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A Facebook message I received on April 18th from a girl with my same name who attends school in California: Dear Aislynn, This may be a lame attempt to bridge some sort of metaphysical gap with a complete stranger, but here goes. I am a world away from you, here in California where the sun was shining bright and unassuming overhead on the day that terror ravaged your campus. There were murmurs of violence by midmorning, but by the hours of the late afternoon, everyone knew. I don't have anything else to say other than I don't know what to do with myself as the hours continue onward - everything I worried about yesterday seems too trivial for words... I can't imagine how you feel or the aftershock of the cataclysmic events you and your peers endured yesterday. I just feel as if nothing is real- except for Virginia Tech. I do not know you, or anyone who lost their life in yesterday's events. But there is something profound I feel - my thoughts and prayers are with you and your peers. I feel very small knowing of the devastation that must grip you, but not actually being able to empathize, to begin to conceive such momentous grief. You and your peers- all those who are broken as a result of yesterday's events- you are in my heart and on my mind constantly. Nothing else is as important as the profound and enduring message of love and human camaraderie. From me to you, across the country, I send all of my love and support. I realize these are intangible sentiments, but they are all I have to offer. Love, Aislynn A message from a girl I went to high school with: aislynn- lately, you've been on my heart a lot and i have been meaning to get ahold of you to see how you are, but as lame as an excuse as it is, i've been busy with school. today i went over to tech and visited the tent on the drill field, as i was going around i caught sight of a coffee cup with message on it that was just heartbreaking. i thanked God for not letting this person be harmed and though how hard it must be for the person who wrote it and how confused they must be. and then i saw that it had been written by you. and i lost it. i want you to know that i am so thankful that you were not in norris. i want you to also know that i know your heart is weary as is mine and that it is ok to be confused and sad. you're are such a wonderful person aislynn!! i love you soo soo much and miss you like crazy. i met karla at young life camp about two years ago and she said she knew you and i thought that was so great because i remembered having drivers ed together and how much lame fun we had :) if you need anything, please let me know. i'm praying. peace, logan
Cho's Violent Crusade Ripped from the Middle Ages
As a medieval historian, one rarely feels that his expertise can shed some light on a current debate. But I teach at Virginia Tech. Now that the semester is over and there is time to reflect, I have been struck by how "medieval" the events of this past April seem -- both Seung-Hui Cho's violence and our collective revulsion to it. In the snippets of Cho's "manifesto" that have been released to the public, there is rhetoric of (likely imagined) persecution of the innocent, violent defense of the helpless, and Cho's perception of himself as a martyr by appropriating explicitly Christian imagery -- Jesus himself, the cross, and even the torments the saints endured for their faith (burning like St. Polycarp, suffocating like St. Cecilia and beheading like St. Denis, etc.). Even Cho's oft-repeated statement that "Jesus loves crucifying me" reinforces the idea of martyrdom, suggesting, as countless biographies of the saints have, that God triumphs through the martyr's sacrifice. Taken alone, these statements might be interesting from a purely academic standpoint. Unfortunately, we all know what followed Cho's statements. So, it's this combination of language and action that's most "medieval," since the essential elements of Cho's manifesto mirror Pope Urban II's speech at Clermont (in modern France) in 1095 that launched the First Crusade. From what we can reconstruct of that speech, Urban first railed against the sins of his listeners. But then, when the hellfires beckoned, Urban offered them a way out -- a path to heaven. Go to Jerusalem. Reclaim the land where Jesus was crucified and where he would return in triumph. This land rightfully belongs to us, Urban continued, so emulate the suffering of Christ and "take up [your] cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23). Defend your fellow Christians who suffer under (an imagined) oppression by God's enemies. Become a "soldier of Christ" and destroy "the enemy." God would reward you with martyrdom if you died. Jesus. The cross. Suffering. Martyrdom. Defense of the innocent. Violence. Cries of "God