Mourning of Va. Tech loss not over
description: By: Elizabeth Miller Posted: 4/20/07 I am rarely at a loss for words. But now, as I approach this column after a week of tragedy - both at Miami University and nationwide - I can hardly form a rational thought. Somehow a 500-word column needs to be written on a topic that I cannot find one suitable word for. I don't need to recall the events of Saturday night at Miami, or Monday afternoon at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Nothing that I say can express the individual grief, confusion and frustration that we feel. Like you, I've been watching the news and discussing it in class. Sometimes the facts are accurate. Sometimes they're just pieces of rumor that patch together some semblance of truth. I guess when you're desperate for answers, almost anything helps. But as I'm flipping through the channels of repeated footage, I'm shocked to hear how quickly the actual disaster has been swept aside. The news is flooded with debate about Virginia gun sales and the failure of campus crisis communication. Somehow CNN and ABC find it appropriate to spark these debates right now. Gun control. University communication policy. The horror of this tragedy cannot be simplified into a policy debate. Not yet, anyways. This is about people. People were murdered, first and foremost. The aftermath should be filled with reverence and condolences for the victims. The focus should be for the families left behind, the campus that will be shaken forever and the lives that were taken. We have to let ourselves grieve. We have to take time to hurt, to sympathize, to feel, to pray. This isn't a time to blame. Yes, there will be a time to discuss methods of prevention. That time is not now. It is simply disrespectful to ignite any heated policy debate that supersedes the mourning for the lost lives. Of course, it's natural to seek blame and explanation when such an event happens. So, yes, we can point fingers. We can assume things about the school, the policies, the killer, the situation at-large.…
creator: Elizabeth Miller
publisher: The Miami Student
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: "Skotzko, Stacey Nicole" <skotzksn@muohio.edu>
language: eng

Ribbons of remembrance
description: People tied maroon and orange ribbons on trees to express grief and remembrance a week after April 16.
creator: Na Mi
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Na Mi
language: eng

‘Era un buen amigo y un ser excepcional’
description: Primo de Ramón Ortiz, víctima en virginia tech, lo recuerda como un joven ejemplar Publicado por Maribel Hastings Corresponsal La Opinión 04-19-2007 Washington, D.C.— Juan Ramón Ortiz Ortiz era un joven ingeniero de 26 años, amante de su familia, de la música, de su carrera. "Ramón era un chico prometedor y un ser humano excepcional que por causas de la vida se le privó de ciertamente ser un ciudadano modelo y ejemplar". Así se expresó Óscar Marrero, primo de Ramón, como le llamaba, un puertorriqueño que el lunes fue una de las víctimas mortales de la matanza de la Universidad virginia tech, a la que asistía junto con su esposa Liselle Vega. Casados hace apenas año y medio, el joven matrimonio —ambos ingenieros— se trasladó en agosto de 2006 a virginia tech a cursar sus maestrías. Como todos los días, la pareja se despidió y cada uno se dirigió a sus respectivas clases, cuando se divulgó la noticia del tiroteo. Liselle llamó al teléfono celular de Juan Ramón y le envió correos electrónicos. Al no tener respuesta temió lo peor. Así fue. Marrero conversó con La Opinión vía telefónica desde Puerto Rico. Los padres de Juan Ramón viven en Bayamón. El primo de Juan Ramón, con voz pausada y temblorosa por el dolor de la muerte de su familiar, dijo: "Juan era un muchacho completamente sano, sin ningún tipo de vicios, un muchacho extraordinario y muy aventajado en el área académica, que era un buen amigo, un buen hijo". Y añadió: "Es una pérdida muy grande que todavía no acabamos de entender, y si no la acabamos de entender no la hemos podido asimilar... Y si no la hemos podido asimilar, pues tampoco nos hemos podido reponer". "La familia está devastada. Ha sido un golpe contra la valla. Una situación muy lamentable que no esperábamos", agregó. Juan Ramón estudió ingeniería en la Universidad Politécnica de Puerto Rico. Siempre fue un alumno y un profesional sobresaliente lleno de aspiraciones, afirmó su primo. "No era…
creator: Maribel Hastings
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Elva Orozco
rights: Jorge Mederos Executive Editor La Raza Chicago Inc. jorge.mederos@laraza.com August 13, 2007
language: spa

