Nas and DJ Scratch performing at A Concert for Virginia Tech, September 6, 2007. Photo courtesy of Kevin Cupp. -- Original Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevincupp/1342165394/
In honor of Virginia Tech, this flag was flown aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-117 mission to the International Space Station and then sent to VT by NASA. From June 8-22, 2007 it orbited the earth for 13 days, 20 hours, 12 minutes, and 44 seconds. It made 22 earth orbits. The plaque sent with the flag says, "In memory of the courageous students and faculty who lost their lives on April 16, 2007."
NBC Should Never Have Aired the Virginia Tech Video
By: Jack Myers / Jack Myers Think Tank (Blog) May 07, 2007 The more I think and talk to people about NBC's handling of Cho Seung-Hui's videos following the tragedy at Virginia Tech, the more convinced I am the decision was mishandled and wrong. Roger Delaney of Zephyr Media Group commented "I think that, even knowing that the data would make it into the public domain though other channels, NBC erred when they decided to air Cho's 'multimedia manifesto'. There is no question that he accomplished exactly what he'd hoped to - his heinous actions gave him a forum through which he could spew his venomous message to the entire nation. Did any of us need to see that? Did airing that footage do anything other than grant Cho the postmortem glory he was clearly seeking? And was there any way for NBC to air that footage without appearing to be chasing ratings? The answer to all those questions is, in my mind, unequivocally 'no'." Neale Martin of Ntlec, whose daughter is a sophomore at VT, added, "NBC should never have provided a platform for this lunatic; it will encourage every sociopath to strive toward even more carnage. Even posted on YouTube, it would not have the same impact as being put on broadcast news. My daughter is a sophomore at VT and three classmates from her Monday 8 am class were killed the next period. As a former journalist I am sickened by how low this profession has sunk." There are endless arguments about free speech, about how the videos would have found their way into the public eye and, of course, NBC's responsibility not only to the audience but to shareholders as well, for whom any ratings opportunity is more important than issues of the public good. My initial instinct was to accept that NBC aired the videos, but to criticize both NBC and other networks for the gratuitous promotions they ran and the hype leading up to the news reports. In retrospect, I believe NBC has done great harm to the NBC network news brand, to Brian Williams, and to the overall public perception of network broadcast news. What an extraordinary opportunity NBC had to stand above the obvious commercial opportunism and draw a line in the sand. This is not about military action about which there is ongoing national debate. This is not about a major ongoing news story or about a celebrity or political figure. This was about one mass murderer broadcasting his message of hate in America's most prestigious and trusted environment. This was a classically disturbed person who saw the media as his road to immortality - murder was the affect but media exposure was the cause. And NBC, through its actions, fell prey to the most base instincts of tabloid media upon which Cho depended. What would have been the end result if NBC has moved the videos onto the NBC news website, losing the ratings opportunity? Or what if NBC had simply refused to air the video at all and had turned it over to the FBI? Jeff Beliveau of Consumer Networks asked "Before acting, did my fellow human beings ask themselves 'Is what I'm about to do creating good? Or evil? Am I doing nothing other than causing harm by pursuing my own narrow self-interests?'" There are many arguments being used to justify NBC's decision, and it's unlikely any other network would have responded differently. But what's missing in the aftermath of Virginia Tech is a true industry debate and dialogue on NBC's decision and the role of network broadcast news in a media environment in which news is ubiquitous and all-pervasive. Do the broadcast networks - ABC, CBS and NBC - have a responsibility to stand above the onrush of tabloid journalism? Is it their responsibility to air or not to air the rantings of crazed killers? Is it appropriate to give those people who have no further rights to be a part of our society the credibility that broadcast network television infers? Be a part of the debate. Let me know your opinion. Share your comments at MediaVillage SoundOff. -- Original Source: http://blogs.mediavillage.com/jack/archives/2007/05/nbc_should_neve.html Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5.
Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5
By Behzad Varamini Apr 25 2007 Gain Through Loss Hours after students cowered behind desks and played dead in hopes that Virginia Tech killer Cho Seung-Hui would spare their lives, minutes after the body count was made public and started to climb, it took only seconds for the gluttonous demons in dark corners of men's souls to perk up and devise a plan on how to best capitalize on a tragic story that even satisfied the devil himself. Atheists and evangelicals, gun-toters and arms opposers, and other talking heads with punches to throw delayed healing by using the backdrop of the tragic killings to guilefully push their own agendas. Amidst these vultures, perhaps the most flagrant exploiter of the catastrophe was NBC News, who decided to air self-taken photographs and a homemade video of Cho multiple times over national airwaves, just two days after the events took place and literally hours after the videos were received. In between the first and second set of murders last Monday, April 16, the killer put the finishing touches on the video and overnighted it, along with a series of photographs, to NBC News headquarters. Soon after the tapes of wrath aired, NBC President Steve Capus made a statement assuring Americans that the network struggled with the decision to release the videos. In the end, however, NBC pinned their collective conscious into submission and granted the psychotic killer a public posthumous forum, completing the final phase of Cho's demonic plan. Just a quick look at the pictures and videos makes Capus' motives clear. Stamped into the top-left corner of the video and every still of Cho is the NBC news logo — peacock and all. NBC News anchor Brian Williams admitted in a later interview that airing even part of the video would promise the killer the martyrdom he hoped to achieve. In the name of profit, NBC served as an instrumental accomplice, helping make Cho's plan come to complete fruition and allowing the friends and families of the victims the opportunity to look into the eyes of the gun-wielding killer, the same eyes their loved ones saw before losing their lives. Releasing the video helped further what Cho started, burying the lives of the innocent underneath layers of dirt and self-serving agendas. Feeling disgust after being repeatedly showered with sponsored images and videos of the killer, I began to wonder how much information was publicly known about the innocent victim's lives. Online newspapers such as the New York Times provided brief bios and one or two photos of each victim. Hometowns, majors and quotes from friends provided abbreviated and filtered second-hand accounts of the victim's lives; accounts which didn't seem to satisfy my suddenly aching need to find out who these kids really were, what they did for fun and what they hoped and dreamed of. As unthinkable as it may seem, links to MySpace profiles provided what is probably the most personal and endearing insights available about the victim's lives in their own words. The first MySpace profile I came across was that of freshman Lauren McCain. Lauren was a 20-year old international studies major from Oklahoma. Her brother Joel was listed as her hero. She hoped to have children one day and wanted to meet Andre the Giant because he was "sooooo cool!" Of all the details on her page, none proved more horrifying than time-stamped comments from friends which evolve from hellos and jokes to urgent pleas asking Lauren to call her parents to grieving memoirs describing her as a great role model and friend. Further agonizing are Lauren's pictures. Several display her presumable love of nature and outdoors and she stands in front of a botanical garden in one shot and in another overlooks the horizon on a sunny day in San Diego. Littered with goofy comments and exclamation points, Lauren's profile began to reflect a young and lively girl. As much as I ache to help, situations like these leave me feeling completely unqualified as a voice and helpless as a human being. I know Virginia Tech has established a Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to assist victims and their families. Though I am hesitant in suggesting a financial contribution at the expense of the valid criticism that money won't make things better, I trust the fund was established because families and the school legitimately need help and I ask everyone to consider donating. Though I never knew Lauren and only know about her what she decided to reveal on her MySpace page, I am convinced that the world is a lesser place without her and the other 31 people lost in this immeasurable catastrophe. I pray healing and comfort will come swiftly to all those affected so that one day soon, we can begin to live life the way it was originally intended, before wretched souls began turning innocent loss into their own gain. Behzad Varamini is a graduate student in Nutritional Sciences. He can be contacted at bv29@cornell.edu. Gain Through Loss appears alternate Wednesdays. -- Original Source: Cornell Daily Sun - April 25, 2007
Jonny Lieberman <jdl46@cornell.edu>, <lieberman.jonny@gmail.com>
Students ask question, "Could it happen here?" John Tierney Issue date: 2/15/08 Section: News Notre Dame students expressed sadness and shock Thursday night at yesterday's shooting at Northern Illinois. The tragedy, in which at least six people, including the gunman, were killed and 17 were injured, occurred in a lecture hall less than three hours away from Notre Dame's campus. Although this generation of Notre Dame students has grown up with school shootings ranging from Columbine in 1999 to Virginia Tech last year, students haven't become immune to the tragedy of school massacres. "It was very tragic and scary. You have to wonder what's going on with those kids. It makes you wonder if something like that could happen at Notre Dame," sophomore Tim Nelson said. Many students had not heard of the shooting by Thursday evening, including a group of seniors who stood speechless after being informed of the news. Student body president Liz Brown noted that school shootings are becoming more common. "Unfortunately, this is kind of becoming an occurrence on college campuses across the nation. Hopefully, this trend will stop," she