wills it!" rang through the crowd. More than 100,000 people, many of whom had never left their village, decided to walk the 4,000 miles to Jerusalem. Again, we all know what came next. It's important to note that neither of the events of 1095 or 2007 "just happened." There are explanations, even if they're not comfortable ones. Urban's message met a receptive audience because long-held ideas and traditions in the West came together just so. So too with Cho. He created a mental world, which only rarely touched reality, drawn from our culture's obsession with violence and guns as well as a radical Christianity, likely generated by his upbringing and continued interest in the religion, witnessed by the number of courses on religious topics that he took here at Tech. This particular Christianity isn't unlike that unleashed during the First Crusade, even if such language of violence can still be found at places in our own, modern society. Cho's mental world divided everything between good and evil and called for the oppressed to rise and take vengeance. Cho's mental illness made him cross a line and act upon these ideas. Unfortunately, it did not generate the ideas themselves, though. But just as Cho was, in a way, an heir to the ideas of the First Crusade, so too are the rest of us for, in addition to violence and intolerance, the First Crusade was also about peace -- true, lasting peace. As conceived in 1095, the violent reconquest of Jerusalem would hasten the arrival of God's kingdom on Earth, an earthly paradise in which all would share. Later in the Middle Ages, the influential thought of Joachim of Fiore changed this tradition, stripping away the violence that preceded this kingdom, saying that all would peacefully -- peacefully -- come together. And just as Urban's vision has endured, so too has Joachim's. The world, without hesitation, now condemns actions like Cho's. Violence is not normative anymore. If nothing else, the Middle Ages show us how the intellectual path we're on isn't the only one available. In 1095, 100,000 people thought that violence could bring peace. In 2007, Cho believed the same and the world cried out in horror. Cho took one path from 1095 and the vast majority took the other. In and of itself, and in the middle of all this sadness, this is a reason to look forward with hope. -- Originally published in _The Roanoke Times_, 6/2/07 Source: http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/wb/xp-119117
Cho's World was rooted in a Christian Tradition
In the Aug. 26 Roanoke Times, reporter Duncan Adams had a news story that succinctly wrapped up what we knew about Seung-Hui Cho at that point, before the Virginia Tech Independent Review Panel released its final report. The article, "There was something evil aiding him," answered some old questions and highlighted some that have yet to be answered. What really struck me, as a medievalist and researcher in the history of religion, was the section titled "Demon spirits" and specifically the comments of Pastor Dong Cheol Lee from One Mind Church in Cho's hometown of Woodbridge. Cho and his family didn't attend that church, but the pastor felt compelled to reach out to Cho on the recommendation of a neighbor. Lee believes Cho was basically a good person but that he was possessed by the devil or some sort of "demonic spirit" when he murdered all those people. This raises a significant point, one thus far generally overlooked in the reporting about the events of April 16 -- the role of religion in motivating Cho to do what he did. I suggested this in a June 6 commentary, "Cho's violent crusade ripped from the Middle Ages." Look again through this and the rest of the coverage of Cho's manifesto. Look how often he evoked God/Jesus. And look again at these new snippets: the Bible as Literature class that he felt so "content" in, his contact with a particular type of Christianity during his upbringing, how he told the literature professor, Nikki Giovanni, she was going to hell. Reporter Adams may have been more right than he knew when he ended his story with: "During one session, Giovanni described having once eaten turtle soup. Students shared experiences of consuming other unusual animal fare. Cho's poem the next week lashed Giovanni and the class. 'He told us we were going to hell,' said [fellow student Tara] Marciniak-McGuire. During Cho's short, tortured life, he knew that territory well." Cho's mental illness made him live in a world of his own creation, but that world was one with recognizable roots in the Christian tradition -- a world populated by God and the devil, in which they are both still active forces in the world; a world where Cho could choose sides in this struggle and think that he was doing God's work; a world where violence in the name of religion is justified because the stakes, one's immortal soul, are so high. Cho likely thought himself to be a "soldier of Christ," like the crusaders; like the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda; like Eric Rudolph and Paul Jennings Hill, who killed to stop abortion. Mainstream Christianity does not -- and the vast majority of Christians may not -- condone such actions, but perhaps it's time to stop burying our head in the sand, pretending that such ideas aren't ultimately understandable, if still unfortunately familiar. -- Originally published in The Roanoke Times, 9/11/07 Source: http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/wb/xp-131592