MUPD, OPD evaluate emergency response plans
description: By: Caroline Briggs Posted: 4/20/07 In the wake of the shooting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute Monday, Miami University's police and administration, along with Oxford Police, are checking Oxford's own ability to respond to such an emergency. Miami President David Hodge sent an e-mail to Miami students, staff and faculty Tuesday stating that Miami's police force is highly trained and able to deal with a live shooter situation. Hodge's e-mail also outlined specific guidelines for students in a lockdown situation. According to Miami University Police Department (MUPD) Chief John McCandless, changes have not been made to the current lockdown policy; however, he and his fellow officers have been preparing for such a situation on Miami's campus for quite some time. "We've been training for an active shooter for a couple of years," McCandless said. "We can tweak the police based on what worked and what didn't (for Virginia Tech police). There is a lot of misinformation streaming to the media for the first 24 to 48 hours in a situation like that. We will learn from the more solid information that the media reports in the following four or five days." Though MUPD only has 29 full-time police officers, McCandless said he is not concerned about quantitative manpower in an emergency. He said the Oxford Police Department (OPD) has 25 full-time officers and the Oxford Township Police has 10 full and part-time officers. McCandless said these departments would fully support Miami police if necessary. "We have a wonderful professional relationship with the local police agencies," McCandless said. "(This will) add up to be a substantial police contingency in the case of an emergency." According to both McCandless and OPD's Chief Steve Schwein, the first force to respond to the most critical police situation; similar to the one in Blacksburg, Va.; would be Oxford's Special Response Team (SRT) Team, comprised of seven OPD officers, one Oxford Township officers and five MUPD officers…
creator: Caroline Briggs
publisher: The Miami Student
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: "Skotzko, Stacey Nicole" <skotzksn@muohio.edu>
language: eng

Luto en el país por matanza en Virginia
description: Identifican al agresor como un estudiante de Corea del Sur. Publicado por Diario la Raza 04-18-2007 Washington, D.C. — La policía de EE.UU. identificó como el autor de la matanza en la universidad virginia tech al estudiante surcoreano Cho Seung Hui, de 23 años, un joven descrito como "solitario" y cuyos escritos habían suscitado preocupación entre sus profesores. Hasta el momento se desconocen los motivos que llevaron a Cho, quien vivía en EU desde los 8 años y estudiaba filología inglesa, a matar a 32 personas, entre profesores y estudiantes —al menos dos latinoamericanos— y suicidarse. Una de sus profesoras recordaba ayer a la prensa el tono perturbador de algunos de sus ejercicios literarios, hasta el punto de que sus instructores le aconsejaron recibir ayuda psicológica. Según el diario Chicago Tribune, el asesino dejó una nota en su habitación en la que clamaba contra los "niños ricos", "la decadencia" y los "embusteros charlatanes" en el campus y asegura: "Me obligaste a hacerlo". Al parecer, según la cadena CNN, Cho compró una pistola Glock el mes pasado en una tienda de Roanoke, una ciudad vecina, y pagó por ella 571 dólares con un cheque. La matanza se produjo en dos fases: en un primer tiroteo murieron dos personas, un hombre y una mujer, en una residencia de estudiantes; y el segundo, en el que murió el resto, tuvo lugar dos horas más tarde, en las aulas de la Facultad de Ingeniería. Las autoridades han confirmado que las armas empleadas en la matanza fueron al menos dos pistolas y que una de ellas se usó en los dos tiroteos. "La evidencia no nos ha conducido a decir categóricamente que el mismo autor estuvo implicado en los dos tiroteos", pero "es ciertamente razonable suponer que Cho fue el autor en los dos incidentes", indicó el superintendente de la Policía de Virginia, Steven Flaherty. Entre los fallecidos se encuentran profesores y estudiantes. La lista completa no se ha dado a conocer pero sí han salido a la luz los …
creator: La Raza Newspaper
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Elva Orozco
rights: Jorge Mederos Executive Editor La Raza Chicago Inc. jorge.mederos@laraza.com August 13, 2007
language: spa

