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Sara AA Hood
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Freesia Singngam
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2007-08-24
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Storrs Community Extends Its Support
By: Freesia Singngam
Posted: 4/17/07
The worst shooting in American history took place at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) on Monday affecting the entire nation.
The UConn community is no exception.
Students, faculty and staff watched the news and checked for updates on the Internet throughout the day. They reacted to the tragedy and the way Virginia Tech handled the situation.
"I know I speak for the entire University of Connecticut community in expressing our shock and grief at the unspeakable tragedy at Virginia Tech," President Philip Austin said in an e-mail sent to the university community Monday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were the victims of this violent, senseless act, their families and their friends."
"The Virginia Tech situation is certainly a tragic situation," said Major Ronald Blicher of the UConn Police Department.
Because the case in on-going, Blicher said that it would be inappropriate to comment more on the situation.
"Certainly we can't really speculate on what happened," Blicher said. "The facts will be forthcoming."
On Monday, people were questioning the response the shootings received and how well it was handled. The shootings may have brought fear to students at UConn and across the country.
Blicher said that UConn officers are "POST" trained, which means "Police Officer Standards and Training." He said that the police are armed like any state or police department and UConn specifically, is internationally accredited.
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Original SOurce:<a href=http://media.www.dailycampus.com/media/storage/paper340/news/2007/04/17/News/University.Tragedy-2846297.shtml>The Daily Campus - April 17, 2007</a>
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eng
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The Daily Campus
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Melissa Bruen <eic@dailycampus.com>
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University tragedy
university of connecticut
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Document
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Contributor
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Sara AA Hood
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Kyle Thomas
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2007-08-24
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An account of the resource
By: Kyle Thomas
Posted: 4/24/07
The terrible tragedy which took place last week at Virginia Tech has stunned the nation. The day a tormented madman decided to take the lives of 32 innocent individuals was horrid, disgusting, gut wrenching and a host of other words, which escape my mind right now.
But in the midst of such a horrendous event, - one in which pure evil was on display - this nation was introduced to a slew of new heroes. All too often in out commercial society, we choose to worship the wrong type of hero. Most of us at one time or another have aspired to be a famous athlete or actor, and maybe we've even called them "heroes." But every time a tragedy of this magnitude occurs, one really has to stop and think about how silly - or how downright stupid it is - to refer to these commercial icons as heroes.
Liviu Librescu, a 76-year-old professor, was killed last Monday. By all accounts, Professor Librescu saved the lives of many of the students in his classroom when he, in reckless disregard for his own life, barricaded the door to his classroom with his own body. As a direct result of his actions, only two of his students were injured. No one in the classroom was killed - except Professor Librescu.
Librescu, a Romanian-born Holocaust survivor, never had an easy life. Yet despite all of the challenges he faced, he still managed to receive advanced degrees in engineering. He was an internationally-known leader in the field of aeronautical engineering. He was also the son of two.
It is a shame that true heroes like Librescu will never get the recognition they deserve. Certainly he will be forever memorialized on the campus of Virginia Tech. They will build him a stature, or name a building after him. But only a few months from now, we'll all go back to calling those silly athletes heroes - and so life will go on.
Now that this country is an established institution, it seems like there is nary a chance for true national heroes to emerge. There are no more British soldiers to defeat and no one else can be the first man on the moon. The only thing really left is responding to tragedy.
Think back to the days, weeks and months that followed Sept. 11. Our television screens were plastered with pictures and family videos of firemen and policemen who ran 80 flights of stairs while bystanders and innocent people were running down. How many of those heroes can you name?
When Timothy McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, all of us again were bombarded with tales of heroic acts. Yet, the only names we remember 12 years later are that of McVeigh and his accomplice, Terry Nichols.
Years from now - or maybe just days from now - some other tragic event that we cant yet imagine will occur. We wont remember those heroes either.
Most people want to be famous - so how can someone who attains fame be a hero? I know of no one who dreams of dying in a classroom so that others can live. Can a hero really be someone that does something we'd all love to do? A hero should be someone that does something that none of us would ever want to do.
