By: John Tuzcu Posted: 4/24/07 In the week leading up to the Virginia Tech massacre where 32 people were senselessly killed, there also happened to be Iraqi people being massacred in the bloodbath of Iraq. Five hundred Iraqi men women and children that had nothing to do with the war were found dead in what is a "usual" seven days in the Iraq. These two narratives that both deeply implicate Americans leads us to ponder whose lives we choose to remember and of whose we are completely ignorant. Monday, April 9, 45 innocent Iraqis were killed, many of them found tortured and decapitated. Tuesday, 85 were found dead, half from U.S. attacks. Wednesday a teacher was found shot in the head, a mother and a son were killed on the way to school and a pile of unidentifiable bodies were discovered to make 42 in all. Thursday killed 50, including an explosion inside the "heavily-fortified" Green Zone. Friday, April 13, civilians were killed walking to mosque and a kid was blown up ... 70 more people, people just like you and me. Saturday brought 110 civilian deaths, 16 being blown up by a car bomb. Finally, Sunday, April 15, 100 civilians were murdered in and around Baghdad. This one week of tragedy in Iraq is sadly not an exception. There have been 600,000 civilian deaths since 2003, and 3,323 U.S. deaths (and counting). Despite this, when was the last time we saw a picture of an Iraqi kid on television or read their story in the newspaper? When was the last time we were forced to remember that Iraqis too have rich and important lives or were forced to come face to face with the carnage taking place at the hands of the U.S. occupation? Can you imagine invaders coming into the United States and precipitating massacres that kill 500 Americans a week? This bloody occupation has passed into its fifth year and it's getting increasingly bloodier. Almost half of all the civilian deaths have occurred in the last year of the war, as mortar attacks have quadrupled and bombs killing more than 50 people at once have doubled in occurrence. Suicide bombs, car bombs and roadside bombs have doubled as well in the fourth year. There are also many reports exposing the drastic conditions that living Iraqis are facing. Eleven percent of Iraqi babies are now born underweight, compared to 4 percent before the U.S. invasion, malnutrition has risen to 28 percent and Iraqi civilians are citing stress and anxiety levels that are untenable. The United States has permanently destroyed and ended the lives of millions of Iraqis, though they remain numbers to most of us. Of course we must mourn and remember the loss of life in Blacksburg, Va., but we should also compare the endless coverage that tragedy has received in place of others - killings going on everyday in our name. The memorials accorded to the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings were moving, if only we reserved a fraction of that space in our hearts for innocent Iraqis as well. If we put human faces on those tragedies we might find the continued U.S. occupation to be unbearable. We might feel something again. Or maybe those days are over. -- Original Source:The Miami Student - April 24, 2007
"Skotzko, Stacey Nicole" <skotzksn@muohio.edu>
Recent Shooting at Virginia Tech: Looking Through Another Lens
By John Williams "A 1st Sergeant handed me an ammo box of 240 rounds: the blood-stained rounds that my best friend had been using when he was shot and killed in an ambush, on a patrol that he wasn't supposed to be on, one day after we were told we were going to be back home." -Toby Hartbarger, Army SPC For me, it was this story that my mind instantly recalled after I heard about the shootings in Virginia last week, for Virginia Tech leads U.S. civilian schools in sending officers to the U.S. Military. It was a terrible tragedy, and I had heard of similar events before, but my thoughts intensified because the killings hit so close to home. I realized then that so many people I know have experienced similar, instantaneously deep connections to other tragedies that have occurred in different ways across the globe. It is these lightning connections, these synapses firing without control, that I would like to address. The tragedy at Virginia Tech (VT) is not an isolated incident, or an anomaly. Though some argue that Cho was insane, and while I have no doubt this might be true, we as a society commit acts of similar insanity on a regular basis. We must take notice of the correlation between a guy like Cho and people like us. The articles I have read about Cho try so hard to push him away from what we are; he was a loner, crazy, friendless, different. We point at the connections between his plays and his actions and wonder why his actions weren't noticed, or prevented. But what if we turn the camera on ourselves? It is much harder to look at the things we do — the video-game realities we spend time in, the films we see and books we read that are bound with senseless killing and violence — and ask the same questions. There is a surge of inspection thrown onto this lone figure, Cho, yet we place hardly an ounce of introspection onto ourselves. I would love to believe that the VT shootings were an isolated incident, that they were an anomaly, that I do not live in a world where such things can happen. But violent destruction is far too common an occurrence for me to believe that this is true. In the span of four days just last week in Houston, Texas, there were three separate incidents of men shooting others before committing suicide. There is constant and recurrent violence in our streets every day, especially in communities rife with poverty and oppression, such as New Orleans. Every day Iraq sustains the level of two Virginia Tech massacres. Only two weeks ago, a student with a bomb killed 40 fellow students at the University of Baghdad. I could go on, but I think most people realize that terrible things are happening, in different ways, to different degrees. Yet so often it seems as if we isolate these incidents, and pretend they don't relate to the world at large. But they do. Last week we ran an editorial urging the country to leave those affected by the VT shootings a litle space. While allowing time for grief is one thing, removing yourself from the collective consciousness is another. Everyone has to spend some time in grief: we all have jobs and classes, lives to live, and I'm not asking anyone to stop all that. What I am asking is for you to take as much time as you can spare to engage in these issues; examine the ways in which you can change, we can change. Change personally, locally, nationally, and globally. Because these are not separate tragedies. Because we are all connected, and everything we do is connected. -- Original Source:City on a Hill Press - April 26, 2007
Faculty trained to refer students of concern to CAPS
By: Johnny Perez Posted: 4/18/07 As the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute awoke to a changed world this morning, new developments emerged about the alleged gunman whose shooting spree claimed 33 lives, including his own. His name was Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old senior at Virginia Tech who was majoring in English. And according to Carolyn Rude, the chairwoman of Virginia Tech's English department, some of Seung-Hui's schoolwork prompted officials to refer him to the university's counseling service - though the date and outcome of that action is not known. Though developments about Seung-Hui and his writing are only beginning to come to light, officials at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln say procedures are already in place that allow staff members to alert Counseling and Psychological Services about any concerns they may have regarding individual students. UNL began taking a closer look at how it handled potentially troubled students, staff or faculty members in 1992, after Arthur McElroy, a former graduate student, walked into Ferguson Hall and attempted to open fire on his classmates with a semi-automatic rifle. The weapon jammed and McElroy was institutionalized. UNL administrators acknowledged the need to do a better job of talking to each other when what CAPS director Bob Portnoy calls "students of concern" are noticed. Portnoy, who has worked at UNL since 1991, said campus-wide efforts from the CAPS office, University Police and the vice chancellor for student affairs have improved lines of communication, but every year concerns appear on his desk about questionable students. "I can't think of a semester where that hasn't happened," he said. "I'm fairly confident we've gotten at least one call every semester." What typically occurs, Portnoy said, is that an instructor will call a CAPS representative with, say, a disturbing essay. The staff member will forward the piece of material that has caused concern and will share his or her thoughts while having it reviewed by a professional. At that point, Portnoy said, CAPS will work with the faculty member to see if he or she is confident enough to approach the student about the material. If the faculty member is "sufficiently