University Libraries continues its work to build the archives of thousands of artifacts related to April 16 tragedy
By Mark Owczarski BLACKSBURG, Va., February 1, 2008 -- Virginia Tech's University Libraries is working with the university community and is guided by consultants from the Library of Congress to establish the archives for materials related to the tragic events of April 16, 2007. The research archives will provide primary source materials on how people grieve and offer consolation after a major tragedy. They will provide long-term access and preservation of relevant materials in analog and digital formats. Work to establish the archives of the millions of artifacts received by the university began in the days following April 16, explained Tamara Kennelly, university archivist and librarian who is leading the project. University librarians consulted with colleagues at other universities who developed archives after tragic events at their institutions, including Syracuse University, Ny. (the loss of 35 students following the crash of Pan Am 103 caused by a terrorist bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988), Bluffton University, Ohio (a bus accident that killed five members of the their baseball team in 2007), Oklahoma State University (a plane crash that killed members of its basketball program in 2001), and Texas A&M University (12 students were killed and 27 were injured during the construction of a bonfire pile). "The team from the Library of Congress came to Blacksburg within weeks of the tragedy to witness all the displays, all the materials that were pouring into campus," said Kennelly. "They needed to get a better sense of the scope of the project." Eileen Hitchingham, dean of University Libraries, asked people on campus who found themselves working in some way with post tragedy events to come together in order to facilitate further cooperation and collaboration. "We wanted to ensure that all of us were working together," said Kennelly. "Virginia Tech's Center for Digital Discourse and Cultures' April 16 archive and 'DLVT416: A Digital Library Test Bed for Research Related to 4/16/2007 at Virginia Tech' were just some of the departments on campus we wanted to make sure were concerned with the long-term preservation of the materials they collected." Since the summer, the University Libraries has worked with University Unions and Student Activities (UUSA) to organize the many condolences received by the university. These items came from all 50 states and around the world. "We estimate that the university received over 87,000 items expressing condolence," said Kennelly. "This includes thousands of cranes (33,000 cranes were received in one lot) and thousands more cards and letters. This is in addition to the thousands of items distributed through the student union in the days after the shootings." Under the direction of Greg Beecher, UUSA's associate director of administrative services, UUSA organized a building-wide display in Squires Student Center of condolences received. Thousands of stuffed toys, wristbands, ornaments, cranes, cards, cookies, and other gifts were distributed to the university community at the student center. A large team of volunteers organized by Steve Estrada tagged each item received. In June 2007, a temporary site was established at Virginia Tech's Corporate Research Center to process items in what is now informally referred to as the "Prevail Archives." A database was constructed to log in metadata about materials received by the university. Digital images were taken of these items and will be available online through a timely but temporary arrangement with Rutgers University, N.J. Gail McMillan, director of Virginia Tech's Digital Library and Archives, is heading up this digital archive. "In addition to being a tremendous source of support and strength for the university community, these items are a rich source of material about how we express grief and the effect this tragedy has had on people around the world," said Kennelly. "There are materials that would be of research interest not only to sociologists but also to students of popular culture. Paula Cushing, department