Random House Dictionary lists the definition of hero as "a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal." That definition is not specific enough. There is an immeasurable leap between a role model and a hero. Older brothers are models to their younger brothers. Teachers are models for their students. But no matter how great their contributions are, they don't deserve the "hero" moniker.
When professional sports franchises win their respective championships, entire cities come out for a parade. When the city has been without a championship title for a long time, the team is referred to in the media as heroes. The 2004 Red Sox were heroes.
Only, they weren't. They didn't risk their lives to win that championship. Never did they face tremendous adversity to attain their goal.
Professor Librescu gave his life so that every student who was in his classroom could live. A gunman shot him to death through a door that only he was keeping closed. Librescu is a hero, and to demerit the term by using it so often is to do a disservice to his memory.
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Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.dailycampus.com/media/storage/paper340/news/2007/04/24/Commentary/Stop-To.Remember.Our.True.Heroes-2876952.shtml>The Daily Campus - April 24, 2007</a>
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eng
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The Daily Campus
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Melissa Bruen <eic@dailycampus.com>
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Stop To Remember Our True Heroes
university of connecticut
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Sara AA Hood
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Daily Campus Editorial Board
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2007-08-24
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By: Daily Campus Editorial Board
Posted: 4/24/07
The tragic shootings at Virginia Tech have provoked much discussion regarding measures to avoid future heartbreak. Perhaps the events in Blacksburg hit close to home in Storrs because of the similarities of the size and nature of the communities. Numerous measures have already been called for, some of which would entail strict regulation of the movement of people over campuses, including sign-in sheets and metal detectors. College campuses are open areas, and to restrict the movement of students over such a large area is both improbable and impractical. While the issue obviously needs to be addressed, any response must be reasonable, practical and not overbearing.
Thankfully, events like this are rare. Due to this, it is impossible to detect when or where an individual may be driven to commit such an atrocity. It is equally impossible to plan for every eventuality. Regardless of the number of safeguards that may be enacted, it is impractical to expect to prevent something like this from happening again.
Some hold counselors culpable for not taking appropriate action. It is extremely unfair to expect anyone to preempt this sort of tragedy by identifying and deterring those who may be likely to commit acts of violence. Even if violence were prevented, there would be no way to prove it was and anyone who took action would be open to liability imposed by our litigious culture. This threat of repercussion understandably causes most to pursue self-preservation rather than taking risks that may or may not save lives.
Despite the inability to prevent, there may be more passive measures to keep people out of harm's way if such an incident does occur. Some deaths may have been prevented by a campus-wide notification system. Much of the campus was not aware that a shooting was ongoing. UConn currently has a call box system, the blue light emergency phones around campus, in place to allow distressed individuals to contact the UConn Police Department. This system could be programmed to put out audible and visual alerts there was a public danger. Another possibility is for universities to text message subscribers to an emergency alert program. Cell phone numbers could easily be taken during the beginning of semester registration. This way the message could be dispersed quickly and efficiently to the majority of those who carry phones. An attractive point of both measures is that they would remain inconspicuous until utilized. While safety is paramount, it is important to enable the living to continue living freely, and overt security measures would do nothing but remind students to live in fear.
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Original Source:<a href=http://www.dailycampus.com/user/index.cfm?event=displayregistrationprompt&requiredregistration=1&thereferer=http%3A//media.www.dailycampus.com/media/storage/paper340/news/2007/04/24/Commentary/Campus.Saftey.Measures.Must.Be.Sensible-2876947.shtml>The Daily Campus - April 24, 2007</a>
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eng
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The Daily Campus
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Melissa Bruen <eic@dailycampus.com>
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Campus Saftey Measures Must Be Sensible
university of connecticut
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Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
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The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Contributor
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Sara AA Hood
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Alex Sanders
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2007-08-24
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By: Alex Sanders
Posted: 4/25/07
Once the chaos at Virginia Tech subsided, students began to seek answers. Questions rapidly arose after authorities discovered Cho Seung-Hui was the cause of the tragedy. Of course, one of the first questions was, why did he do it? Immediately after the shooting, the university worked with the authorities, sifting through student interviews and Cho's medical history, to figure out what could have possibly influenced somebody to carry out the largest mass shooting in U.S. history. ABC News reported, "in December 2005 - more than a year before Monday's mass shootings - a district court in Montgomery County, Va., ruled that Cho presented "an imminent danger to self or others." That was the necessary criterion for a detention order, so that Cho ... could be evaluated by a state doctor and ordered to undergo outpatient care." However, while receiving outpatient care, the doctor specifically evaluated him as a threat to himself due to mental illness, and not a threat to others. Because of this, his records were kept confidential and by law, the university didn't have a right to know, and they certainly didn't have the right to pull him out of school. This case provides significant evidence that privacy laws concerning mental illness need to be changed.
