the love and support is there. We pray that these families, these students, and the entire Virginia Tech community know that they are being embraced by a nation. There is a Methodist hymn that gave us solace in such a moment as this, and we repeat its final verse here, in hopes it will help these families, as it helped us: In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity; In our doubt there is believing, in our life, eternity, In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory, Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. Our dearest wish is that this day could start again, with the promise of these young people alive. Knowing that cannot be, our prayer is for God's grace and whatever measure of peace can be reached on this terrible day. John and Elizabeth Edwards -- Original Source: http://johnedwards.com/news/headlines/200700416-vt/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0
creator: John and Elizabeth Edwards / John Edwards for President
date: 2007-05-23
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0
language: eng

News Coverage of the VA tech Shooting
description: Sunday, April 22, 2007 Topics like these are always hard to approach. For some, the event holds particular weight, either because of their relationship with the victims, with the assailant, with the location where it takes place, or because of the events relationship with another similar incident. The coverage of these events is usually the same. To provide the viewer with context- there is footage of the location from every possible angle, there are reporter stand-ups near the location providing a feeling of being well informed by the people "on the scene", there is video from security cams or other sources that allow an inside view of the event or of the lead up to it, and there is commentary, lots of commentary. In these ways, as is the case with much of news today, the coverage of such events can be compared to the coverage of a sporting event: Heavy on filler, and light on actual content. As of today, it's been almost a week since the incident, and coverage of the shooting takes up a giant share of the programming schedules of networks. With less that four or five (if that) big stories running at the same time, it is in the forefront of the news audiences mind. Like most tragedies, answers are what are sought after most, that and blame. And this is what takes up most of the coverage. There are investigations into the profile of the assailant, interviews by "experts" in the field, with witnesses, with family, with victims of other similar tragedies, with law enforcement, with neighbors, ad nauseam. We watch all of this and assume that somehow there can be meaning found once all the pieces are known. That if enough time is spent on it, answers will be found, that proper blame will be placed, justice will be served. This is a false hope. Tragedies like these happen all the time. Not all of them are covered. Not all of them are given the weight that The Virginia Tech Shooting has been given. This is not to belittle the severity of the situation, nor is it to underm…
creator: Nicholas Whitaker
date: 2007-05-23
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License
language: eng

Virginia Tech: It's Not About Gun Control, and You're a Fool or a Monster If You Say It Is
description: Apr. 18th, 2007 at 12:02 AM Virginia is, if memory serves, one of the states that had a particularly malevolently horrible 2004 national election, one marked by substantial Republican chicanery and vicious suppression of the minority vote, so the last thing on earth that I could ever have imagined myself doing was cheering for Virginia's Republican governor, Tim Kaine. But Tuesday afternoon I not only cheered out loud over something he said, I was so glad he said it that I was waving my fist over my head and very nearly jumped out of my chair. And it wasn't just what he said, but how he said it; I wish I could find a way to show it to you. But at the end of the Tuesday press conference, some sleazebag in the audience, knowing how pro-gun Kaine is, tossed him what he probably thought was a softball question, namely, did the governor think that some of the deaths could have been averted if Virginia Polytechnic students had been allowed to carry concealed firearms on campus? Instead of the reaction the so-called "reporter" was expecting, what happened was that governor Kaine's face twisted up as if he had bitten into a bug. And with disgust dripping from his voice, he said something to the effect that the only response he had to anybody who would try to use this tragedy to make any kind of a point about gun control was "total loathing." And he's right. So I don't feel good that I've let some of you prod me into having to defend my statement from last night that neither more guns on campus, nor fewer guns, would have made things any better. That some of y'all are sliming up this horrible but essentially random tragedy, that some of you are dragging your muddy political bootprints all over this while the corpses aren't even yet in the ground, that so many of you are so sick as to seek to twist this massacre into proof that your side should win in the literally pointless debate over gun control before even one family can bury their dead in peace, both sickens me and lower…
creator: J. Brad Hicks
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution, NonCommercial, ShareAlike 2.5
language: eng