chair and curator of invertebrate zoology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and Joann Brennan, chair of visual arts at the University of Colorado, Denver, have inquired about borrowing some items from the archive for an exhibit case showing ways people memorialize the deceased." "In addition to planning for the permanent collection," Kennelly said, "we also are planning to have a traveling collection that might visit different venues." Items selected for the permanent collection will be appropriately organized, preserved, and housed in a climate-controlled environment, said Kennelly. The items will also be described in a finding aid that will be made available through the University Libraries' Special Collections website and the Virginia Heritage Project. Once the collection has been processed, the physical collection will be available through the Special Collections Reading Room on the first floor of Newman Library. Aaron Purcell is the director of special collections. For more information about the collection, e-mail Kennelly or call (540) 231-9214. Contact Mark Owczarski at maowczar@vt.edu or (540) 231-5223. ##08054## -- Original Source: Virginia Tech News http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2008&itemno=57
Aug. 28, 2007 The article "Students fight for guns on campus" by Claire St. Amant was amazing. I feel she showed the views of both sides without offending either. With that said, I noticed the editorial "Gun groups gone wrong." This editorial has obviously come from a person who has not adequately researched into concealed handguns and the lawful use of them. Each year over 170,000 crimes are deterred by law abiding, licensed people who use their weapons without firing a single shot. Sometimes it's the mere thought of a weapon being present that can deter the crime. Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is not saying that those with concealed handgun licenses should be vigilantes. During our courses, we are taught how to respond not only if we are forced as a last resort to pull the trigger, but also how to react with police officers under any under circumstances. I don't want to give the wrong impression when I say this, but even if Baylor police could afford to employ more officers, they can't always protect us. There was an instance within a year prior of Virginia Tech at Appalachian Law School. A shooter entered into the school and began shooting. Two students who were following the state laws of "no guns on campus" ran to their vehicles and broke the law to save the lives of their fellow students. They apprehended the shooter and waited for police to arrive to arrest the shooter. There was a similar situation in Pennsylvania where a vice principal of a junior high saved his students' lives. A madman entered the school with a shotgun and began shooting; the vice principal ran to his truck to retrieve his pistol. He returned to stop the shooter from injuring any more of his students. Yes, our current system can be improved. In the instance of the Virginia Tech shooter, he was let through a loophole that Virginia had set up. I agree that certain people should not be allowed to own or even touch a firearm. Texas has laws in place that make it a felony. SCCC bases its views off of statistics and reports that we have collected worldwide. Our information proves that allowing law-abiding citizens to carry weapons into areas significantly reduces crime. In the U.S. it deters approximately 15 percent of all crimes and 30 percent of violent crimes. We are asking that our respective states allow the most law-abiding citizens, with a crime rate of less than 0.001 percent, to be allowed to continue defending ourselves. SCCC understands two things among many: one is that "gun -free zones" in America are false comforts that have given us some of our nation's worst tragedies and two, that allowing law abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons reduces crimes and equals the playing field. We are not countering against or trying to be a replacement for law enforcement. Those with concealed handgun licenses are a crime deterrent, practicing one of their rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. Andrew Sugg Aviation Sciences, 2008 -- Original Source: The Lariat http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=46485
Julie Freeman (Julie_Freeman@baylor.edu)