frightened" by the idea of meeting the student alone, Portnoy said, CAPS will ask for a plainclothes police officer to stand by while the faculty member meets with a student - but this avenue is rarely utilized. "In most cases, what we recommend is that they share with the student their concerns ... and the issues they're writing about in this essay may go beyond the particular faculty member's area of expertise," he said. From there, the faculty member may choose to walk the student to the CAPS office, or give them referral information - but the office is prepared to handle emergency cases as well, Portnoy said. Joy Ritchie, the chairwoman of UNL's English department, said new faculty members in the department undergo training to deal with a variety of educational issues, including advice on how to respond to a student's writing when problematic issues arise. "One of the pieces of information they get is about the fact that we are not trained professional counselors, and so when we have concerns, we know that we need to refer students to the right professional people," she said. Student privacy is also essential, Ritchie said, and instructors are encouraged to consult with the chair and vice-chair of the department if they have any concerns. Ritchie said she could not remember specific instances of violence or depression that were addressed by faculty members but said University Police and CAPS had always been quick and responsive in dealing with any issues. "I think the university has a lot of systems in place to support students, and that's important," she said. "I never felt that those were inadequate." Portnoy said there was a fine line between seeing a threatening piece as a product of an active imagination or as a sign of a problem. Part of the training of mental health professionals, he said, is to understand the symbolic meaning of communication. "And we tend, at least in these sorts of cases whenever possible, to try and err on the side of conservatism," he said. "Active imaginations shouldn't be discouraged, but occasionally it is a cry for help or an expression of a destructive way of thinking ... we have to evaluate each case on an individual basis." In the end, Portnoy said, the university's efforts to spot students who could be threats to themselves or others are only another method of keeping campus safe - not a catchall system to keep Lincoln from becoming another Blacksburg, Va. "They're capable, but of course there's no absolute safeguard," he said. "It's hard to know how often we've been right." -- Original Source:Daily Nebraskan - April 18, 2007
Josh Swartzlander <jdwriter19@yahoo.com>
For the Hokies - ETSU event held in support of Virginia Tech
For the Hokies - ETSU event held in support of Virginia Tech (Picture Caption)- Bernadette Cash and Sara Shaffer sign a sheet that will be made into a quilt during the ETSU gathering in memory of the victims at Virginia Tech. (Ron Campbell / Johnson City Press) By Sam Watson Press Education Writer swatson@johnsoncitypress.com Buccaneer blue and gold gave way to Hokie maroon and orange Tuesday as East Tennessee State University sent messages of support to Virginia Tech in the wake of last week's massacre. Hundreds of students and employees gathered on ETSU's Borchuck Plaza for a noon service, many donning maroon and orange ribbons and signing banners in a show of solidarity for their peers in Blacksburg, Va. "We're just really reaching our hearts out to everyone over there at Virginia Tech," said Justin Mitchell, an ETSU junior from Memphis. "It's a really good healing exercise for us, as well, and all American college students across the United States." On April 16, Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 students and faculty members and injured several others in a rampage that sent a chill through college campuses across the country. The tragedy hit particularly close to home at ETSU, an institution located just 150 miles away from Blacksburg. Many students on the Johnson City campus have friends at Virginia Tech or other ties there, and ETSU employs several Virginia Tech alumni, including Mark Musick, holder of ETSU's Quillen Chair of Excellence in Teaching and Learning, who led Tuesday's service alongside ETSU President Paul Stanton. Also on the plaza Tuesday was Virginia Tech graduate Dr. Sally Lee, ETSU associate vice president for student affairs. "As an alum, I am appreciative of the response on behalf of my institution," Lee said as Virginia Tech symbols dangled from her ears. "The outpouring for Virginia Tech from other institutions has been amazing." As a student at Virginia Tech, Lee was a resident adviser in West Ambler Johnston Hall, the site where Cho began his attack by killing students Ryan Clark and Emily Hilscher. Last week's events forever changed Lee's perspective about her old dorm. "I can tell you pretty much exactly where that young lady and that RA were murdered because of the way that building is configured uniquely," she said. "That has an impact." The massacre also changed perspectives for some ETSU students. "For our students here, there's a lot of sorrow and a lot of understanding of the lost innocence and the impact it will have on that school," Lee said. "So, I think it's good for our students to have an outlet for their own emotions." To Mitchell, knowing that students his own age were killed doing the same things he does every day - attending classes - was scary. "It hurts. We really feel that," he said. "Maybe we can create more awareness so that everybody can lend a helping hand to those who feel alone, so they don't feel they have to kill." As ETSU students signed a sheet that will form part of a memorial quilt for Virginia Tech, Mitchell wrote just three words: "Cho was wrong." "I believe that they (Virginia Tech students) feel just as strongly as we do that people who are loners and outsiders should not feel as pressed against," Mitchell said. "Maybe if you are ostracized and feel that you are alone, you won't lash out against society." ETSU sophomore Deanna Stamper, an elementary education major from Kingsport, brought the sheet to campus as part of a national project organized by Alpha Phi Omega, a community service organization. "I really wanted to do it, because I have two very special friends there (at Virginia Tech) in the engineering program. Luckily, they were away at the time on a competition," Stamper said. "I know that many students want to find a way to send love to them, and this to me is a great way to do it. "I think it gives great faith back to our nation to see how strong these young people can be through this." Wearing Virginia Tech athletic jerseys, ETSU senior Sara Shaffer and her sister in law, Bernadette Cash, signed the sheet to send messages to a campus Shaffer has known since childhood via athletic events. "It's awfully close to home," Shaffer said. "My dad went to Virginia Tech. Our whole family has been going to Blacksburg since before I was even born. We're all Hokies." http://johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.php?Cat=LOCALNEWS&ID=59244
Johnson City Press, Ron Campbell and Sam Watson
Issue Date:Wednesday April 18, 2007 Section: HeadLine News Section By Jon Offredo, Staff Writer What if it happened here? Would West Virginia University be prepared for a horrific incident such as the tragedy that occurred at Virginia Tech on Monday? The answer is yes, University officials say. "Blacksburg is a lot like Morgantown, and if it could happen there, it could happen anywhere," said West Virginia University spokeswoman Becky Loftstead. "In light of this, we are going to review the emergency plan and look at it intensely to make sure that all of our 'I's are dotted and 'T's are crossed to make sure any event like this is covered," Loftstead said. Prior to the massacre in Blacksburg, WVU officials were in the process of finding vendors to provide University-wide text messaging services in the event of an emergency, Loftstead said. Currently, the University would broadcast announcements on MIX and forward them to WVU.edu e-mail addresses as it does when canceling class during the winter. Officials were also looking into the idea of large messaging centers that would be visible in high traffic areas. Dr. Dan Della-Giustina, a WVU professor and expert in public safety, also suggested the implementation of a University-wide alarm system. "My thought is to develop an air raid-like signal, similar to the ones during World War II," Della-Giustina said. "It would sound a siren, when the students would hear this, regardless of where they were, they would know to stay put and be on lock down. Yet, despite new proposals, University officials have always had a plan for the instant disaster were to strike WVU. If WVU were faced with the same situation that arose in Blacksburg, students would be urged to remain where they were and focus on protecting themselves. In what Roberts called an active shooter situation, DPS members have been trained in a program called "Active Shooter," and a team is also trained in Rapid Response. To correspond with the DPS response, Morgantown Police Department, West Virginia State Police and Morgantown Fire Department also became involved in the situation. In the Virginia Tech scenario, students and families were reunited at the alumni center in Blacksburg, but if the situation were to arise in Morgantown, that may not be the best protocol. "If you look at WVU, there is no single road. We are an expansive town," Roberts said. "We work with Morgantown Police Department, and that is a benefit, to say that there is a central location is not what we are advocating." The ideal plan would be for students and faculty to stay in place, secure doors and to wait for the green light. After a traumatizing event, students are likely to need some kind of counseling to deal with the shocking aftermath. "It's crisis counseling, and always you need to assess the student's concern, is there some sense of immediacy, friend or family involved," said Dr. Peter Kahn of the Carruth Center. "With any situation where there's been some kind of a loss, you want to sit with the person and let them talk freely and open up about it." jon.offredo@mail.wvu.edu -- Original Source: The Daily Athenaeum http://www.da.wvu.edu/show_article.php?&story_id=27578