Comunidad coreana teme tras matanza en Virginia
description: Pide no centrarse en el origen del agresor, sino en el problema de las armas en el país. Publicado por Maribel Hastings Corresponsal La Opinión 04-18-2007 Washington, D.C.— A partir de la revelación de que el supuesto responsable de la matanza en la universidad virginia tech es un residente legal originario de Corea del Sur, se ha generado cierta preocupación entre las comunidades coreana y asiática en general de Estados Unidos y entre los grupos que las representan por temor a repercusiones negativas hacia este sector de la población. Personas entrevistadas coincidieron en que la raza, el origen nacional o la situación migratoria de Cho Seung Hui, de 23 años, no debería opacar la raíz del problema, ya sea la situación mental que lo llevó a cometer tal acto o la facilidad con que obtuvo armas de fuego. Cho llegó a Estados Unidos en 1992 procedente de Corea del Sur. Era residente permanente y se reportó que renovó su documento migratorio por última vez en octubre de 2003. De momento, líderes de las comunidades coreana y asiática indicaron a La Opinión que han recibido reportes sin confirmar de incidentes aislados. "Estamos preocupados. Desafortunadamente hemos recibido reportes de algunos incidentes, pero nada ha sido confirmado", dijo a este diario Aimee Baldillo, directora de programas del Centro de Justicia Asiático Americano con sede en Washington, D.C. Agregó: "Nuestra preocupación inicial es estar presentes para la comunidad de virginia tech", como lo han estado, aseguró, en oportunidades previas para atender asuntos de otras comunidades. Por su parte, Eun Sook Lee, directora ejecutiva del Consorcio para la Educación al Servicio de la Nación Coreana (NAKASEC), con sede en Los Ãngeles, indicó a La Opinión que no han recibido reportes específicos de incidentes en contra de coreanos, pero que ha sido tema de discusiones entre las diversas organizaciones y se ha discutido en programas de radio. Añadió que, sin embargo, la raza, el or…
creator: Maribel Hastings
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Elva Orozco
rights: Jorge Mederos Executive Editor La Raza Chicago Inc. jorge.mederos@laraza.com August 13, 2007
language: spa

Media's response to VT tragedy warrants criticism
description: By: Posted: 4/20/07 In the time between the two horrific shootings that took place at Virgina Polytechnic Institute April 16, the killer, Cho Seung-Hui managed to mail disturbing video clips and pictures of himself to NBC News in New York. While NBC News did contact the FBI about the materials, they unveiled the disturbing images to the American people on the nightly news Wednesday. This insensitive move is representative of the mainstream media's disappointing coverage of the tragedy, and The Miami Student editorial board finds the glorification of this mass murderer appalling and offensive. NBC News is effectively giving Cho Seung-Hui exactly what he wanted - a pulpit from which he can speak his insanities. Cho's chilling and senseless photographs only adds to the pain of the victims' friends and families and are not worth playing over and over again. In another sign of sensationalist coverage, other networks, such as CNN, aired a running gunshot tally based off of a cell phone audio clip captured by a Virginia Tech student, almost oblivious to the fact that with each shot another innocent person was being murdered. This theatrical media coverage suggests that the lessons from Columbine have not been taken to heart. In the aftermath of the 1999 Columbine shooting, the media covered the event with a similar circus-like attitude. Contemporary 24-hour coverage has led to poor journalism that thrives on ratings, melodrama and editorialized field reports, all of which takes away from the actual event. Rather than these sad examples of media irresponsibility, The Miami Student editorial board feels the American public deserve staid reporting. Moreover, rather than glorifying Seung-Hui's acts, the press should focus more on the victims of his acts. For example, Liviu Librescu, a 76-year-old engineering professor and Holocaust survivor, saved his students by blocking his classroom's door with his body, sacrificing his life in the process. Stories such as this represent a …
creator: Anonymous
publisher: The Miami Student
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: "Skotzko, Stacey Nicole" <skotzksn@muohio.edu>
language: eng

Miami reacts to Virginia Tech tragedy
description: Students hold candlelight vigil, show support for Blacksburg By: Megan Weiland Posted: 4/20/07 Following closely on the heels of sophomore Beth Spiedel's death and the two-year anniversary of a tragic off-campus house fire, Miami University's community is now confronted with what has been termed by Virginia Polytechnic Institute students as a "college Columbine." "We are all feeling enormous sadness and grief at the thought of what happened in Virginia," said Miami University President David Hodge. "It's overwhelming to know that 33 people died (Monday) and I think it causes fear for us as we live in this modern era, where it is hard to understand what would possess a person to do something like this. It's a feeling of vulnerability." Friday, April 20, college campuses across the country will be joining together for an "Orange and Maroon Effect" Day, when all Americans are encouraged to wear Virginia Tech's colors to show support. "This tradition began in 2002 to encourage the wearing of school colors to sporting events," said Kristen Lucia, a graduate student at Miami who received her bachelor's degree from Virginia Tech in 2004. "We had two games a year, one where you had to wear orange, and the other maroon." Lucia added that the shirts were sold for only $5, and the first year caused a national shortage in orange T-shirts because of the popularity. It became a tradition at the school as well as across the nation to show "Hokie pride." "I think we have two choices," she said. "We can dress in black, mourn, and sink into the shadows. Or we can dress in bright orange and stand together. The actions of one person will not affect our unity." Lucia said that many people from Virginia Tech are worried about how Monday's event will change the way others view their school. "Everyone's fear right now is that people will think VA Tech is unsafe, but there was nothing anyone could have done to prevent this," Lucia said. "The first thing on our lips was, I want to be in Blac…
creator: Megan Weiland
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: "Skotzko, Stacey Nicole" <skotzksn@muohio.edu>
language: eng