by Ruben Maqueda Like every other American, I was shocked and horrified by the shootings that took place at Virginia Tech. I thought of the students and so many young, promising lives suddenly cut short. I thought of the professors who sacrificed their lives for their students, and whose vast knowledge was now lost to the world. I thought of the survivors and the scars, physical and emotional, that they would bear after experiencing such brutality. I thought of the friends and families of the victims. Having lost my own mother eight months earlier, I knew the painful road that lay before them and how this one day would change them forever. This shrine is a tribute to the victims, 27 students and 5 professors, who lost their lives on April 16, 2007. In the Mexican culture, Day of the Dead is a very important holiday. It is believed that on the night of November 1, the spirits of the dead return to earth to visit their loved ones. Families go to the cemeteries on that day to honor their dead by scrubbing headstones, cleaning the graves, and decorating the gravesite with candles, flowers, photos, sugar skulls and offerings of food and drink. I wanted to incorporate some traditional Day of the Dead elements, while adding elements of college life and some unique touches of my own. I was very touched when I learned that the university was posthumously awarding degrees to all of the students killed in the shootings. What you see here is, in effect, a graduation ceremony. Sugar skulls bearing the name of the deceased are a very traditional element of the Day of the Dead. The skulls, decorated with brightly colored frosting, foil, and other items, are placed on the shrine. There are 32 papier-mache skulls adorning the shrine, with the larger skulls honoring the professors. Each skull bears the name of one of the victims, and each skull wears a graduation cap with the Virginia Tech logo over the tassel. In addition to a skull, there is a candle for each victim. The box above the professors houses an image of George Washington. I thought that since this is their first Day of the Dead, the spirits of the victims might need a guide to show them the way back. Since George Washington has been dead for over 200 years, I thought he would be familiar with the process and would make a fitting guide for them because of his strong association with Virginia. The background of the shrine has the twelve constellations of the zodiac painted on it to represent not only the birthdays of the victims, but the passage of time as well. There are books, labeled with the subjects taught by the professors, which represent their lives, their knowledge, their education, and their status as educators. On the sides of the shrine are 598 origami cranes. If the ages of the students are added up, it totals 598, so each crane represents a year of life. Working on this shrine was a labor of love for me. I made the skulls out of cardboard boxes, and I discovered that the strongest and best cardboard came from the core. If you look at a cross-section of a piece of cardboard, the core is corrugated and that is what gives the cardboard, or the box as a whole, its strength. What happened at Virginia Tech was devastating, and we will never be the same. What we have to do is find our core and use that strength to heal.
DAY OF THE DEAD ALTAR TO HONOR VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTING VICTIMS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Quinn Densley 602-740-8569 DAY OF THE DEAD ALTAR TO HONOR VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTING VICTIMS A Day of the Dead shrine honoring the victims of the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech will be on display at the Vision Gallery in Chandler, Arizona from October 22 - November 4, 2007. A special invitation is extended to Virginia Tech alumni, former students and friends to visit the gallery and pay tribute to their fellow Hokies. The shrine was assembled by artist Ruben Maqueda, who is best known for his work at the Museo Chicano, located in Phoenix, Arizona, where he has most recently created Day of the Dead shrines for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez. The shrine will incorporate traditional Mexican elements such as skulls and cut paper, but will also include other items associated with college students. The dominant color scheme of the shrine will be maroon and orange. The public will also have the opportunity to write a message which will be forwarded on to the students, faculty and staff of Virginia Tech. Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday which dates from pre-Columbian times. It is observed the night of November 1st to the morning of November 2nd. It is believed that on this night, the spirits of the departed return to earth to visit those whom they loved in life. Gravesites are cleaned and decorated, and special altars with offerings of food and drink are erected in honor of the deceased. Admission is free. Vision Gallery is located at 80 S. San Marcos Place in Chandler, Arizona. The gallery is open Monday through Friday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A Day of the Dead festival will take place in historic downtown Chandler on November 3, 2007 from 12:00 to 8:00 p.m.