Deadliest shooting spree in U.S. history claims 33 victims Jordan Dods and Courtney Kessler, Cavalier Daily Associate Editors "Horror, disbelief and profound sorrow" was how Virginia Tech President Charles Steger described the Blacksburg community's reaction to what is the deadliest shooting incident in the nation's history. The school now faces what Steger called a "long and difficult road" to recovery after two shootings yesterday morning resulted in at least 33 fatalities, including that of a gunman, and about 30 injuries. The first shooting occurred at about 7:15 a.m. on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston dormitory, resulting in two confirmed deaths. One of the victims has now been identified as one of the dorm's resident advisors. Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum cited evidence that a domestic dispute led to the first shooting. As of press time, police had questioned a person of interest who knew one victim and was potentially involved in the first shooting; however, police had not taken the individual into custody. After the first incident, Virginia Tech officials issued two e-mails informing students that there had been a shooting. The first e-mail was sent at 9:26 a.m. and stated that a shooting incident had occurred at West Ambler Johnston. The second e-mail followed at 9:50 a.m. and alerted the community that there was a gunman loose on the campus. Students and faculty were urged to remain inside and away from windows. As these e-mails were sent, the second shooting began in Norris Hall, ultimately leaving at least 31 dead, including the gunman. Virginia Tech sophomores Trey Perkins and Derek O'Dell said in a televised interview with Brian Williams the shooter entered their German class, shot their professor and opened fire on students. Perkins, one of the few students not shot, said the shooter fired for about a minute and a half as students used desks to shield themselves from the fire. O'Dell, who was shot in the arm, described the shooter as "an Asian male, about six-feet tall." "I think we're both still in shock," O'Dell said. "It's amazing that we were saved." Shortly after the second shooting, Virginia Tech students received a third e-mail at 10:16 a.m. announcing that classes were canceled and that outside persons were not to come on campus. Students were also urged to "lock their doors and stay away from windows." A fourth e-mail at 10:52 a.m. notified the community of the second shooting in Norris Hall with multiple victims. At that point, police were on the scene and a suspect had been detained, but police continued to search for a second shooter. Bodies were later found at different locations throughout Norris Hall, and doors to the building were chained when police arrived on the scene, Flinchum said, noting that this was "unusual." According to Flinchum, the campus did not go on lockdown until the shooting in Norris Hall took place because officials believed the dormitory shooting to be an isolated incident. Fifteen victims are being treated at hospitals in the Roanoke and New River Valley area. Officials confirmed reports of some individuals jumping out of windows to avoid facing fire. Officials declined to release the Norris Hall gunman's identity. Police continue to investigate whether a different gunman was involved in the dormitory shooting. Steger said an investigation remains underway to determine whether or not the two shootings are connected. Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, currently flying back from an Asian trade mission in Tokyo, declared a state of emergency earlier yesterday to help organize the flow of assistance into Blacksburg. Virginia Tech is currently receiving assistance from state police, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, local jurisdictions and the Red Cross, according to Steger. U.S. President George W. Bush spoke from the White House earlier today, saying he was "horrified" by the shootings and promising to "do everything possible" for the victims. Media officials have reported that President Bush may travel to Virginia Tech today. Virginia Tech classes are canceled today and the university will hold a memorial service at 2 p.m. today at Cassell Coliseum. "I cannot begin to covey my own personal sense of loss over this senseless and incomprehensible, heinous act," Steger said at an earlier press conference. "Today the university was struck with a tragedy we consider of monumental proportions." -- Original Source:The Cavalier Daily - April 17, 2007
In wake of tragedy, students reflect on shootings that rocked community, describe "fearful environment" Jordan Dods and Courtney Kessler, Cavalier Daily Associate Editors Only in her worst nightmares could Nicole Shyti have anticipated the carnage transpiring as she slept on the fifth floor of West Ambler Johnston dormitory yesterday morning. One floor beneath her, two Virginia Tech students had been murdered by a gunman who was still at large. It wasn't until 9:30 a.m., when a friend called her to make sure she was safe, that she learned about the killings. Shyti said she heard the sounds of siren after siren outside her dorm room. It was at that point, she said, that she knew something serious had happened. "I saw people running across the lawn outside, and it was just a lot of commotion," Shyti said. The shootings, which eventually left 33 dead, instantly transformed the Virginia Tech campus into a worldwide epicenter of tragedy and confusion. The campus was left nearly deserted as the university went on lockdown. An impromptu vigil on the Drill Field yesterday evening captured the intensity of emotion. Students locked arms -- some crying -- still waiting to find out whether friends had made it out alive. Virginia Tech student George Lane-Roberts said the rapid escalation of casualties left him "dumbfounded and shocked." As students spent the day within the familiar walls of their dorms, press outlets from around the world descended on Blacksburg to report the greatest tragedy to hit an American college campus. That blanket of media coverage provided many Tech students, hunkered around televisions, with their primary window into the events of the day. Tech student Joseph Chapman said he first found out about the shootings on TV before reading official e-mails from the university. Some have criticized Tech's response to the initial shooting as too little too late, saying that an earlier lockdown of campus could have prevented 30 deaths. The initial e-mail from the university came almost two hours after the first shooting occurred. Lane-Roberts recalled a shooting in Blacksburg on the first day of classes last August. He said he remembered that the entire campus had been locked down, even though no students were casualties of that shooting. Members of the media may be coming to their own conclusions, but students at Tech are still more confused than angered by the administration's response. Nathan Carter, who is still waiting to find out whether three of his friends are all right, said he doesn't blame the administration for its handling of the shootings. "Hindsight is 20/20," he said, adding that what Virginia Tech officials thought they had on their hands with the Ambler Johnston incident was a domestic dispute gone wrong. Freshman student Holly Faust said she was leaving campus, on her way to Radford University with a friend. By late afternoon, she said half of the students in her dorm had already left. Faust, who lives on the top floor of Slusher dormitory, one of the tallest buildings near Norris Hall, said a number of students went up to the top floor to observe clumps of police. Despite being within eye shot of the center of events, Faust said she also relied on television news reports for information about the unfolding events. Faust said she received the first official e-mail informing students of the shooting at about 9:30 a.m. and