said. Brown also expressed a sense of grief at the NIU tragedy. "This is a hard thing to react to," she said. "This sort of thing has become all too common at schools in the United States." Senior Meghan Jebb, who was studying in Dublin at the time of the Virginia Tech tragedy, questioned the universality of school shootings. "I don't know if this kind of thing happens in other countries. After the Va. Tech shootings, the kids in Ireland were like, 'why do they have guns?'" she asked. Colleen Fleshman, who is from Illinois, said that her first reaction after hearing the news was to call her friends who attend NIU to make sure of their safety. She said she was relieved to find that all her friends were alright. Although the shooter's motivations are not yet known, some students have wondered about the timing of his attack. "He probably picked Valentine's Day for a reason," junior Ryan Simmons said. Sophomore Kyle Hagelskamp agreed. "It's too bad that people don't feel the love and support of the world and resort to doing something like this," he said. "We need to work on providing a loving and supportive environment to try to prevent this sort of tragedy." Brown stressed that while she obviously hopes that no similar situation would happen at Notre Dame, the University has precautions in place designed to manage a tragedy. "Certainly we hope it would never happen at Notre Dame," she said. "We think our campus is very safe. But if it were to ever happen, I'm thankful that we do have the correct measures in place to adequately inform the student body and react quickly." These measures include the Emergency Networking System that will alert students to any emergency situations through text messages, phone calls and emails. These emergency situations include shootings. -- Original Source: http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2008/02/15/News/Nd.Upset.By.Niu.Shooting-3213406.shtml
Lessons learned on the 8th anniversary of Columbine. -- Diane Edbril and Daniel Loeb Yet another American gun massacre, and though the scale is more horrific, it is not surprising. The Virginia Tech massacre is not unlike the Amish schoolhouse shooting in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, late last year. Both of these, while unbearably sad, are hardly unexpected in this country. Our weak gun laws make it a certainty that the United States will continue to suffer recurrences of such preventable tragedies. There is a crying need for Americans to understand - It's about the guns! Phil Goldsmith, President of CeaseFire PA, said "Since the Columbine shooting tragedy it has become even easier to obtain guns, as well as high capacity ammunition magazines. Many states, including Pennsylvania, have passed pre-emption laws that have undermined the ability of local governments to enact stricter gun laws. (Pennsylvania has preempted local regulation of firearms for over a decade.) Concealed carry laws have multiplied. In addition, for the last six years, the US Department of Justice has required the destruction of gun purchase background check records after just 24 hours, a measure that has prevented a comprehensive review of those who may have acquired guns despite falling into a prohibited category." Currently: Most of our states do not require gun owners to be licensed and for guns to be registered. Most of our states have not closed the gun show loophole, so thousands of guns are purchased without background checks. Most states impose no limits on the number of firearms one individual can acquire, making it easy for illegal gun traffickers to supply the criminal element. Many of our states do not update criminal history databases in a timely manner, making it easy for criminals to obtain firearms. Imagine how much worse this tragedy could have been if Cho Seung-hui had been in possession of a military assault weapon as is his "right" now that Congress has allowed the Assault Weapons Ban to expire. Cho Seung-hui was able to obtain firearms despite his psychological record since the burden of proof is on the government to prove that he was a danger to himself and those around him. However, when I get a driver's license, the burden of proof is on me to prove that my eyesight is adequate and that I understand the rules of the road. When I send my children to school or to summer camp, the burden of proof is on me to show that my children have been immunized and are not carrying any communicable diseases. Why not shift the burden of proof and require a recent attestation of sanity from a psychiatrist or psychologist before anyone can handle a firearm? Will the American people stand up to the gun lobby and demand change, or will the administration simply blame the media for not concentrating their coverage on the majority of universities which do not have gun violence at any given moment? As Phil Goldsmith observed: "Congress called for a Moment of Silence in response to this massacre. Indeed, a moment of silence is appropriate for such a devastating tragedy with such pain for families and students. But we also need loud, uncompromising noise, particularly in Pennsylvania, where too many of our citizens are being shot and killed in urban areas. The majority of Pennsylvanians favor sensible handgun laws, including Governor Ed Rendell. It is time for the majority's voices to be heard loud and clear." For information about the Stop Gun Violence Through Peace, Action & Education - A Community-Based Interfaith's Conference on May 20 and the weekly vigils. See last month's article on Interfaith Initiative Against Guns. Liviu Librescu Links: CNN Tribute Page Wikipedia 61 page resume Family Condolence Page -- © 2007. Permission is hereby granted to redistribute this issue of The Philadelphia Jewish Voice or (unless specified otherwise) any of the articles therein in their full original form provided these same rights are conveyed to the reader and subscription information to The Philadelphia Jewish Voice is provided. Subscribers should be directed to http://www.pjvoice.com/Subscribe.htm. Original Source: http://www.pjvoice.com/v23/23001vatech.aspx
Diane Edbril and Daniel Loeb / The Philadelphia Jewish Voice
This was one of the stones painted on 4/16/08 as part of the "Remembering Through Art Creation" activities.