April 17, 2007 By IDA JAMSHIDI Reporter Government officials are calling it the deadliest rampage in the history of the United States. Virginia Tech University was the site of a mass shooting Monday, leaving at least 33 people dead, including an unidentified gunman, whom police believed took his own life. Dozens were injured. Baylor Police Chief Jim Doak said it is nearly impossible to predict an incident like the Virginia Tech shooting. But he said Baylor police regularly participate in structured drills so that officers are prepared for this type of event. "We want to act swiftly. We want to be decisive with an active goal of neutralizing or killing the shooter," Doak said. If a person is caught in the midst of a shooting, Doak said the best thing to do is look for a way out. "Preferably, you're looking for an opening," he said. "If you have no way out, your best offense is to play dead. Drop to the floor and lay there motionless." Doak said Baylor students should be aware of their surroundings and not hesitate to report suspicions. "Awareness is the greatest ally of any student," he said. "Students don't normally think in terms of what's around the next corner." The Baylor Police Department receives around 400 "suspicious person" calls every year, said Doak, while 20 years ago, they received only about 25 calls reporting suspicious behavior. Dr. Susan Matlock-Hetzel, a psychologist at the Baylor Counseling Center, said that when people are caught in a dangerous situation, such as a shooting, they might do things they would not normally do. "If people are placed in that kind of emotional, shocking event, our natural tendency is to go into that fight or flight response," she said. "Our mental capacities would go to surviving." Matlock-Hetzel said that the trauma of the shooting will affect each student differently, and the university will have to decide what is best for the majority of the students. "That community will be having multiple phases of responding to this event," Matlock-Hetzel said. "You have your crisis mode and then you have your more long-lasting clean-up." Justin Brown, an Alexandria, Va., junior, has several friends who attend Virginia Tech. He said many of them have posted messages on Facebook and AOL Instant Messenger, writing, "I'm OK," or "I'm alive." Brown said he still hasn't heard from all of his friends, but he is attempting to reach them. "When something's going on around them, you want to make sure they're okay," Brown said. In an e-mail sent out to Baylor faculty and staff from President John Lilley on Monday afternoon, he expressed his remorse for survivors and for the Virginia Tech campus. "While preventing such an attack with 100 percent certainty is impossible, I want to reassure you that we do have systems in place to respond to emergencies, and to minimize harm to our students, staff and faculty," Lilley wrote. He went on to describe that the Baylor campus has 24 fully trained police officers, an emergency public address system in all resident halls and some academic buildings, and a recently installed dual e-mail/voice mail system. -- Original Source: The Lariat http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=45273
April 24, 2007 By KATY MATLOCK Contributor Before April 16, the topic of stress at Baylor University could have provoked yawns in its predictability. With final exams, social pressures and looming career goals as the ingredients, stress was an inevitable dish served up to college students across the nation. Occasionally, some deaths that are stress-related suggested a deeper problem stalking the shoulders of students. But in general, the consensus seemed to be that stress is a fact of life on college campuses. On April 16, Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old English major at Virginia Tech University, killed himself and 32 of his fellow "Hokie Birds." The university shooting shocked the nation and threw a new stressor onto students' plates. Over the next few weeks, students on the Baylor campus at the least will be coping with passing final exams, starting summer jobs and accepting a tragedy that shattered a fellow university's campus bubble. In addition, students may be facing difficult situations at home, financial struggles or post-graduation uncertainty. As trite as it may seem, there are some helpful ways that students can persevere and even embrace life during the stress of the next few weeks. Rachel Farris, a graduate student from St. Louis, includes a section on stress management in her Health and Human Behavior classes. She encourages students to include short, fun activities in their schedules. "Some of my students schedule times in their day to have a stress break where they might color, listen to music, work on art, read or write," Farris said. Farris also applies these practices in her own life. "I try to take regular breaks in my schedule to do things that I enjoy," she said. In these breaks, she said, she may read, write, exercise or listen to music. She limits her breaks to less than an hour so that the break itself relieves rather than compounds her stress, she said. Corpus Christi sophomore Patrick Roberts allows himself a break one day a week. "If I don't get that one day off a week, my study time isn't as efficient," he said. Roberts said he feels for the families affected by the Virginia Tech