decided not to go to class. Many students first heard about the massacre not from the Virginia Tech e-mails, but through calls, e-mails and instant messages from friends and concerned family members. A resident advisor in Payne dormitory, who has chosen to remain anonymous, said he found out about the incident through an instant message from a friend. To notify his residents, the RA said he posted notices in stairwells and alerted students leaving the building to be cautious. He said RAs are trained extensively to handle serious situations such as this. Most of his duties yesterday included dispelling rumors and providing his residents with as much information as was available, he said. Carter described how the lack of solid information added to the confusion surrounding the events, saying the rumors ranged from gang-member involvement to "ridiculous" reports that the shooter was eight feet tall. Some may have falsely assumed that the shooter was lurking nearby, even after he had killed himself -- fears that were heightened by the saturation of gun-toting police who were sweeping the campus for any suspicious activity. Lane-Roberts said he and other students watched from a window as two police officers with assault rifles "tackled" a black student. The officers were "shouting" at students to close the blinds and "get in our rooms," he said. Chapman said RAs played a major role in communicating the lockdown to students. Virginia Tech freshman Margaret Hatcher said she never left her room because she had been advised to stay there and distance herself from the windows; however, her roommate had to find shelter in an academic building. "My roommate was actually in class this morning, and actually she was in the building next door to Norris," Hatcher said. "They took them all into the basement for a few hours" and around 12:30 p.m. told them to leave campus immediately. Sophomore Erik Stange said he lives off campus and learned of the situation when his parents called him around 11 a.m. Stange said he later learned from friends that a friend of his who was an RA in West Ambler Johnston had been shot. "He got shot in the leg, [so] hopefully he'll be okay," Stange said. Hours later, Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Finchum confirmed that an RA in West Ambler Johnston had died. Stange is just one of many students forced to cope with uncertainties about yesterday's events. "At this point, there are still a lot of questions and not answers," Shyti said. "We're in a fearful environment right now, [and] I think what contributes to the fear is that people don't know what's safe." As the community looks to beging the healing process, Virginia Tech has organized a memorial service in Cassell Coliseum, the basketball stadium, to be held today at 2 p.m. Freshman Elizabeth Rogers said she plans to attend the service. "Even though I don't know anyone directly who [has] been harmed, I just feel that as a university we need to band together ... and try to find the best way to be there for everyone in this time of need," Rogers said. Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said the university is starting a "long, difficult road" to recovery from the massacre. As the initial shock turns into a quest for answers, students at Virginia Tech are finding that the first step on that road is coming to terms with the magnitude of what has occurred. As one RA said, "Most of us are just kind of sitting here wondering when we're going to wake up, because it feels like a dream." -- Original Source: The Cavalier Daily - April 17, 2007
Virginia Tech: un análisis ideoléxico de una tragedia
Publicado por Jorge Majfud viernes, abril 20, 2007 La mayoría de las medicinas que se venden en forma de píldoras, recubren una determinada droga, químico o compuesto con una capa de color atractivo y gusto dulce. En español, la sabiduría popular usa esta particularidad para construir una metáfora: "tragarse la píldora" tiene una connotación negativa y expresa la acción de consumir una cosa con la forma o el gusto de otra. Es decir, creer o aceptar una verdad como hecho incuestionable sin ser conscientes de las verdaderas implicaciones. En la tradición literaria, este fenómeno epistemológico se entendía con la metáfora del caballo de Troya, también usado hoy en día para designar virus informáticos. Un ideoléxico puede entenderse como una pastilla que el discurso hegemónico prescribe e impone con seductora violencia. Por ejemplo, el ideoléxico libertad viene recubierto de una plétora de lugares comunes y dulcemente positivos (la libertad, como precepto universal lo es). Sin embargo, dentro de este recubrimiento dulce y brillante se esconden las verdaderas razones de las acciones: la dominación, la opresión, la violencia de los intereses sectarios, etc. El recubrimiento dulce y brillante anula la percepción se sus opuestos: el contenido amargo y opaco. La tarea del crítico consiste en romper la envoltura, en des-cubrir, en des-velar el contenido de la píldora, del ideoléxico. Claro que esta tarea tiene resultados amargos, como el centro de la píldora. Los adictos a una droga no renunciarán a ella sólo porque alguien descubra las graves implicaciones de su confort momentáneo. De hecho, se resistirán a esta operación de exposición. Analicemos un ideoléxico común en el discurso dominante del capitalismo tardío: la responsabilidad personal. De entrada vemos que su cobertura es del todo dulce y brillante. ¿Quién sería capaz de discutir el valor de la responsabilidad de cada individuo? Un posible cuestionamiento sería rápidamente anulado por una falsa alternativa: la irresponsabilidad. Pero podemos comenzar problematizando el nuevo falso dilema observando que el mismo adjetivo —personal— de este ideoléxico compuesto anula o anestesia otro menos común y más difícil de apreciar por los sentidos: no se menciona la posibilidad de la existencia de una "responsabilidad social". Tampoco se habla o se acepta —en base a una larga tradición religiosa— que puedan existir "pecados sociales". Vayamos más al centro de un caso concreto: la trágica matanza ocurrida en la Universidad de Virginia Tech. Quienes pusieron el dedo acusador —tímidamente, como siempre— en la cultura de las armas en Estados Unidos, fueron criticados en nombre del ideoléxico de la responsabilidad personal. "No son las armas las que matan gentes —comentó un amigo del rifle en un diario— sino la gente misma. El problema está en los individuos, no en las armas". La píldora muestra un alto grado de obviedad, pero lleva nuevamente otros problemas: nadie cuestionó cómo podría hacer un desquiciado para matar a treinta personas con una piedra, con un palo o, incluso, con un cuchillo. Esta lógica se expresa cubriendo una contradicción interna del discurso. Cuando se habla de drogas, se culpa a los productores, no a los consumidores. Pero cuando se habla de armas, se culpa del mal a los consumidores, no a los productores. La razón estriba, entiendo, en el lugar que ocupa el poder. En el caso de las drogas, los productores son los otros, no nosotros; en el caso de las armas, los consumidores son los otros; nosotros nos limitamos a su producción. El discurso hegemónico nunca menciona que si no existiese el consumo de drogas en los países ricos no existiría la producción que satisface la demanda; si no existiera esta calamidad en la ilegalidad tampoco existirían las mafias de narcotraficantes. O su existencia sería raquítica, en comparación a lo que es hoy. Pero como los otros (los productores de los países pobres) son los responsables individuales, nosotros (los productores de armas, los responsables administradores de la ley) estamos legitimados para producir más armas que los otros deberán consumir, para respaldar la ley —y para quebrantarla. Si alguien, como el asesino de Virginia Tech compra un par de armas con más facilidad y cien veces más rápido con que uno puede comprar un auto, y comete una masacre, toda la responsabilidad radica en el desquiciado. Entonces, se llega a una trágica paradoja: una sociedad armada hasta los dientes está a la merced de los desquiciados que no saben ejercer correctamente su responsabilidad personal. Para corregir este problema, no se recurre a la responsabilidad social, combatiendo las armas y el sistema económico y moral que lo sustenta, sino vendiendo más armas a los individuos responsables, para que cada uno pueda ejercer con más fuerza su propia "responsabilidad personal". Hasta que vuelve a aparecer alguien excepcionalmente enfermo —en una sociedad de santos los demonios son excepciones muy frecuentes— y comete otra masacre, esta vez más grande, ya que el poder de destrucción de las armas siempre se perfecciona, gracias a la alta tecnología y a la moral de los individuos responsables. - Jorge Majfud, escritor uruguayo, es profesor de Literatura Latinoamericana en The University of Georgia, Estados Unidos -- Fuente Original: Blog Vamos a Cambiar el Mundo Sin Tomar el Poder http://jbcs.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-un-anlisis-ideolxico-de.html Licencia de uso: Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 2.5 España.