We will never really know if the Virginia Tech shootings could have been prevented, but if the privacy laws concerning mental illness are altered, it is highly unlikely that a shooting of this nature will occur again. Numerous signs pointed to Cho as a possible danger. He had complaints of stalking and sending threatening messages, thinking suicidal thoughts, and writing violent stories. Granted, the state cannot remove a student from school for being troubled or behaving oddly, but they should at least be allowed to alert the university. Instead of strict privacy laws, counseling centers and state institutions should be able to flag students with suspicious behavior or concerning mental illness symptoms. They do not have to breach confidentiality by explaining symptoms or problems, but they can subtly and vaguely alert the university so that it can keep an eye on the student. This way, the school is safe rather than sorry.
In Cho's case, I think confidentiality should have been violated, and I also think it should be violated in the future if necessary. If a few people suspect odd behavior in a student, that may be a cause to alert the university and have them watch the student closely. But in Cho's case, numerous people noticed his odd behavior and almost tangible rage expressed through his macabre writing. Because so many people noticed Cho's behavior, the university should have been alerted of his full symptoms. Although it is a breach of confidentiality, it could have possibly saved 32 lives. Consider the fact Cho committed suicide after the massacre. Once deceased, confidentiality is no longer an issue. Hence, if a student is suspected suicidal or homicidal, confidentiality should most certainly be breached. Privacy should not matter when others' lives are at risk
Cho fit the typical profile of someone who is homicidal. His personality was identical to other school shooters. According to CBS News, a study was done after the Columbine massacre showing a pattern in the personalities of the shooters. "Most school attacks come from loners with some kind of grievance," the report said. Many attackers felt bullied or persecuted by others, the study also said. More than half had revenge as a motive."
Cho, like the shooters at Columbine, was seeking some sort of revenge. Cho did not make it clear against whom he was seeking revenge, but his writings told of an allegedly fictional pedophilic and homicidal stepfather. In his story, he devoted a paragraph to condemning his stepfather to death. The story reads, "Must kill Dick. Must kill Dick. Dick must die." Although writing is therapeutic, and it is healthy to express pent-up anger through writing, the rage the expressed was nearly palpable; he did not simply show vivid emotions.
Additionally, many students do not express such violent thoughts in school assignments. Many write in a journal so they are able to express their thoughts while keeping their emotions private. The expression of Cho's violent thoughts should be seen as a cry for help or a warning rather than a simple worry about emotional problems.
If privacy laws are changed, tragic massacres like the one that occurred at Virginia Tech can be prevented. I am not saying that confidentiality laws are pointless, but there are ways state mental institutions and counseling centers can compromise with the university or school. Counselors already warn students that they may have to take action if they suspect suicide or homicide. They should add schools and universities to the list of people alerted to the patient's condition. Even if counselors do not have proof of suicide or homicide, they should have the right to legally disclose suspicions to the university. Many people will not outwardly admit they are suicidal or homicidal, but they may give hints. Because of this, it is much safer for counselors to hedge their bets on suspicions rather than to risk students' lives. Unfortunately, school shootings are becoming ever more common. Because of this, we need an updated privacy policy that simultaneously ensures pubic safety while keeping some form of confidentiality in effect.
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Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.dailycampus.com/media/storage/paper340/news/2007/04/25/Commentary/Privacy.Laws.Should.Be.Changed-2879828.shtml>The Daily Campus - April 25, 2007</a>
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eng
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The Daily Campus
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Melissa Bruen <eic@dailycampus.com>
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Privacy Laws Should Be Changed
university of connecticut