Memorial stones dry in the sun on the afternoon of April 16, 2008, A Day of Remembrance. The stones were painted at a "Remembering Through Art Creation" event in Squires Student Center. Photo by Brent Jesiek. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0
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 undermine the pain that resonates from the news of such an event, or the loss of the survivors. What should be looked at however is how these events are covered in the news, and how it affects our understanding of them as a viewer. The news media does a great job of drawing connections between events in order to apply meaning. This event is connected with the Columbine shooting, as it is also a mass shooting in a school. Connections are drawn between the fear of terrorism, and the fear of an unexpected terror. The words "Terror", and "Terrorist" are thrown around wantonly. Particular weight is given to the assailant's status as an American, drawing further connections to the fears of an attack by a foreigner. It is put into the temporal context as being "the deadliest shooting in American History" or it is given by some news agencies even more gravity by being called a "Massacre", a "deadly rampage". What does it mean to be the "Deadliest", is the loss of ten victims more profound then thirty, or one? How many victims are required for it to be counted as a massacre? Are there particular characteristics that make a shooting a rampage, instead of a methodical series of executions? There is no litmus test for tragedy outside of personal experience. These titles are nothing more than advertising slogans and marketing catch phrases. They are designed to draw the audience in, to get them to pay closer attention to the coverage of one report over another, to boost viewer-ship and ratings. To help fill this content, the lions share of programming time is given to interviews with the "experts", the press conference, and news releases after the fact. Officials stand in front of a dozen microphones twice a day, stating that they have "no further information at this time" and "those questions can't be answered during an ongoing investigation". But some news outlets are quick to point fingers. To cast blame. Somehow talk show celebrities like Dr. Phil are considered experts into the mind of a killer by CNN, and is constantly referred to in order to gain insight into how this could happen, when in reality his role is one of familiarity. Dr. Phil is placed in front of the camera to draw in the viewer ship of his entire constituency. For countless American viewers, he is a trusted face that could help bring meaning to such an event. Witnesses are interviewed hours after the event. "How does it feel to be one of the only survivors?", "How did you escape?", "How does this affect you? These questions, while apparently directed to the witness, are really directed to the audience placing themselves in the survivor's shoes. "How would I handle this?" is the question. How can I learn from this? The reporter leans in and asks the obvious- "have you talked to anybody about this yet, are you seeking professional help?" Obviously not yet, they are in front of the camera. They are prevented from recovery so that the audience can gain catharsis and false closure instead. What is missed in all this is that we are all being exploited in some way in order to boost ratings and sell advertising space. The coverage is excessive, bordering on irresponsible. People are pulled out of the woodwork, their lives interrupted so that we can know what it was like to be in elementary school with someone who grows up to be a killer. We see a mother of a child who murdered dozens and then killed himself, and wonder why she is stunned and despondent. We "talk" to "experts" who say this is a gun control issue, that everyone should be armed. We hear from security experts who say it's because of a lack of police and security presence, and other similar people who are pushing their own agenda, not helping to inform on the subject. The audience wants to know what is happening out there. They want to know when they should be legitimately worried about something, and this is what they get instead; hyperbole, speculation, grandstanding and sensationalism. One particular interview strikes a nerve. A criminologist was being interviewed on a major network, and was asked how this could happen. Is it video game violence, easy access to guns, copycat crimes, bad parenting? The criminologist dismissed these easy scapegoats and answered in the only rational way anyone could. He said, that it is a combination of factors. Not every one is predisposed to criminal behavior like this, but under the wrong conditions an unstable mind can be pushed to commit horrendous things. The real problem is that the system is such that someone this unstable could slip through the cracks and not get the care and attention that they need to heal. The problem is the focus on violence in media after the fact, not before it happens. The problem is a society who would sooner cast blame on others than take care of their own, or that would blame lax immigration laws that would allow for someone like this to get into the country, instead of diligently pushing for a system where those with emotional and mental problems get help. But ultimately the problem is that no real meaning can be found in a situation like this. No matter how many laws are in place, or police are around, or security checkpoints we have, a troubled mind left unchecked, will find a way to follow through with their plan. The news agencies and the commentators will be standing by, ready to add their opinion to the pile, without ever providing solutions to the core societal problems that allow tragedies to unfold. The sound-bytes will search for meaning in a meaningless action. The viewer will tune in to try and add meaning to their understanding of the situation, drawing from the only resources that they have. The advertisers will reap the rewards of our attention. Change must take place in the way these types of things are covered in the news so that people can help to identify those that need our help before extremes of desperation are reached. A change in the way we look at tragedy must take place before meaning can be found. Tragedy and our fear of it must not be exploited for the profit by the news. We as the audience must demand more than empty rhetoric and facile coverage and questioning, bold red headlines and somber musical montages of mourners. We must demand more, of ourselves and of the news. Posted by nickdigital2.0 at 5:01 PM -- Original Source: http://alifelessmediated.blogspot.com/2007/04/news-coverage-of-va-tech-shooting.html Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
