Haiyan Cheng in an interview
Haiyan Cheng,who experienced the shooting with her students in the Norris Hall on April 16 was talking with the journalist.
Original Source: xmnext.com
<a href="http://news.xmnext.com/world/shehui/2007/04/18/304206.html">http://news.xmnext.com/world/shehui/2007/04/18/304206.html</a>
新民网
2007-08-15
Na Mi
eng
US college shooting 'could happen in UK'
<b>Debbie Andalo
Tuesday April 17, 2007</b>
<a href="http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2059208,00.html">EducationGuardian.co.uk</a>
The mass shooting at Virginia Tech University could easily happen on a UK campus, an academic and former vice-president of a US institution warned today.
Prof Geoffrey Alderman, formerly the vice-president of Touro College in New York, said: "If you asked any university security guard in the UK whether what happened in Virginia could happen here, and they replied no - they would be lying.
"I am sure every university in this country will be reviewing their security and although they will be shocked at what has happened in the States they would not be shocked at the suggestion that the same thing could happen here."
He added that institutions had "better face the fact that what happened at Virginia Tech could happen in any British university". He said if someone was determined to shoot people, he couldn't see any way to prevent it.
Prof Alderman was vice-president of Touro College for nearly three years until he returned to the UK in 2002. He remains an emeritus professor in history at the college.
Referring to security at the New York campus he said: "Security was pretty tight. Every student and member of staff had to wear photographic ID and there were security guards on the gates of every campus. Nobody was allowed in or out without ID.
"But security ID can only go so far, especially if you have a sprawling campus, and not one that you can lock-down - if you go to Oxford or Cambridge, for example, the universities are embedded in the cities."
Prof Alderman believes a key factor behind the Virginia Tech tragedy, which claimed 32 lives, is the United State's innate tolerance of guns.
He said: "This is an issue about the availability of guns in the US - the right to carry arms is enshrined in the American conscience. In my New York days it was something that was enshrined in the American psyche - even in New York where they are quite strict about the carrying of arms.
The Fulbright Commission, the Anglo-American academic exchange programme that annually has around 20 UK postgraduates at universities in the US, confirmed today that none of its scholars have been sent to Virginia Tech.
Penny Egan, the commission's executive director, expressed "shock and huge concern" for everybody involved in the US shooting, but said she was confident it would not deter students from applying to its academic exchanges programme in the future.
She said: "Our website has 1.5 million hits every month and a third of those come from UK students. There continues to be a tremendous interest from British students.
"There was a slight decline [in UK interest] following 9/11, but that was a more all pervading issue."
She added: "My own view is that we won't see any decline in interest from UK students following this isolated incident. We have a number of US interns working here and their view is that they see it as an isolated incident and not as something which is part of any trend."
Universities UK, the organisation that represents university vice-chancellors, today sent a message of condolence to the president of the American Council on Education, which represents US higher education colleges and associations.
Earlier today the head of an American university in London expressed his sympathy for the victims of the college tragedy.
William Moore, the president of the American InterContinental University, said: "It was just a shock that something like that could happen. It's a tragedy and as an American I share my sense of sympathy for all the families and everybody effected.
"I will be meeting my senior colleagues ... to see how we may respond." The InterContinental is an official branch campus of the American InterContinental University in Atlanta, Georgia. It recruits students from around the world, not just the US.
<B>Related articles</B><BR>17.04.2007: <A HREF="/higher/worldwide/story/0,,2058979,00.html">Killer's identity still unrevealed</A><BR>17.04.2007: <A HREF="/higher/worldwide/story/0,,2058978,00.html">Massacre on the campus</A><BR>17.04.2007: <A HREF="/higher/worldwide/story/0,,2058976,00.html">'25 of us went in, just four walked out'</A><BR><BR><B>Background</B><BR>17.04.2007: <A HREF="/higher/worldwide/story/0,,2058977,00.html">A history of violence</A><BR><BR><B>Map</B><BR><A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/graphic/0,,2058574,00.html">Where it happened</A>
Copyright Guardian News & Media Ltd 2007
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Original Source:<a href="http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2059208,00.html">http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2059208,00.html</a>
Debbie Andalo
Guardian Unlimited
2007-08-12
Adriana Seagle
In consideration of the fee of GBP 0.00 ("the Fee") Guardian News & Media Limited ("GNM") grants the Licensee the right to: publish on its website for 10 years.