shootings. "It was a horrible thing that happened," he said. However, he said, he isn't personally stressed about it. "I feel pretty safe on Baylor's campus as far as things like that go," he said. Some stress can be a healthy motivator for students. "The problem occurs when we have too much stress, or we do not handle our stress well," Farris said. Kerry Mauger also teaches sections of Health and Human Behavior. "Sometimes students spend more time stressing over what they have to do instead of focusing on doing it, which increases the feeling," said Mauger, a graduate student from Angora Hills, Calif. She said that students also sometimes use alcohol and drugs to cope with stress. Exercise, sleep and healthy eating habits consistently prove to be significant factors in combating stress. These tend to be the behaviors that students neglect during stressful times, said Carmen Boulton, a Santa Barbara, Calif., graduate student. Boulton teaches Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Relaxation and Fitness. "Not taking care of your body is common," Boulton said. "Trying to function on very little sleep, caffeine and no or poor quality food definitely affect performance in a negative way. "I think one of the most common ways that we deal with stress is avoidance, which in the long run just makes any situation worse when we get up to the last minute and have not prepared enough," Boulton said. Dallas junior Katie Richardson said going to the lake by her house to sit and meditate helps her when she's feeling stressed. "Don't stress about things you can't do anything about," she said. The most common source of stress in her life is finances, Richardson said, and her most common means of handling stress is prayer. "You've just got to put it in God's hands," Richardson said. "But when you do, you have to really let it go and leave it in his hands." Against the backdrop of Baylor's Christian heritage, many students on campus rely on their faith during stressful circumstances. "I believe that faith has a strong place within stress management," Farris said. "Faith can give an individual guidance on how to prioritize the things in life. Keeping a good perspective on what is important can help minimize stress by allowing that individual to accept when they have committed all that they can afford to commit to an aspect of their life." Boulton said it is reassuring to know that God is in control during stressful situations. "Planning specific time to give to God can help keep school in perspective and remind us that there is a lot more going on and we are part of a much bigger plan," she said. Kyle Dunn, college pastor at Highland Baptist Church, said the college ministry encourages students to turn to prayer and to their Christian friendships amid stress. Dunn, a Baylor alumnus, has worked predominantly with college students in Waco for seven and a half years. In light of the Virginia Tech shooting, it is particularly important for students not to go through this stressful season alone, he said. Students can find companionship in the church, Dunn said. During the upcoming study days, the department will set up a place for students to study in the Highland church building. On Sunday the college department presented a message titled, "Tragedy and Hope." "We're really trying to encourage the students," Dunn said. Dunn said Factors outside of academic life, such as interpersonal relationships with the opposite sex and circumstances at home, can contribute to students' stress. The Baylor counseling center has included a link to several Web sites to help students cope with traumatic stress after the Virginia Tech shootings. Students who would like to speak with a counselor can call the Baylor counseling center at 254-710-2467. -- Original Source: The Lariat http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=45462
In light of any tragedy, the best we can do is learn
April 25, 2007 By BRIAN BATEMAN Until last Monday, the only things I knew about Virginia Tech University were that it was located in Virginia and the school colors -- orange and maroon -- were ugly. Maybe that's because they are the colors of Baylor's two biggest conference rivals. Or maybe they just don't go together. But the tragedy on April 16 interrupted my ignorance. As I watched the fallout from the shootings, I found myself removed from violence. I even found myself forgetting that a distant cousin is studying engineering there. When I turned off the television, however, questions began to race through my mind. They weren't the usual "why did he do it?" questions. "What's a hokie?" "Where's Blacksburg?" "Did anyone famous go there?" and, once again, "Who thought of putting orange and maroon together?" Well, for those who are as inquisitive as I am, here are the answers. According to the school's Web site, "hokie" refers to a modified version of the first school spirit yell and Blacksburg is roughly 200 miles west of Richmond. Famous alumni include Johnny Oates, who managed the Texas Rangers from 1995 to 2001, Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Michael Vick and the creator of the gold safe at Fort Knox. And as for the colors, a committee changed the colors from black and gray -- which the school Web site listed as "resembling prison uniforms" -- to burnt orange and Chicago maroon in 1896. Well, at least it's a