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By Valerie Syverson, Co-Editor Thursday, April 19, 2007 As anyone used to following national news knows, there's nothing quite so tailor-made for TV news as a school massacre like last Monday's. All other news is immediately superseded for footage of the scene of the tragedy, speeches from every dignitary that can show up, and, when there's no new footage, endless rounds of analysis from every pundit who isn't already booked somewhere else. Naturally, opportunities abound for sensationalistic coverage, and to use words like "tragic", "senseless", "horrific" -- all of which, though of course applicable, have been diluted through decades of overuse and sadly no longer register as earnest sentiment. And, of course, there's the framing and the political football, and then the criticism of opponents for using a mass homicide as a football. Sound familiar? It should -- to anyone else who wasn't living under a rock during the 2001 Littleton shootings. So the editors of the Tech will, for this writing, refrain from adding one more to the long roster of responses expressing the obviously appropriate sentiments -- sympathy, concern, and grief. If you don't know the sort of thing I mean, you can read Dr. Chameau's article three columns to the right; his statement alone renders it superfluous to say anything of the sort in this space. Instead, the concern that motivates me is over the way the news media has covered the event and its repercussions. Although the majority of responses have, of course, been those of decent human beings, there is a certain subset of the responses that are rather horrifying. The first that comes to mind is the slew of columnists who have ghoulishly seized upon the opportunity to lambaste their favourite targets, be that violent video games for giving people ideas, atheists for not praying at memorial ceremonies, or foreign nationals for (apparently) existing at all. But, of course, these random hearse-chasing political creeps are just columnists, not Real News. More problematic are those news outlets which have seized on what, no doubt, they thought was a new and refreshing angle on the story by focusing on the first of his victims. Here we find headlines like "Gunman's Love Spat Sparked Massacre". However, the problem here is that the woman in question was never romantically involved with the murderer -- he just stalked her. That's right, the reporters mistook a stalking victim for a disdainful lover. Of course, there's a bit of overlap between the two as presented in many cultural narratives, but it should be possible to disentangle them in real life. when we can get different people's stories. The most political spinning, though, has come in the area of gun control. (I assume this is because there's no way to restrict college students' access to violent music and games, so that usually-fruitful bit of blather is verboten.) And in fact, it has become apparent that the gunman got his guns quite legally and aboveboard. The bafflement at this from foreign news outlets is an amusing commentary on how bizarre the U.S. gun culture is from any outside point of view. But the gun rights advocates jumped on the story too; there are those who claim the tragedy would have been averted if more students were packing heat. The debate, of course, rages. At least we can know that the world is the same old looney bin as always, because the Westboro Baptist Church is going to be picketing the funerals. Why? Unclear; their official releases say something about "the emissary of God's wrath". I assume it's just another chance for them to be on television. But I suppose the news media can rest assured that however inconsiderate, tasteless, and ghoulish they might be, they'll never outdo Fred Phelps. -- Original Source: The California Daily - April 19, 2007
Permissions: Marissa Cevallos <tech@caltech.edu> editor-in-chief, The California Daily
Thursday, April 19, 2007 Since releasing the excerpts from the package sent by Virginia Tech killer Cho Seung-Hui, NBC News has received more than just a little criticism. Indeed, this story is so big that every little nuance... anything remotely connected to the story is being put under a microscope and reported on ad nauseam. Ironically enough, the decision to air the material delivered to NBC News has become itself a news story. If not for the "gift" left by Cho, the media would be filling all of that airtime and every available inch with anything and everything it could discover about this "seriously disturbed individual." Cho saved the media a huge amount of legwork and opened insights about what drove him. Did he get what he wanted? Some are saying that by airing this "manifesto," Cho has ultimately won. But think about how ridiculous that sounds. Cho is dead - and he's not getting any better. Last I checked, to get any enjoyment or satisfaction from an act, one must be alive to experience it. Furthermore, even if Cho could somehow relish his media spotlight from the grave, he would soon realize that no one agrees that he was any kind of victim. He would be crestfallen in the discovery that he is being regarded - at best - as "a seriously disturbed young man." Mostly he's being viewed as some kind of homicidal whacko. For those with a religious leaning, I'm guessing that Cho's last act earned him a one-way ticket straight to Hell. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Yet he is somehow enjoying the last laugh? I don't think so. Does this coverage intensify the pain of the community, the survivors and the victims' families? Undoubtedly, but surely they would understand that news of this magnitude must be reported. Even without Cho's help, there would be extensive coverage of Cho - a disproportionate amount. But even without considering the civic responsibility of the news business, let us remember that it is a business. If no one tuned into this stuff, no one would report it. People want to know, despite how much they say they don't. The numbers don't lie. Did NBC and others overdo it? Was there more coverage of Cho's package than "necessary?" That's a matter of opinion and judgment. But to say that NBC had a responsibility to quash this information is nonsense. They have a responsibility to report it. It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. Posted by Mr. Althouse at 5:30 PM -- Original Source: http://25yearplan.blogspot.com/2007/04/news-worthiness.html Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5.
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Items left at the memorial plaque of Nicole White on the drillfield. Photo taken on 5-1-07. Photo by Teri H. Hoover.
Teri H. Hoover <crystalirisphotos@gmail.com>
Nikki Giovanni's Convocation Address Delivered April 17, 2007 We are Virginia Tech. We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech. We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again. We are Virginia Tech. We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did nothing to deserve it, but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, neither do the invisible children walking the night away to avoid being captured by the rogue army, neither does the baby elephant watching his community being devastated for ivory, neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water, neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy. We are Virginia Tech. The Hokie Nation embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness. We are the Hokies. We will prevail. We will prevail. We will prevail. We are Virginia Tech.