Iraq victims must not be forgotten
description: 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 t…
creator: John Tuzcu
publisher: The Miami Student
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: "Skotzko, Stacey Nicole" <skotzksn@muohio.edu>
language: eng

School security proposal shoves aside prevention
description: By:Anonymous Posted: 4/27/07 Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones urged April 19 that the Ohio state legislature and Governor Ted Strickland consider drafting a new law that would require armed guards in all of Ohio's schools, colleges and universities. In the wake of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute shootings, during which a crazed student killed 32 students and faculty, debate within the Ohio General Assembly has focused heavily on how future tragedies of this sort can be prevented. Nonetheless, the extraordinary cost of this program and its doubtful effectiveness makes it a proposal that the legislature should overlook in favor of more proactive approaches that would act to prevent another school shooting. The high cost of putting an armed guard in every Ohio school raises some serious questions regarding the state's ability to fund this program. Such a program appears to be a colossal waste of expenditures, especially given the fact that the state's budget is already in the red. Given the rarity of such attacks, it is neither prudent nor feasible to devote such a large amount of state resources to a program such as this and more cost effective measures can be implemented instead. Additionally, the presence of an armed guard is unlikely to dissuade a deranged and suicidal student from carrying out a planned attack. It is naive to think that a security guard is a deterrent strategy, or that he or she would be able to intervene in time to stop a determined shooter. Furthermore, Jones' suggestion that teachers and faculty members could be trained and equipped with firearms is a frightening proposition. The answer to school violence does not rest in turning Ohio's public schools into armed camps, thus creating a culture of anxiety. Placing armed contingents within Ohio's schools sends the wrong message that guns are the way to prevent violence. Indeed, Virginia Tech has one of the best campus police forces in the country. Rather, focus must be shifted toward a proac…
creator: Anonymous
publisher: The Miami Student
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: "Skotzko, Stacey Nicole" <skotzksn@muohio.edu>
language: eng

ribbons of remembrance
description: Maroon and orange ribbons remained on trees on the drillfield over the Memorial Day weekend.
creator: Kathryn Kuhn
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Kathryn Kuhn
language: eng

SLU supports Tech
description: Students at Saint Louis University sent nearly a dozen message board to Tech in the weeks following the tragedy. SLU also hosted a memorial mass in honor of the Tech students and professors who died.
creator: Kathryn Kuhn
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Kathryn Kuhn
language: eng

Intermediate Daisies
description: A Virginia Tech faculty member and student volunteer at work in the newly completed center of the intermediate memorial, carefully organizing plastic daisies into the shape of the VT logo. For months, these same VT daisies were a fixture on the drillfield grass. Photo taken July 6, 2007. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0.
creator: Brent Jesiek
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0
language: eng

BERKOWITZ: A campus in grief distracted by media attack
description: By:Adan Berkowitz Posted: 4/18/07 In the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, there's going to be a lot of people asking why this happened, or what could have been done to prevent this or keep it from happening in the future. I think pundits in the media and people on both sides of the gun debate would be wise to refrain from using the shooting to further their agendas. There's going to be a lot of people on both sides frothing at the mouth, saying this could have been prevented if only some of the students had been armed or if guns were made illegal or other such nonsense. Any group who tries to spin this into a crusade against violent media or for gun advocacy or for its own goals should be ripped apart by the press. Unfortunately, the press usually latches onto this kind of sensationalism and frames it as a crusade for some issue, instead of treating it as it really is: a monumental tragedy. As a journalism student and a person who believes in general good taste, I have to say I was nauseated while watching events unfold on the news, not only because of what happened, but because of the way the media seemed to be wringing every drop they could from the story. With 24-hour news coverage, this comes as no surprise. For hours, networks would loop a 10-second clip of blurry cell phone footage, followed by mostly baseless speculation, followed by a parade of talking heads ready to blame the shooting on everything from video games to rap music. Jerks like Geraldo Rivera talk their mouth off even without any new information about the story. The media is relentless when it comes to stirring up a frenzy. We can't even wait until the dead are buried before all sorts of scaremongering like Fox News's brilliant article: "Experts: Colleges Ripe for Attacks." CNN ran some pretty tasteless stuff, too, like "Students Slaughtered." I know that "if it bleeds it leads," but you can almost smell the media sniffing blood like sharks do in the water. At least wait before all the fact…
creator: Adan Berkowitz
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Matt Negrin <editor@dailyfreepress.com>
language: eng