step in the right direction. After I found the answers to these questions, I thought I would be satisfied. But my curiosity returned a few minutes later. Maybe it's because I'm a trivia nerd. Or maybe I'm just human. There's something compelling about disorder -- it's the reason we tap our brakes and strain our necks, peeking over the concrete barrier between our vehicle and the mangled car wreck on the other side of the road. It's also the reason the instant our friend says, "This water fountain is nasty!" we rush to taste the water, only to find our friend's opinion is the same as ours. We could have spared our taste buds the pain if we had just listened. It may be a morbid fascination, but we learn from it anyway. Life's trials all have lessons, and it's up to each person to retain the concept we have to learn. And if you're lucky enough, you can watch it on CNN instead of outside your classroom window. The point is, each of us is incredibly lucky to have the ability to learn from other people's troubling situations, and it's up to us to discover what that is. It could be as simple as taking a second glance behind you before you walk into your dorm room, or learning where Blacksburg, Va., is. Brian Bateman is a senior history and journalism major from Garland. Opinions expressed in the Lariat are not necessarily those of the Baylor administration, the Baylor Board of Regents or the Student Publications Board. -- Original Source: The Lariat http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=45480
Aug. 20, 2007 Anytime a tragedy occurs we ask ourselves how it could have happened and how it can be prevented from ever happening again. So in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre, gun rights advocates began calling for the repealing of bans on carrying concealed weapons on school campuses. The national organization of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is one such group. There are eight chapters of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus in Texas, the most of any state. Current Texas law forbids the carrying of concealed weapons in places like school campuses, places of worship and government property -- even if a person is licensed to carry. Arlington senior Andrew Sugg, head of Baylor's SCCC chapter, seeks to make it possible for students to arm themselves at Baylor. Groups like these have to use circular logic to reach their conclusions. Because a deranged individual brought guns onto campus, Sugg and others believe they should be allowed to bring theirs in order to protect themselves. What the gun lobby conveniently forgets is that the mental history of Virginia Tech gunman Seung-Hui Cho should have prevented him from ever obtaining a gun in the first place. Cho's mental history was recognized by a Virginia court in 2005, and due to inconsistencies between federal and state law, he was not entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The problem is not with the laws, but with the ability of the system to work properly. If it did, Cho would not have been able to purchase a gun and the conversation may not have gone in this direction. While it is clear that the response time of Virginia Tech's campus police was inadequate, this does not mean we should allow anyone who has gone through a criminal history check and a safety course to be a substitute for law enforcement. This vigilante attitude of circumventing the responsibility of law enforcement could potentially create many serious problems. The majority of people who receive licenses to carry concealed weapons are responsible individuals, but they do not receive nearly the same level of training to handle situations that police do. Although they do not receive the same amount of press coverage as a school shooting, accidents involving guns are far more common. According to the Centers for Disease Control, there were 776 accidental deaths and 75,685 injuries from firearms in 2001. It would be naïve to say that if bans on guns at these locations are repealed, there would be no accidents as a result. The purpose of banning concealed weapons in certain places is because the state has a responsibility to ensure the safety of its citizens in those locations. How wise would it be to allow someone to carry a concealed weapon to a stadium? A church? Better yet, how about an airport? Baylor police chief Jim Doak was quoted in Baylor Line magazine saying it would be "unwise" to lift campus bans. We couldn't agree more. Baylor SCCC has good intentions at heart -- making campus safer. But before we arm ourselves, there are other steps we can take that are both easier to implement and less double-edged. One step is to have better emergency planning. School lockdowns for threats are commonplace at our nation's high schools -- the capacity for emergency response should be no different in colleges. Another step is to better enforce the laws and have tighter background checks. Too many loopholes in state and federal laws are allowing people who shouldn't be able to, to get guns. Even if state laws are changed, Baylor as a private institution has the right to ban concealed weapons on its own. We hope it continues to keep its rules in place, even if state schools allow concealed carry on their campuses. -- Original Source: The Lariat http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=46387