This sign advertising a silent auction for Northern Illinois University hung on the front of Squires Student Building on April 8, 2008. Sign says: "Silent Auction for NIU Wed, 4/9 8:30-6PM Squires 2nd Floor"
Message boards on alumni mall prior to a Virginia Tech candlelight vigil for NIU. Photo taken Monday, February 18, 2008. Lane Hall is visible in the far background. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0.
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NIU has several examples to follow for Cole’s future
Photo: Photo by ALAN LEON | RRSTAR.COM Six huskies and flowers are set up as a memorial in front of Cole Hall on Feb. 22, 2008, on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Story: Geri Nikolai, Isaac Guerrero and Sadie Gurman GateHouse News Service Mon Feb 25, 2008, 02:36 PM EST As officials at Northern Illinois University prepare for the return of 25,000 students this week, they have announced only one decision about the scene of the shootings. The building where a gunman killed five students and then himself on Feb. 14, Cole Hall, will remain closed this semester. Space has been found in other campus buildings to move all classes from the two large lecture halls in Cole. What happens afterward is the subject of speculation. Some students say they could never go back into the building and could not concentrate on academics if they did. Some suggest Cole be turned into a memorial. Others say that despite the tragedy, NIU cannot afford to raze a classroom building in an era of declining state support. Officials say they haven't discussed the future of Cole. Cherilyn Murer, who chairs the NIU board of trustees, said she doesn't know what will be done after this semester. Murer said the options include resuming classes, transforming it for some other use or closing it permanently. But it's too early to say, Murer said. "It's only been a week," she said. "Right now, the emotions are so raw that it would be premature to make a decision about what we'll do with that building." Another trustee, Barbara Giorgi Vella of Rockford, expects there won't be serious discussion of what to do with Cole until summer. At that point, she said, financial constraints have to be taken into consideration, along with the feelings of students and staff. Busy building Cole Hall, where nearly every undergraduate has at least one class, is one of the largest classroom buildings on campus, with two auditoriums seating what students estimate to be 250 people each. The idea of closing the building permanently is circulating on campus but doesn't seem practical to Justin Weaver of Beloit, an NIU sophomore. "Given that NIU already has issues in terms of space, even though it seems appropriate to close it forever given the tragic events that happened there, it still seems foolish," Weaver said. "When I looked at the schedule for reassigning classes, it was staggering how many classes are held in Cole Hall," Weaver said. "You can't duplicate that space." There are labs in the Cole Hall basement and one, for journalism students, is the best-equipped on campus for that kind of work, Weaver said. As for changing the atmosphere inside the building, Weaver also takes a practical approach. "The only thing that can change Cole Hall is time," he said. "As people at NIU graduate, new people will come in. They will know what happened but they weren't there and they won't feel the gravity quite as much." McHenry senior Colin Leicht suggested transforming the front of the building, perhaps using the large walls erected this week for students to express their sorrow. "Don't tear it down," said Leicht. "It's still a good building. NIU has had problems getting money from the state to rebuild other buildings. I don't think we're in a position to tear down a building." Rockford junior Krista Robinson said one professor asked her and other students what they thought about NIU erecting an environmental feature, perhaps a windmill, as a memorial. Robinson wasn't impressed. "I think a windmill is a good idea, but not as a memorial. I can imagine parents wondering what kind of memorial that is. It's not really relevant." Cole Hall was constructed in 1968. The general-education building contains 18,000 square feet of space. Columbine's library Other institutions have faced the question NIU now confronts. At Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., where two students killed 12 others and one teacher in April 1999, the library where most of the killing took place no longer exists. Frank DeAngelis, principal then and now, said the old library would have been forever associated with the April 20 massacre. Students, parents and community members agreed they could no longer enter the room without reliving the pain, he said. Thought was given to demolishing the entire school but that would have been a mistake, DeAngelis said. "If we tore the building down, Harris and Klebold would have won," he said. The solution was to tear out the library, which was above the cafeteria/commons area, and open the commons into a two-story space. A new library was constructed nearby and connected to the school by a hallway. The problem, said DeAngelis, is that spectators still come to the school, sometimes in tour buses, distracting the students. Constructing a memorial on campus is a problem because it becomes an attraction, bringing in people not connected to the school, DeAngelis said. That's why a separate memorial was built at a nearby park, far enough from the school so students don't see people coming and going. The new library cost $3.5 million. DeAngelis said a community fund drive, coupled with donations from building contractors, quickly raised the money. Virginia Tech ponders changes Officials at Virginia Tech are still using buildings that were the scene of the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and wounded many more before committing suicide at the Blacksburg, Va., campus April 15, 2007. Cho shot his first victims in a dorm room in West Ambler Johnston Hall. Two hours later, he opened fire in Norris Hall, which contains the school's Engineering Science and Mechanics program among others. Norris Hall would have cost $30 million