EDITORIAL: Consoling Virginia Tech
description: By:Anonymous Posted: 4/17/07 On one of the most celebratory Mondays on Boston's calendar -- a day when students forget about classes and hit the streets for a citywide party -- the Virginia Tech campus was in shock and mourning. In the deadliest shooting in U.S. history, a gunman murdered 32 community members and wounded 15 others before taking his own life yesterday. This page can barely begin to express its deepest sympathies to the Virginia Tech community. When Boston University loses any one of its members, the campus has a difficult time recovering. To lose 32 community members in fewer than three hours is unimaginable. The most frightening element of this tragedy is that it was virtually unpreventible. No matter how much money a university pours into its security plan, no matter how often safety procedures are rehearsed, little can prevent a suicidal gunman from going on a rampage. This mass murder is part of the violence this country has been forced to become accustomed to. Many may not consider Monday's shooting an act of terrorism, but that is exactly what it was. Ever since Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 12 of their classmates and a teacher in Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, this sort of terrorism has been part of our reality. But that doesn't remove the distress and pain felt after it happens. Blacksburg, Va. may be more than 700 miles from Boston, but the emotions still hit close to home. College students have a connection to universities across the country. Most students know someone, or have a friend of a friend, or have some other tie to Virginia Tech. Even if students don't have these personal connections, they have the bond of being college students -- going to class, sleeping in late, going out on weekends and being close to friends. And sadly the thought about the possibility of a gunman coming into their classrooms and opening fire is a concern that crosses many students' minds. But no one can possibly fathom what this horrific exp…
creator: Anonymous
publisher: The Daily Free Press
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Matt Negrin <editor@dailyfreepress.com>
language: eng

Daniel's Sign
description: A weather-worn sign, dedicated to the memory of Daniel Perez, sits on the walkway of the new intermediate memorial. It reads "Good luck Daniel, God is with you." At the time of this photo, staff members and volunteers were cleaning up the site, moving some items to storage and others to the newly completed center of the memorial. Photo taken July 6, 2007. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0.
creator: Brent Jesiek
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0
language: eng

LETTER: Massacre is 'senseless loss'
description: By: Clarissa Nemeth Posted: 4/18/07 To me, a college campus is one of the best places to be on earth. A university represents a lot of great things: youth and promise, for starters. A sense of community. A devotion to a life of the mind. Personal improvement. Ambition, dedication, discipline. All kinds of respect -- respect from students who want to learn, respect from professors who are honored to be able to share their knowledge, respect of colleagues and self-respect for a job well done. And above all, a love of knowledge, learning and teaching, with the idea that these things can improve the quality of life for everyone in the world. This is why what happened at Virginia Tech horrifies me so much. Any senseless loss of life, especially in such high numbers, is numbing and saddening. But the idea that this took place on a college campus -- especially with the shooter being a student -- is particularly difficult for me to wrap my mind around. Such a thing is in direct reproach to all the wonderful things that a university, one of the civilized world's oldest and most respected institutions, stands for. This was the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, and it happened in a community devoted to higher learning. How does a university community -- teachers, students and staff alike -- begin to recover from such a horrific turn of events, especially because the betrayal came from within? There is already much criticism of the way the university handled itself during the crucial hours. But how much better could it have done it? How prepared could it have been for something like this? I'm certain that, had it happened here, Boston University would have not have fared much better. University administrators do think about student safety, but they are generally not thinking about their own students going on shooting rampages. And what a horrible precedent this has set. Clearly, now they will have to start thinking about it. I have a friend at Virginia Tech, and thankfully, …
creator: Clarissa Nemeth
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Matt Negrin <editor@dailyfreepress.com>
language: eng