Contact info: Eve Thompson;
permissions.syndication@guardian.co.uk
eng
Gun Control Back on the Agenda
By Guo Qiang (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-04-18 15:27
The world was shaken by the news that a 23-year-old South Korean killed 32 students at Virginia Tech in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history.
The bloody massacre began at about 7:15 a.m. when two people were killed in a dormitory. Two hours later, the gunman reloaded his handgun, shooting another 30 dead.
American President George W. Bush said his nation is "shocked" and "saddened" and his administration "would do everything possible to assist with the investigation".
The shootings sent the whole nation into a panic, despite many reported incidents of shooting sprees on campuses in a country where owning guns is considered a right.
There was no confirmed motive for the shootings. People around the world should observe silence for the 32 innocent victims of the gunman who was purported to vent his pent-up anger because he suspected his girlfriend had a date with a student at the same school.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao expressed China's condemnation of the killings and sent condolences to the victims' families.
And what did gunman Cho Seung-Hui achieve in the end? Spurned love is not entitled to end 32 lives unexpectedly from the earth although romantic poets say 'Life is dear, love is dearer'.
Now it's time to focus on U.S. gun regulation. Cho is a South Korean immigrant who had lived in the U.S. since 1992 and had a green card, which makes it legal for him to obtain guns at a gun shop. Reports said Cho paid US$571 for his weapons and a box of ammunition.
Gun control should be on the agenda of the Bush administration. According to reports, America is one of the most heavily armed societies in the developed world, with 40% of households owning guns. U.S. homicide rates are two to 10 times higher than in other developed countries.
It was during the American War of Independence in the late 1700s that guns and firearms were necessities for the American people to fight for their independence against Britain.
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed", enabling its citizens to legitimately own firearms. As a legal permanent US resident, Cho had the same rights as any other American citizen to buy guns.
Currently, the Democrats support gun control while the Republicans do not. The differing attitudes make it difficult to come to a consensus on gun control. This issue will be a hot topic in next year's presidential elections.
Chinese online commentators quickly weighed in on the issue, with many blaming the school for lax safety regulations.
Students also complained the school did not react quickly enough to the deadly situation, saying they only received an e-mail from the university that urged them to be cautious about a shooting.
However, Virginia Tech President Charles Steger defended the college's response by saying, "We had no reason to suspect any other incident was going to occur."
In covering this horrific tragedy, it is necessary to question the media ethics of some news websites. Without confirmation from outside sources, some influential websites, like Sina.com.cn posted a story translated from the Chicago Sun-Times, saying the murderer was likely to be a Chinese immigrant from Shanghai.
Chinese media should confirm the facts before releasing stories, which is a basic standard for media outlets. Some websites are so concerned by the number of page hits that they forget their credibility is at stake.
Meanwhile, local media outlets should bear the responsiblity for hurting a guy who was wrongly accused as a suspect.
Wayne Chiang, 23, an Asian-American student at Virginia Tech University has become the subject of fevered speculation on the internet after the killings.
"I am not the shooter. Through this experience, I have received numerous death threats, slanderous accusations, and my phone is out of charge from the barrage of calls. Local police have been notified of the situation," Wayne wrote in his blog http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/the-internet-thinks-its-me/2007/04/17/1176696821109.html?s_cid=rss_age .
"It was five for five. I was Asian, I lived in (the dorm), I go to V Tech, I recently broke up with my girlfriend and I collect guns."
Let us get back to the point. It is a tragic story of 32 innocent lives killed by a young man. Just hold up candles for their souls.
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Original Source:China Daily
<a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-04/18/content_853638.htm">http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-04/18/content_853638.htm<a/>
Guo Qiang
2007-07-25
Na Mi
eng
Six flags of VT in drillfield
One week after the shooting,people set six flags on the lawn of the drillfield to mourn the victims.
Jinfeng Jiao
2007-08-13
Na Mi
eng
Lowering down the flag
In order to express the grief, Virginia Tech lowered down the national flag in front of the Burrus Hall for weeks after the shooting.
Na Mi
2007-08-13
Na Mi
eng
Flowers in front of the Norris Hall
In front of the Norris Hall,people placed different flowers there every day after the shooting.
Photo taken April 19,2007
Yucheng Ying
2007-08-15
Na Mi
eng