to replace, according to university estimates. Instead, officials reopened Norris two months after the shootings and a task force was formed to entertain ideas for its future. In December, Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger announced the school would spend $1 million remodeling about 4,300 square feet of the second floor of the building, which will be home to the new Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention. The dorm room where the initial shootings took place is still closed, but it's not practical to close the entire 800-room residence hall, said University Relations Director Mark Owczarski. Approximately 10,000 of the school's 26,000 students live on campus at Virginia Tech. The school has 14 residence buildings and another under construction. "On-campus housing is a premium here," Owczarski said. "Honestly, students enjoy living in West Ambler Johnston Hall as they do in all of our residence buildings." Memories will remain Changing a building does only so much to relieve the hurt, said Columbine's DeAngelis, adding that he still has flashbacks. DeAngelis said he has spoken with NIU leaders. Given his experience, DeAngelis feels compelled to reach out to schools where shootings have taken place. "People still ask me, 'what was the one day when everything got back to normal?'" he said. "It's never going to come." NIU students seem to understand. Going to class in Cole would never be the same, said Leicht. "The first day, I would be a little anxious, knowing this is where it happened," he said about having class there. "After that, as long as that door stays locked, it would be just another classroom. It could have happened in any classroom. But I think that door (where the gunman entered) should be locked." "It would be difficult" to go back into Cole, said Weaver. But if it's reopened at some point, "it would be something I and everyone else would have to do. "I'll tell you this, though. I have had a lot of classes at Cole and I always sat in the first two or three rows. I will never do that again, not ever." Robinson thinks Cole ought to become part of campus learning again, at some point. "I wouldn't close it down indefinitely but definitely for the rest of the semester. Maybe open it back up next year," she said. "But let Cole Hall be for right now," she said. "Let there be a little bit of rest in Cole Hall." Geri Nikolai can be reached at 815-987-1337 or gnikolai@rrstar.com. Isaac Guerrero can be reached at 815-987-1371 or iguerrero@rrstar.com. Sadie Gurman can be reached at 815-987-1389 or sgurman@rrstar.com. What others have done Here is what other institutions have done after being the scene of multiple deaths from violence: Columbine High School: Two student gunmen, who committed suicide, killed 12 students and a teacher in the April 1999 shooting at Columbine in Littleton, Colo. The library, where most of the shootings took place, was torn out and the cafeteria below it remodeled into a two-story room. A local artist painted a skyline mural with the branches of Aspen trees and 13 clouds — one for each of the victims. A library was built nearby. Virginia Tech: Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people before committing suicide at the Blacksburg, Va., campus April 15, 2007. It is the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Virginia Tech is still using buildings where the shootings occurred. Norris Hall was reopened in June 2007. The school will spend $1 million remodeling the second floor of the building, which will be home to the newly created Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention. The dorm room where a student was killed is closed, but the rest of the 800-room residence hall is still open. University of Texas: On Aug. 1, 1966, a sniper barricaded himself on the observation deck of the tower on campus and began a shooting spree that killed 14 people and ended when police killed him. It was the worst school shooting until Virginia Tech in 2007. The observation deck was closed until 1968, then opened and closed again in 1975 because of a series of suicide jumps. In 1999, security and safety measures were installed and the deck was reopened. Crandon, Wis.: Six young adults were killed by a 20-year-old off-duty sheriff's deputy Oct. 7 as they relaxed in a home. Plans are to tear the building down and create a memorial garden, but first the mortgage must be paid. A fund drive was started but contributions dwindled when the homeowner, the father of one of the victims, announced plans to sue the county over the shooting. Nickel Mines, Pa.: A gunman burst into an Amish schoolhouse and killed five young girls Oct. 2, 2006, then killed himself. The building was demolished 10 days later and the site is used to graze cattle. About NIU Enrollment: 25,200 Budget: $104 million Founded: 1899 as satellite of Illinois State Normal School Renamed: NIU in 1957 City: DeKalb Main campus: 755 acres Regional sites: Hoffman Estates, Naperville and Rockford Programs of study: Seven degree-granting colleges; 55 undergraduate majors; 75 graduate programs, including 10 Ph.D. programs, doctoral degrees in education and juris doctorate Students: 91 percent from Illinois; 46 percent men, 54 percent women; 26 percent ethnic minorities; 862 international students from 88 nations Faculty: 1,279 Class size: Average is 28 students (18 in senior-level classes) Oldest building: Altgeld Hall, opened in 1899 Newest building: Yordon Center, opened in 2007 Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported -- Original Source: http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/x257795083
Geri Nikolai, Isaac Guerrero and Sadie Gurman
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported
NIU response helped by Virginia Tech lessons