VT Students turn to God
description: Dr. Roger Passman April 18, 2007 Reporting for Reuters, Andrea Hopkins writes: By all accounts, the prayers started even before the gunshots stopped at Virginia Tech university, and the pleas to God from grief-stricken survivors of the massacre have continued ever since. "God cares about Virginia Tech," said Megan Martin, 24, joining about a dozen fellow students in a traveling prayer vigil that rambled across the sprawling campus a day after the worst U.S. shooting spree in modern history. Carrying placards reading: "Jesus loves you," "God knows and He cares," and "Can we pray with you?" the small knot of students worked their way through the university grounds in Blacksburg, a Bible Belt town in the mountains of southwest Virginia. I suppose turning to God(s) cannot do any serious harm to the individual that does the turning. The evidence, however, does not justify such a move. "God cares about Virginia Tech," said Megan Martin, is quoted in the article. Is this God so cruel that he (she, it) only cares after the fact? Is this God(s) so indifferent that he (she, it) only takes an interest after the dastardly deed has been accomplished? God knows and He cares, is another after the fact fantasy that may serve to salve heightened emotions but does not address the fundamental issue-was this God who cares so much simply on vacation when Cho Seung-Hui decided to engage on a shooting rampage on the VT campus? Does the evidence point to a God(s) who cares, who knows? I think not. What the evidence points to is a random series of events that occur every so often because Americans are willing to sacrifice security for the right to bear arms for any purpose whatsoever. The evidence does not point to a loving God(s) but, rather, to a heightened probability that because guns are so readily available in the United States tragic events such as the VT shootings are more likely than not to occur. While turning to God(s) is a defensive move in cases of unthinkable tragedy for many …
creator: Roger Passman
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States
language: eng

Gathering
description: Photo of a Candlelight Vigil that was held on Pittsburgh University, Monday April 23, 2007, just a week after the tragedy on Virginia Tech campus. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/radder86/472534895/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
creator: Kris Radder
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission Contact: Kris Radder (http://www.flickr.com/photos/radder86/472534895/) Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
language: eng

Names
description: Photo of a Candlelight Vigil that was held on Pittsburgh University, Monday April 23, 2007, just a week after the tragedy on Virginia Tech campus. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/radder86/472520523/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
creator: Kris Radder
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission Contact: Kris Radder (http://www.flickr.com/photos/radder86/472520523/) Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
language: eng

VA Tech shooting - Collegiate Newspaper - class takes cover
description: Students gather in Holden Hall during the massacre at Virginia Tech License The statement below was made by the photographer: I hereby license the attached photo under the GNU Free Documentation License with the following statement: Copyright (c) 2007 William Chase Damiano. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".
creator: Chase Damiano
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: License The statement below was made by the photographer: I hereby license the attached photo under the GNU Free Documentation License with the following statement: Copyright (c) 2007 William Chase Damiano. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".
language: eng

Of Shooters and Schools
description: Why must we pay the price For others sins and vice? As I lay dying here, I cry. I wonder, Why, why, why? ~Joseph M. Skipsey, April 23rd, 2007 Of Shooters and Schools Can video games make kids more violent? A new study employing state-of-the-art brain-scanning technology says that the answer may be yes. Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine say that brain scans of kids who played a violent video game showed an increase in emotional arousal - and a corresponding decrease of activity in brain areas involved in self-control, inhibition and attention. Does this mean that your teenager will feel an uncontrollable urge to go on a shooting rampage after playing "Call of Duty?" -Excerpt Taken from the MSNBC On the Level article, "Does game violence make teens aggressive?" It's the same tired old stories, over and over. These are but entertainment, without meaning. So, they make you more violent? No, I believe the article is suggesting that playing violent video games simply makes you more more "emotionally aroused." You can't blame games, the ESRB was put there for a reason. If you're unaware that video games are under a strict ratings system, you don't deserve to speak on such an issue. Movies don't have anything on the incredible vista of the ESRB. You can't find a medium of entertainment with a more defined set of guidelines than the ESRB, and the ratings are there for a reason, and deserve enforcement. Pardon me, but just because you can scan and find emotional arousal, does that mean positive emotion? Negative emotion? Neutral emotion? What exactly does this arousal mean? Until it can be discerned, all these statements are inaccurate. You need to prove then, that emotion is the link. Or, is it? After all, these killers are described as being cold and emotionless, right? What makes people do the violent acts in the first place? So far, most of these cases have shown mental illness, rage/anger issues, hate, race, and of course, suffering. Where are the …
creator: Joseph M. Skipsey
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5
language: eng

Losing Students: Virginia Tech
description: by SamiSunshine That is a prime example of colleges not looking into the right cases and not checking up on people. Once Cho started to stalk people, he should have been expelled. They seem to spend more time fighting underage drinking than sexual assult. Relating that to the U of A, at one of the dorms my friend was staying with a girl who had moved into her room from another dorm. What my friend didn't know was that the girl was moved from the other room for taking a knife and slashing up the furniture and threatening people. Finally my friend got really scared because the girl did something similar again and instead of kicking the psycho girl out, they moved my friend in with another girl and the psycho has her own room. In this same dorm, another friend got kicked out of the dorm system because his roommates said he didn't clean and said he was smoking pot while there was no evidence of the fact. And counselors and administrators never get back to you. I had a really bad panic attack the night before an exam and I couldn't take it because of some harm I did to myself and I explained that to the dean's secretary who said that she was going to refer me to counselors who would call me in the next few day. They never called. I finally went to the counselors on my own and a lady gave me the names of therapists and said she would call in the next few days. She never called. I could have been so far on the edge that I could have harmed myself or others. I could have been another Cho. But, the university decided to not check up on me, a severely stressed out, freaked out person who was living in the dorms with many other students. I could have been a risk to others and they still did not make sure that I wasn't a threat to myself or others. I wouldn't be surprised if that had happened at Virginia Tech. Don't blame strict/lax gun laws, violence in the media, or society in general: blame the people who were supposed to be protecting, mentoring, and caring for the students…
creator: SamiSunshine
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5
language: eng