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Virginia Tech: El profesor que se convirtió en héroe
Publicado por Jose Kaulen C April 18, 2007, 10:03 PM La de a continuación, es una historia emocionante, llena de sentido y digna de admiración por parte de todos nosotros. In Memoriam Liviu Librescu. Liviu Librescu, un profesor de 76 años y muy respetado ingeniero aeronáutico que enseñó en Virginia Tech por 20 años, salvó la vida de varios estudiantes bloqueando la puerta de su sala de clases antes de que fuera muerto a balazos en la masacre, de acuerdo a los e-mails enviados por los alumnos a su señora. "Mi padre bloqueó la puerta con su cuerpo y les dijo a sus alumnos que escaparan" ha dicho su hijo, Joe Librescu, en una entrevista telefónica desde su casa en las afueras de Tel Aviv. Agregó además que los "estudiantes comenzaron a abrir las ventanas y a saltar hacia afuera". En el campus, los estudiantes hablan sobre el arrojo de Librescu: "Él debiera ser reconocido como un héroe" dice el estudiante de Virginia Tech Philip Huffstetler además de sentir "que están en una gran deuda con su familia por el resto de nuestras vidas". "Él es la razón de que el estudiante (Seung-Hui) no entrara y matara a más gente; obviamente es un héroe", dice Asal Arad, otro estudiante. Librescu supo de una vida difícil desde que era niño. Cuando Rumania se unió a las fuerzas nazis en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, primero fue internado en un campo de trabajos forzados en Transnistria y luego deportado junto a su familia y miles de otros judíos al ghetto central de Focsani. De acuerdo a un informe recopilado por el gobierno de Rumania en el 2004, entre 280 y 380 mil judíos fueron asesinados por el régimen rumano-nazi durante la guerra. Como un exitoso ingeniero durante el gobierno de postguerra comunista, Librescu encontró trabajo en la agencia aeroespacial de Rumania, pero su carrera fue interrumpida en los 70's porque rechazó prestar juramento de obediencia al régimen y finalmente fue despedido cuando pidió autorización para irse a Israel. De acuerdo con su hijo, después de años de rechazo gubernamental, el primer ministro israelí, Menachem Begin, intervino personalmente para que obtuviera el permiso de emigración para toda su familia. Se mudaron a Israel en 1978. Librescu deja Israel en 1985 para irse a Virginia en un año sabático, pero terminaría quedándose. Joe Librescu estudió en Virginia Tech entre 1989 y 1994. En Rumania, la comunidad académica lamenta profundamente la muerte de Librescu. "Es una gran pérdida" dijo Ecaterina Andronescu, rector de la Universidad Politécnica de Bucarest, desde donde Librescu se graduó en 1953. "Tenemos una tremenda admiración por la forma en que reaccionó y defendió a sus alumnos con su vida", agregó. En la Universidad Politécnica, donde Librescu recibió un título honorario en el 2000, su foto ha sido puesta sobre una mesa, junto a ella una vela encendida y las personas dejan flores alrededor. "Lo recordamos como un gran especialista en temas de aeronáutica. Deja cientos de importantes documentos", dice uno de los profesores, Nicolae Serban Tomescu. Librescu hizo muchas publicaciones y recibió varios premios por sus trabajos. "Su trabajo fue en algún sentido su vida", dijo Joe Librescu. Texto traducido desde Foxnews.com -- Fuente Original -- Realidades Varias a.k.a El Blog de Jose Kaulen http://josekaulen.wordpress.com/2007/04/18/virginia-tech-el-profesor-que-se-convirtio-en-heroe/ Derechos Reservados: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported.