EDITORIAL: Addressing safety after VT
description: By: Posted: 4/18/07 As expected, even before tears were able to dry, and before the reality of the Virginia Tech tragedy could really set in, officials began discovering details about what happened Monday morning. Yesterday, Americans saw the face of the shooter -- the first step in putting the pieces together in this country's deadliest shooting. And with that name came information about Cho Seung-Hui's troubled past. He was taking medications to treat psychological illnesses, according to an April 18 New York Times article. Pieces that Cho had composed for a creative writing class contained violent material, concerning one professor so much that she had passed the work onto police and other officials. Reports about Cho's criminal tendencies spurred much speculation about why it wasn't addressed before he caused nightmarish destruction. It also inspired security leaders and university administrators across the country to meet and discuss how to improve campus safety. The Boston Police Department met with administrators from surrounding universities to review their own security procedures. One of the biggest things that came out of Tuesday's conversation was the need to find potentially dangerous students and pluck them out before they follow in Cho's footsteps. While officials are correct in holding these meetings because safety is so important and relevant to consider, this sort of psychoanalytical prevention must just be the very start of security discussions. Leaders were merely addressing the most important evidence that had come from the Virginia Tech case at the time. But when more specifics come about what enabled the gunman to strike twice, leaders must try to never repeat whatever mistakes police made Monday. It is unrealistic to think school counselors can identify potential mass murderers within enormous student bodies like those at Virginia Tech, Boston University, Northeastern University and many other colleges. Afterall, not everyone who writes distur…
creator: Anonymous
publisher: The Daily Free Press
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Matt Negrin <editor@dailyfreepress.com>
language: eng

From Palestine to Virginia Tech
description: Every Friday, Palestinians, internationals, and Israeli nonviolent activists gather in the Southern villages of Bethlehem to protest against the building of the Apartheid Wall that will eventually destroy the livelihood of these villages. This Friday [April 20, 2007], the protest began with a silent procession by the group of about fifty participants. We carried banners and leaflets with the Virginia Tech logo and statements supporting them in this time of pain. Thirty two olive trees were also carried in the procession to remember each person killed in the massacre. The olive tree is a global symbol of peace and hope. Once we reached the path created by the by the bulldozers for the building of the Apartheid Wall we dug the earth and plated the thirty two olive trees in a row - instead of building an ugly wall that divides people, let us plant trees that bring people together. Several of the participants made statements condemning the violence that we all, as the human family are witnessing and condemning the building of the Apartheid wall and the killing of innocents. -- Archived with permission. Original Source: http://samiawad.wordpress.com/2007/04/20/
creator: Sami Awad (Text) and Muhamad Zboun - PNN (Photo)
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Sami Awad (sami@holylandtrust.org)
language: eng

Grieving nation copes with tragedy
description: University reps. meet with BPD to discuss prevention By: Andrew FitzGerald Posted: 4/18/07 The day after a Virginia Tech senior shot and killed 32 people on campus and himself, representatives from 19 Boston-area colleges who met at Boston Police Department headquarters said they must improve communication in the future to prevent similar campus attacks. University administrators joined state and local police forces to discuss "protocol, procedure and planning" that goes into preventing campus attacks during a meeting requested by Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis, said BPD spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll. Representatives at the meeting said they wanted to ensure the BPD and campus security forces are able to communicate through radio, according to Driscoll, who cited the existing Boston Area Emergency Radio Network -- a link between local campus and police departments -- that received boosted support after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Virginia Tech and college campuses around the country have reacted to Monday's shootings, in which 32 people were killed by Virginia Tech senior Cho Seung-Hui. The 23-year-old English major from South Korea killed two people in a residence hall shortly after 7 a.m., and he killed 30 in a classroom building two hours later a half-mile across campus. Local university administrators also compared methods they use to communicate with students in pressing situations, Driscoll said. Virginia Tech officials have received widespread criticism for not immediately contacting university members after the first shooting. Officials first sent an email to the university about the residence hall shooting at 9:26 a.m., while the gunman was carrying out his second attack. Driscoll said another topic discussed was the importance of "recognizing the tendency of someone who may act in violence." Classmates and professors have described the shooter as someone who was not very sociable, and some professors had referred him for counseling, accord…
creator: Andrew FitzGerald
publisher: The Daily Free Press
date: 2007-08-14
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Matt Negrin <editor@dailyfreepress.com>
language: eng