Question Mark by artistm0nk
description: Artist's Comments ? Lay me on the ground Fly me in the sky Show me where to look Tell me what will I find... Teach me how to speak Teach me how to share Teach me where to go Tell me will love be there Will love be there? - Shine by Collective Soul This is Seung-hui Cho aka "Question Mark", the gunman of the Virginia Tech Massacre. -- Original submitted to deviantart.com on April 24, 2007: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/53906656/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
creator: Aletheia Rio ("Artistmonk")
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: reative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5
language: eng

Today We Are All Hokies by phantom-inker
description: Artist's Comments On a sunny warm morning on September 17, 1996, a young woman with a long history of mental health problems walked onto the Penn State campus, sat down under a tree on one of the most popular lawns on campus, took a seven-millimeter Mauser rifle, and fired five shots randomly into the crowd. Melanie Spalla was killed, Nicholas Mensah was injured, and two others later found bullet holes in their backpacks. When the bullets started to fly, Brendan Malovrh had the amazing courage to run not away from them but toward them; he wrestled the rifle and a knife away from the deranged Jillian Robbins and held her until police could arrive. Had he not acted so quickly and selflessly, Penn State could easily have suffered the tragedy that Virginia Tech is dealing with today. On my way to class, I walked right past the spot where Jillian killed a girl --- only an hour after it happened. If my class had been an hour earlier, I could have been right in the line of her sights. Today, we are all Hokies. Every alumnus who carries a degree and every student who studies in the quad, every professor who goes beyond the call of duty and every parent who worries about her child, we are all Hokies. Our hearts and prayers go out to you, Virginia Tech. By the grace of God we all hope that may never happen again anywhere. The Hetzel Union Building Shootings | The Digital Collegian, Sep 27, 1996 | Penn State Shooting in 1996 Hauntingly Familiar | Woman Pleads Guilty in Penn State Shooting -- This picture is of Ally, my centauress character, and I drew it in a single sitting of six hours during which I had a very hard time not crying. I'm offering it as a print, and it's my first (and only) print. Due to the seriousness of the situation, I'm also offering a version where Ally is human, which some people might prefer. Regardless of her species, the point remains the same: We're thinking of and praying for you and yours, VT. -- Original submitted to deviantart.com on May 12, 2007…
creator: The Phantom Inker
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 2.5 License
language: eng

Virginia Killings - We Know Not
description: We know not your name We know not your height Nor your weight Nor your burdens The things that brand you We know not the reason We know not the thoughts Nor the sorrow Nor the regret The things that brand you We know not who you are We know not who you want to be Nor who you could be Nor who you should be The things that brand you To me you are a killer To her you are a savior To him you are a bastard To them you are nothing Is this why In the end They paid With their lives? Is this why In the end They won't see Her again? Is this why In the end She is alone And all she can do is cry You've killed Daughters Sons Fathers Mothers Friends Grandsons Granddaughters Nieces Nephews Cousins Aunts Uncles Brothers Sisters Lovers You've hurt Daughters Sons Fathers Mothers Friends Grandsons Granddaughters Nieces Nephews Cousins Aunts Uncles Brothers Sisters Lovers You've hurt Me -- Author's Comments This is my worst poem I've yet to write, but the things that happened today, Monday, April 16, 2007, have really touched and upset me. This beats slicing, so I figured whatever. Comments are disabled b/c I really don't like this. (C) Keithlee Spangler a.k.a. fickshonal a.k.a. Bella If you are unaware as to what happened in Virgina today, here is a [link] to read it. Byes for now. -- Original submitted to deviantart.com on April 16, 2007: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/53399599/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
creator: Keithlee Spangler
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5
language: eng