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Virginia Tech: Los hechos a centímetros de distancia
Publicado por Jose Kaulen C. 19th Abril 2007 Collin Goddard estuvo a centímetros de Cho Seung-Hui durante la masacre del lunes, y escuchó cómo el asesino terminaba con su vida después de haber matado a 30 personas, dice su madre. Después de que las balas fueron disparadas a su alrededor dentro de la sala de Norris Hall, Goddard, un estudiante de 21 años de Estudios Internacionales, jugó con la muerte tal como Cho, dice su madre, Ann Goddard. Esto lo contaba mientras su hijo herido estaba en una cirugía. La terrible experiencia de Goddard comenzó durante su clase de Francés, cuando él y sus compañeros escucharon los disparos desde la entrada. La profesora Jocelyne Couture-Nowak dijo a sus alumnos que llamaran al 911, solo segundos antes de que Cho entrara a la sala y comenzara con la balacera, hiriendo a Goddard en la pierna. "Cho primero fue a través de la primera fila y comenzó a disparar aleatoriamente" dijo. Cho abandonó la sala y regresó momentos después. Colin estaba tendido en el piso de la sala, enfrentándose a la muerte cuando "Él giró la cabeza y vió los zapatos del atacante viniendo hacia su cuerpo". "El atacante estuvo parado junto a él", dice la madre. "Él estaba totalmente asustado de morir", dice, "mantuvo la inteligencia en todo momento, pero estaba muy asustado de morir". El atacante disparó otra vez contra Colin, alcanzádolo en el hombro y en una nalga. Después caminó hacia el frente de la sala, explica Ann. Dos disparos fueron seguidos de silencio. La policía rompió ese silencio gritando "shooter down!, black tag!" ha dicho Goddard, lo que aparentemente son códigos policiales indicando muertes en el lugar. Los policías revisaron los cuerpos en la sala de clases. Couture-Nowak no sobrevivió. Mientras los cirujanos trabajan para curar a su hijo, Goddard dice que ella nunca hubiera querido que la tragedia hubiera sucedido en un momento "de definición en la vida de mi hijo", refiriéndose al último semestre en la carrera de Collin. En cambio, ella hubiera querido un momento de definición de su hijo como "que fuera algo positivo, con una gran celebración en su vida". La cirugía de Collin fue un éxito. Otras nueve personas permanecen heridas en el hospital. Otras tres personas heridas del tiroteo del lunes fueron dadas de alta el hoy. Una de esas personas está recuperándose en el Lewis-Gale Medical Center, cerca de Salem, Virginia. Otros dos pacientes fueron dados de alta desde el Montgomery Regional Hospital en Blacksburg, quedando seis, tres hombres y tres mujeres, todos "estables", de acuerdo al CEO del hospital, Scott Hill. "No tengo palabras para describir la fortaleza de esos estudiantes", ha dicho Hill. "Ellos están trabajando muy duro para recuperarse". Dos pacientes que sufrieron heridas de bala están en buenas condiciones en el New River Valley Hospital, cerca de Radford. En el Roanoke Memorial Hospital, en Roanoke, Virginia, un paciente se mantiene en condición crítica por sus heridas de bala. Otro herido que estaba siendo tratado en Roanoke ha sido transferido a otro hospital, según el portavoz Eric Earnhart, quien se negó a dar el nombre del hospital por un pedido de los familiares. -- Fuente Original: Realidades Varias a.k.a El Blog de Jose Kaulen http://josekaulen.wordpress.com/tag/virginia-tech/ Licencia de uso: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported.
I never really thought of myself as a Hokie. I came to VT to learn engineering and science. I have never been to a game nor participated in any student activities. I have always thought of myself as a student here to learn, not a Hokie. Tragedy struck and I asked myself, like all did, what can I do? I found myself walking through campus, like I have done so many times before. This time it was different. I was not in a hurry to get to class and there was no commotion ringing off the building walls from fellow students. It was quite unlike any night at VT I had ever experienced. I was handed a candle and I walked out onto the Drillfield. I lit my candle and a tidal wave of previously unknown Hokie pride came over me as I heard students chant "Let's Go....HOKIES!" I was a Hokie. I did not know any of our fellow fallen Hokies, but I am not ashamed to say I loved them and nor should you. And when you walk the Hokie walk and feel as though something is different, do not ask yourself, "Is it just me?" We are all one body, one soul, one Hokie, even when we do not know it.
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 cases of sane, rational, normal individuals playing these games and deciding to go kill people? None. All the school shootings? Most were angry youth, youth with guns, youth who were outsiders, the weak, the defenceless, the bullied. Not a single average Joe picking up a gun after a refreshing game of "Kill People" and blowing away innocents. What we fail to see is an actual connection between motive and games. I see motive in one way, and games in another, because they are NOT the SAME! There are very well-defined lines between motive and what someone does in their spare time. You see, when it comes down to it, you need motive to commit, and without a motive, there is no crime. Motives like, oh say: Abuse by parents, abuse by peers, bullying, loneliness, delusions, hatred, religious beliefs, monetary issues, and many more. What needs to be examined is the link between society and killers like this. What makes these people? Look, and you shall find, and it will surprise me not, but shock you beyond your comfortable world of minor tragedy. The breakdown in society comes not from video games, but from the way we treat some people in it. No one can imagine what horrors some have gone through. I have lived through what I can only describe as sheer torture, for a lack of wanting to dredge up the painful memories. I have come through, and come through well, and I am now working on becoming someone to change the ways these things go about. "Boys will be boys." A bitter, and cruel memory of a tear cried long ago. I came through my own trial that was childhood, and emerged matured beyond my chronological age. I have stared a coming death in the eyes, and welcomed it with relief. Never does one grow so quickly than when faced with their own life, about to be snuffed out. But I did not die, thanks to one boy who saw others throw me into a dumpster like so much trash, unable to move my arms from the beating they gave me first, bare seconds before a garbage truck came by to collect the garbage, to compact it... and me. One boy, who defied apathy, and saved my life. Live through the worst pain you could ever feel, for six years, alone, different, and scared, then claim that "Boys will be Boys." For some, the burden warped them, destroyed them, and turned them into beasts, murderous and violent. Killers. But, thanks to several factors, including loving, caring parents, kind teachers, books, and counselling, I stayed human. It's an odd feeling, to know you have lived through what broke others, what turned them into bitter, meek, but ever defiant individuals, right down to when they killed others and then themselves. It's hard to take when others blame playthings, hobbies, toys, and useless, un-important junk and lay the cause of guilt onto simple objects. Hard to take, to know that someone spent their life in pain, ends it, and yes, they made a bad choice, but it was also a lesson. One which went ignored. Rather than try to fix what is broken, we find ways to avoid examining it. It's hard to believe, that when a young man kills his peers, takes his life, and writes in a note left in his house about just how horrible a life it was, that others simply dismiss it as vanity, preening, a bid for publicity, rather than take in stride that there is a problem in the echelons of societal form. No one understands them. And that's one of the worst parts. I am alive. I am well. I live my life, and rejoice in the pleasures of taking breath, looking at the natural beauty of the world around me, the cool caress of the wind on my face, with the glow of the sun. I live content, confident in a future, bright in possibilities. But I will always remember what it took to make me see the way I do, to have the very thing that makes me different, and the humiliation and indignities I lived through. But the past is the past, and I look to the future, looking to speak, be heard, and change the system that nearly destroyed me, the system that is supported by the strong, the system that propagates stereotypes, and the system that creates the very things it fears most. I lost my childhood when I was but six. I grew up too fast, in a hard system, and have learned some very hard lessons. These lessons have taught me what you're still struggling to comprehend. There is no deep mystery to why the school shooters do this. It is simply misguided vengeance, striking against what they feel is the cause of their misery. Their school, their peers, and themselves. They hate their existence, and others for what they did to make their existence