Doug Finke GateHouse News Service Fri Feb 15, 2008, 09:31 PM EST SPRINGFIELD, IL - Northern Illinois University's response to Thursday's shooting rampage may have been helped by what state officials learned from last year's massacre at Virginia Tech University. A Campus Safety Task Force was created to see what could be learned from the Virginia Tech incident and how those lessons could be implemented here. Representatives from state colleges and universities, including NIU, attended task force meetings. One of the most important lessons discussed was getting information to students as quickly as possible. "The response at Northern Illinois, from our standpoint, was extraordinary," said Mike Chamness, chairman of the Illinois Terrorism Task Force. Students were notified within 20 minutes that a shooting occurred, to take cover and stay away from some parts of the campus, Chamness said. At Virginia Tech, it took more than two hours to issue an alert. Students at NIU also were relaying text messages to each other. One idea discussed by the task force was that colleges should use multiple means to convey an emergency message to students, including encouraging the use of text messaging. Rep. Rich Myers, R-Colchester, said Western Illinois University in his district just went through a drill to notify students in case of emergency. "They sent text messages to cell phones, voice mail, e-mail," Myers said. "As I understand it, it was a very successful test." What to do after an emergency is only part of the task force's responsibility. It is also examining prevention. A full report is scheduled to be delivered April 1. "A mental health survey is still being completed," Chamness said. "That purpose is to look at ways to identify potential issues and how to deal with those, how to get help to those people." That will probably require the assistance of students themselves. "Be alert. If you see something that looks suspicious, don't be shy or embarrassed about picking up the phone and calling law enforcement authorities," Chamness advised. "You may be the person who helps prevent something." At the same time, Chamness said there didn't seem to be the "red flags" in the NIU case that there were at Virginia Tech. "I don't think there's a panacea out there for how you stop this," he said. "You're talking about somebody who walked into a classroom." Chamness said state officials will meet with NIU staff in coming weeks to assess what happened and what parts of the response plan worked and if any didn't. Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, said he wants two House committees — Higher Education and Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness — to convene a joint session in a few weeks to review the NIU situation. "I want to have a joint hearing once reports are released and more information can be obtained as to how we can be better informed and better prepared," said Brady whose district includes Illinois State University. "Even though it looks like everyone worked in synch, there's always something to learn." Doug Finke can be reached at (217) 788-1527. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0. -- Original Source: http://ghns.ghnewsroom.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/news/x230383197
This is a thank you letter from NIU in response to a banner and photo that was sent from the VT Office of Research. The photo, in which employees wore black and red and are surrounded by employees wearing hokie colors, was blown up poster size and was sent along with the banner that reads "We're All Huskies Today" to the Division of Research and Graduate Studies at NIU. Photo by Vicky Ratcliffe.
NIU to Va. Tech: 'We understand what you're going through'
By Chris Green RRSTAR.COM Posted Apr 16, 2008 @ 11:00 PM Last update Apr 17, 2008 @ 07:38 AM DEKALB — Northern Illinois University senior Sonia Salazar said Virginia Tech students put their feelings of sorrow on hold to help the students at NIU heal. And on Wednesday, Salazar was joined by nearly a thousand other NIU students and staff who wanted to return the support for the students at Virginia Tech. NIU students and University President John Peters recognized the one-year anniversary of the shooting deaths at the Virginia Tech campus with a candlelight vigil in the Martin Luther King Commons, an outdoor venue in the center of the campus near the student center. One year ago Wednesday, a gunman took the lives of 32 Virginia Tech students and faculty before taking his own. It was the largest such campus massacre in the history of the country. Peters recalled the initial hours and days following the Feb. 14 slayings at NIU, when five students were shot and killed by Steven Kazmierczak, who also took his own life. He said the entire campus felt "isolated." "We simply couldn't imagine that anyone else could understand what we are going through." Then the phone calls and e-mails came in. "We understand what you are going through. You are not alone." Peters said a "collective hand of support" was extended from Blacksburg, Va., to DeKalb. "They shared openly and lovingly." The two universities are linked not only in their empathy for one another, but also by an unnerving coincidence. Green Bay gun dealer Eric Thompson told authorities his Web site, topglock.com, sold two empty 9 mm Glock magazines and a Glock holster to Kazmierczak on Feb. 4, just 10 days before the 27-year-old opened fire in a campus classroom. Another Web site run by Thompson's company, www.thegunstore.com, also sold a Walther .22-caliber handgun to Seung-Hui Cho, who shot down 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus before killing himself. Peters added, "One day, two Virginia Tech students came by my office and surprised me. They gave me a hug. I needed it." Nolan Owen, 19, a freshman on the university's football team recruited from California, said he could relate to the surprise visit from the Virginia Tech students. "After the shootings here, I flew home. I had all my NIU gear with me, and people at the airport and on the plane hugged me. They cared." David Duma, 22, an NIU senior, said attending Wednesday's vigil was the least he could do to pay respect not only to the students who lost their lives, but to the Virginia Tech Hokies who are forever united with the NIU Huskies. "They came all the way from Virgina to be with us." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Staff writer Chris Green can be reached at 815-987-1241 or cgreen@rrstar.com. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Generic -- Original Source: http://www.rrstar.com/communities/x480408142