Letter from a VT Student
description: Today was by far the most trying day I've experienced in my life. On April 16, 2007 33 people were killed, with 15 more wounded on the Virginia Tech Campus. I know that this is likely not new information, but I repeat it just to add strength to my message. There are not words to properly express just what feelings this day has brought. Surreal doesn't even begin to describe it. I've spoken to more people on the phone today than I have in any day I can remember. The hours spent in the dorm just waiting and watching, seeing the events unfold and hearing the number of dead and wounded climb higher was the epitome of helplessness. This was a tragedy the likes of which have never been seen before, and hopefully will never be seen again. We heard it over and over again. The worst school shooting in US history, they said at first. Then, the worst mass murder in US history as the numbers climbed. Any attempt to convey the emotions and thoughts which barraged my mind today would be futile, vain, and ultimately trite. This was a dark day, near black as night. That said, I have every confidence in this university and this community. I believe this town is capable of rising to the occasion and overcoming this monumental tragedy. I have no idea what the coming days and weeks hold in store, or even the slightest notion of what will happen as time transpires. There is no set procedure for handling something of this magnitude, by sheer virtue of the fact that it has never happened. In spite of that, I feel we, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, students, faculty and staff all, and the town of Blacksburg, are capable of bonding together to lift each other over this hurdle. We will pay our dues and respects to those deceased. We MUST pay our dues and our respects. Anything less would be a mark upon our record. It is only then that we can hope to begin the rebuilding and healing process. It will be a long time before any student can step into Norris Hall without imme…
creator: Mark Malloy
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Brent Jesiek
language: eng

Cho Seung Hui comics 3 by Latuff2
description: Artist's Comments Experimental black and white comics on Cho Seung Hui, the Virginia Tech gunman. -- Original submitted to deviantart.com on April 28, 2007: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/54219309/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
creator: Carlos Latuff
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5
language: eng

Cho Seung Hui comics by Latuff2
description: Artist's Comments Experimental black and white comics on Cho Seung Hui, the Virginia Tech gunman. -- Original submitted to deviantart.com on April 23, 2007: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/53830744/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
creator: Carlos Latuff
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5
language: eng

Cho Seung Hui comics 2 by Latuff2
description: Artist's Comments Experimental black and white comics on Cho Seung Hui, the Virginia Tech gunman. -- Original submitted to deviantart.com on April 24, 2007: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/53908783/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
creator: Carlos Latuff
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5
language: eng

Cho Seung Hui by Latuff2
description: Artist's Comments Ask yourself... -- Original submitted to deviantart.com on April 20, 2007: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/53664372/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5.
creator: Carlos Latuff
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5
language: eng

SONG: 'That Way' by lithiumfailed
description: I woke up today This mirror doesn't reflect me No one that I know of Has time passed so quickly? Did you give the final shove? Save us from evil Save us from evil Is this what I've become? A heart left untouched My wounds have come undone I hold your lives in a clutch ((Save us from evil)) And all I have to say ((Save us from evil)) Is that I never walked that way ((Save us from evil)) Can the night save the day? ((Save us from evil)) I woke up today Is this the end of me? And all I'd hoped to be? I can only save myself Through the blood of someone else ((Save us from evil) I cannot walk this way ((Save us from evil)) I will not live to say ((Save us from evil)) That I walked that way ((Save us from evil)) I can't wake up today And all this pain I see Reflects right back at me I've been where you were before But I ignored that door ((Save us from evil)) I'm proud to say ((Save us from evil)) I never walked that way ((Save us from evil)) I've finally found my day ((Save us from evil)) My eyes are open today Save us from evil I woke up today -- Author's Comments Inspired by the events at Virginia Tech. Rest in peace :heart: MayB -- Original submitted to deviantart.com on April 18, 2007: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/53516419/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
creator: lithiumfailed / MayB
date: 2007-05-24
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License
language: eng

Don't Conceal This Debate
description: Tom DeLay Former Tennessee Senator and potential presidential candidate Fred Thompson had a very interesting article in the National Review on April 20th entitled, "Signs of Intelligence?" which dealt with concealed carry laws on the Virginia Tech Campus. In the article he writes, Still, there are a lot of people who are just offended by the notion that people can carry guns around. They view everybody, or at least many of us, as potential murderers prevented only by the lack of a convenient weapon. Virginia Tech administrators overrode Virginia state law and threatened to expel or fire anybody who brings a weapon onto campus... ...So Virginians asked their legislators to change the university's "concealed carry" policy to exempt people 21 years of age or older who have passed background checks and taken training classes. The university, however, lobbied against that bill, and a top administrator subsequently praised the legislature for blocking the measure. The logic behind this attitude baffles me, but I suspect it has to do with a basic difference in worldviews. Some people think that power should exist only at the top, and everybody else should rely on "the authorities" for protection. To read the article in its entirety click here (and I would encourage you to do so because Senator Thompson makes a lot of sense on this issue). I did some research on my own on the background of this Virginia Tech concealed carry debate and I found this article in the Roanoke Times submitted by a Virginia Tech graduate student during August of last year. Entitled "Unarmed and Vulnerable" it is written by a Mr. Bradford Wiles and it says this, On Aug. 21 at about 9:20 a.m., my graduate-level class was evacuated from the Squires Student Center. We were interrupted in class and not informed of anything other than the following words: "You need to get out of the building." Upon exiting the classroom, we were met at the doors leading outside by two armor-clad policemen with fully auto…
creator: Tom DeLay
date: 2007-05-25
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5
language: eng