the kind they hated. Therefore, they attack both at the same time, and martyr themselves to their ideas of justice, of vengeance, and of retribution. They do it for themselves, for other victims, for the weak, the defenseless, whatever they want to. Because they are without hope. They are without pity, for they have received none. They have no mercy or regret, as they have learned from those who showed them nought. Their consciences are but husks, destroyed by oppression and injustice. They looked into others eyes as they were hurt, as they were abused, in pain, and all they saw were the malice of their attackers, and the apathy of the crowd, staring into their eyes, and seeing nothing. They have walked where few have dared to tread, but where several are forced to walk. Alone, feeling only the worst things, falling into darkness, with healthy shoves from ignorant and callous peers. This is why. This is what no one will say. This is not your pretty glossy CNN coverage, not your heartening fiction of fantasy, nor your peppy college psychology lecture. This is hard, gritty truth, this is a revelation of knowledge, and a desperate cry to end the pain, the bloodshed, the sorrow. Kind of sad, don't you think, how a 17 year old just told you exactly what countless people have been searching for. The answers to why School Shooters do what they're named for. And do you know what the saddest part will be? When this goes ignored, because this couldn't possibly be it. And I will watch and cry, as more and more people die while we look for the answer that is right in front of our noses, as we assign blame to scapegoats, and as we lower the bodies of innocents, and heroes into the ground. -- Author's Comments I hate the way the world is working these days. All violence and bloodshed, killers and crazies, all over school shootings. The latest Tragedy is now becoming a Travesty, and all we can seem to do is blame peripherals. Monsters aren't born; They're created. -- Original submitted to deviantart.com on April 23, 2007: href="http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/53886930/">http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/53886930/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
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Chabad Responds to Tragedy With Mitzvah Drive: "Hearts to Hokies" Campaign to Begin Friday
Joshua Runyan Chabad.edu As a university and nation began the transition from shock to mourning one day after the deadliest shooting attack in American history, the network of more than 100 campus Chabad Houses declared a "Week of Goodness and Kindness" as a way to honor the memory of the slain. The goal of the effort, according to organizers, is simple: to translate the pain of grief into the healing of positive action. Beginning this Friday, Chabad on Campus representatives will be handing out "Hearts to Hokies" pledge cards at the campuses they serve. Students will be encouraged to pledge a good deed in the merit of those lost; the collected cards will be presented later to the students of Virginia Tech. Students and others can also complete an online "pledge card" at www.Hearts2Hokies.com. "This tragedy hits uniquely close to home for college students across America," stated Rabbi Yossy Gordon, executive director for the New York-based Chabad on Campus International Foundation. "Our campaign provides a tangible way to react in a substantive manner. It reminds that grief can be channeled into positive action, and highlights the concept that many small acts add up in a meaningful way." According to Gordon, "we look to our traditions for solace and direction. We recognize the essential human need to do something, to make something good result from tragedy, to attempt to somehow bring balance into the world by increasing in 'senseless' acts of goodness and kindness." In the immediate aftermath of an apparent rampage by a Virginia Tech student, two Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries from elsewhere in the state - Rabbi Yossel Kranz, executive director of the Richmond, Va.-based Chabad of the Virginias and Rabbi Shlomo Mayer from the Chabad House at the University of Virginia - traveled to the site of the attacks to assist with the needs of the students and faculty. And as Mayer and Kranz were busy on Tuesday coordinating the care of a victim's body in accordance with Jewish law - Virginia Tech professor of mechanical engineering Liviu Librescu, a 75-year-old Romanian Holocaust survivor who was shot by Cho Seung-Hui while shielding his class from the assailant's bullets - and arranging its transport to Israel for burial, their colleagues as far away as Seattle were planning Chabad's national response. "Jewish tradition teaches that each person is created in the Divine image," stated Rabbi Moshe C. Dubrowski, director of operations for the New York-based Chabad on Campus International Foundation, in reference to the April 16 carnage at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va., that left 32 victims dead and more than 20 injured. "All those affected by this tragedy are in our thoughts and prayers." "The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory, taught of the need to turn tears into action," explained Dubrowski. "In the light of this horror, Chabad on Campus urges students to increase in acts of goodness and kindness." "It's terrible and no one should ever have to know such a thing," said Chaya Estrin, who with her husband Rabbi Ellie Estrin, directs the Chabad House at the Seattle campus of the University of Washington. "It's okay to mourn, it's okay to be upset, but after crying, we have to channel our grief into positive actions." The University of Washington has had its own share of tragedy recently, following the April 2 murder of a 26-year-old researcher by an estranged boyfriend who then turned the gun on himself. In the wake of this week's news out of Virginia, "many students are in a state of shock, they don't know what to do," said Estrin. All the more reason, said Chana Mayer, co-director of the University of Virginia's Chabad House, to give students a chance to positively affect the world around them. "A little light dispels a lot darkness," said Mayer. "It doesn't have to be something complicated or expensive; simple good deeds are powerful things right at our fingertips." For more information please visit www.Hearts2Hokies.com. -- Archived with permission of Chabad on Campus International Foundation. Original Source: http://www.chabad.edu/templates/articlecco.asp?AID=512150
I want to express my deepest condolences to all the families and friends of the victims from this tragedy. I will keep you all in my prayers.
Saint Gertrude High School, Richmond, VA, Summer Alumnae News
Dear Saint Gertrude Family, When I was asked to write a letter on behalf of our alumnae sisters at Virginia Tech, emotions at every level filled my heart and mind. There are no words to describe the events of April 16th nor are there appropriate words to share how your support helped each of us to deal in our own way with the days that followed. I speak for all of us when I say that the outpouring of love and concern was undeniably the strength behind our personal ways of coping and our ability to remain strong for all who needed us then and for all who need us now. The spirit of St. Gertrude High School emerged at a level that was both unbelievable and phenomenal ... the photo taken in the gymnasium is just one example; your e-mails, cards, and calls were yet another. The insert below was taken from a note that I had sent to family and friends in the early days, which continues to best describe the feelings that we faced and ultimately had to accept in the aftermath: "For those of you who watched the convocation on TV, it was perhaps your first "real" emotional connection to the tragedy of seeing your beloved alma mater in pieces. You were able to sit amongst your Virginia Tech family and feel the personal impact that this devastation created, while celebrating together in the true spirit of Ut Prosim. For those of you who did not go to Virginia Tech and may never have really thought too much about it prior to Monday, you can now call yourselves Hokies for you have shared with us and were able to feel the pain and strength of our ---your--- Hokie Nation. I was merely a symbol of the love that you feel for Virginia Tech and your deep emotions for our shared loss. Seeing me, someone you have a bond with, on national television allowed you to grieve at another level, one that I know many of us unconsciously resisted for that would mean admitting what had happened was for real. It was." Yes, it was definitely real. That reality grew even stronger when it was discovered that one of our SGHS alumnae was personally involved. We were all relieved when word was shared that she was in good condition at the local hospital, went home to Richmond to recuperate, and then returned to Virginia Tech the following week to continue with her classes. As a faculty member at the university and a St. Gertrude alumna, it was important to me that all of the women on campus know that they have someone here for them and thus, our first SGHS-VT reunion took place. Amidst classes, exams, and students leaving for the summer, we were able to organize a small pizza gathering. Together we walked down the halls of both SGHS and Virginia Tech, sharing stories and camaraderie. At the conclusion, a unanimous decision was made that we would gather together again in the fall and welcome our newest SGHS alumnae Hokies. I couldn't have asked for a more special celebration of life than this. With summer rapidly approaching, the campus starting to thin out, and memories of a day that will never be forgotten still vivid in our minds, know that you were all the reason for the Hokie hope that the country bestowed upon us. Through your love and expressions of compassion, our healing continues. As shared in the conclusion of my note to family and friends, "Hearing from you all, many of whom I haven't spoken with in years, has been so reassuring to me that although time and distance may separate us, our hearts remain united through all that we shared during our time here, together. You have all brought me so much happiness over the years. In turn, please let this note return that emotion at a time when --- We ARE Virginia Tech! And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand." Thank you, St. Gertrude High School, from YOUR Hokie Nation. ~Dr. Judi M. Lynch SGHS '83, VT '93 (MAEd), '03 (PhD)
Those were the first things that went through my mind when the local television stations began showing footage at Virginia Tech. I work with crime victims on a daily basis, but this felt different. My first thought was "How can I help?". I am certified through NOVA in crisis response so I immediately e-mailed Virginia's team leader in Richmond. We spoke that day and it was determined several victim advocates would be on stand-by in the event VT needed assistance. I then received another call Tuesday night "Can you be at Virginia Tech by noon tomorrow?" Absolutely. My co-worker and I arrived in Blacksburg around 10:00 a.m. and what we saw was overwhelming. The media and satellite trucks, the Virginia State Troopers....people were everywhere in the Conference Center. A group of victim advocates set up in the Family Assistance Center, then we broke into groups of two to handle different needs. Susan and I were sent to McCoy's Funeral Home to meet with family members of the deceased and to assist them in completing forms for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund. It was such an emotional time for everyone involved. The overwhelming grief and sadness in their eyes was almost too much to bear and we almost felt helpless. What do you say to a parent who has lost their beautiful daughter, who had so much promise in life, in such a tragic and senseless way? We met with Austin Cloyd's parents, who were such wonderful parents. You could tell there was so much love in their family and their hearts were broken. Austin was what I would describe as the perfect daughter. She was going to make a difference in this world. She had a purpose. After meeting her parents, Susan and I both felt like we knew Austin. We attended her funeral that was sad, but also uplifting. Many, many friends and family members spoke about Austin and what a great person she was and the fun times they had with her. We came away from that funeral with mixed feelings. Sadness and happiness, in an odd way. In the 18 short years Austin was on this earth, she made a difference in so many ways. Not many people do that in a lifetime, let alone 18 years. She was such a special person and we knew that she was now an angel in Heaven, just as she was on Earth. The Cloyds were not the only family members we met with. Each reacted differently, and it was heartwrenching for everyone involved, even the employees of the funeral home. Susan and I began to worry about them. They too were overwhelmed, sad and shocked, but they had a job to do and they did it with professionalism and grace. We spent a total of about 8 days in Blacksburg after the shooting and it has changed my life forever. I did not know any of the victims personally, but I felt their pain. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about this event and how horrible it was. However, the town of Blacksburg pulled together like a family. The Hokie spirit will live on. What Cho did will never be forgotten, but the Hokie's will prevail as they are strong. I felt blessed at having the opportunity to help in just a small way. Virginia Tech will always hold a special place in my heart. The victims remain in my thoughts and prayers.
By Judy Polumbaum Updated: 2007-04-19 07:10 Details of the shootings on the Virginia Tech campus on Monday have unfolded to confirm that the gunman was a US resident originally from South Korea. He is Cho Seung-hui, who killed 32 people and then himself in the worst campus carnage in US history. Cho, a senior English major at the university who had come to the US at the age of 8, went about his murders methodically. Doors of one building where he opened fire on classes had been chained from the inside. Two hours earlier, a young woman and a resident hall assistant had been shot at a dormitory, a presumably related incident that police at first interpreted as a domestic dispute. Their assumption led to the calamitous delay in alerting the campus and community to the threat. The Virginia shooting inevitably brings back memories of a gunman's rampage one drizzly November afternoon more than 15 years ago on the campus of the University of Iowa, where I teach. The killer at Iowa was Lu Gang, a Chinese doctoral student in physics and astronomy. On November 1, 1991, just up the hill from my office, Lu shot to death one fellow Chinese, three professors and an administrator, and critically wounded an undergraduate student, leaving her a paraplegic, before killing himself. Undoubtedly, as more becomes known about the Virginia Tech shooter and his circumstances, people will reflect on what produced the sort of nihilistic rage that could lead someone to commit mass murder. Such rumination, among both Americans and Chinese, ensued after the Lu Gang shootings. Most of us on the Iowa campus, and US observers generally, viewed Lu Gang's crimes primarily as the actions of a deranged individual. In China, by contrast, people sought broader social explanations. A prolonged discussion carried out in the pages of the Beijing Youth News raised a variety of notions, including that Lu Gang's generation lacked good values due to defective early schooling during the "cultural revolution". A minority of readers suggested that the unfair pressure and discrimination that Chinese students suffered abroad was the root cause. Such analyses were contradicted, of course, by the story of the young Chinese colleague among Lu's victims. Shan Linhua, brilliant, outgoing, well liked, the son of poor peasants from Zhejiang Province, had flourished at Iowa, winning a prestigious dissertation award and a research job on campus after his graduation. Among the factors once again under discussion in the wake of the Virginia tragedy are an American "culture of violence" celebrated in mass media, a prevalence of "narcissism" among young people who lash back when they feel slighted, and shortcomings in provision of psychological counseling for troubled students. Ultimately, however, what enabled both campus killers to cut down other human beings was the easy accessibility of guns in the United States. After the Iowa shootings, Lu Gang was found to have purchased guns and practiced his markmanship at a local shooting range. Similarly, Cho Seung-hui wrought bloody mayhem with two guns and ample ammunition in hand. Reports say that five weeks earlier, wielding merely a credit card, he had paid $500 for a gun. Weapons fanciers among US bloggers and commentators are raising a hue and cry against using the Virginia episode as another argument for gun control. The zealots claim the mantle of the US Constitution, specifically, the Second Amendment. They selectively stress the phrase "the right of the people to keep and bear arms" while conveniently ignoring the larger context, which is to support society's ability to maintain a "well-regulated militia" for its security. Nothing could be less secure than a nation awash in guns. We speak of "random" violence in connection with these campus shootings, but such incidents are not random. They're a logical result of the doctrine that gun ownership is an unassailable personal right, along with the blithe attitude that trade in guns is simply another unexceptional form of commerce. Even in US states with stricter regulation, any lunatic who wants to buy a gun can find a way. The fact that both Iowa and Virginia shooters were of Asian heritage is mere coincidence. Their shared instruments of choice are not. Judy Polumbaum is professor of journalism at The University of Iowa -- Original Source:ChinaDaily http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2007-04/19/content_853892.htm
Taken in Mclean, VA at Tyson's Corner Mall.