A call for community
description: By Anonymous The shooting at Virginia Tech serves as a tragic reminder of the importance of a strong campus community, one in which people know and look out for each other. In the wake of this event, it is important that we make sure that all students feel comfortable in our campus community. This opportunity should be seized to reflect on how to foster a greater sense of community, especially in upperclass dorms. There seems to be a presumption that, once out of their residential colleges, upperclassmen are sufficiently acclimatized to college life. While colleges provide students with RCAs who organize study breaks and generally foster a sense of commnity within dorms, upperclassmen are left to their own devices. Though eating clubs provide some measure of support for upperclassmen, nothing exists to promote socialization in upperclass dorms or among the many students who do not choose to join clubs or remain in the residential colleges. Independent work, which puts increased pressure on upperclassmen and often requires them to spend significant time alone, means that community feeling outside of eating clubs often suffers. Some students go through an entire year without meeting all their neighbors. Though social dynamics among students is, in the end, the result of our own behavior, there is room for the administration to provide a helping hand. While the University provides mental health services for those in need, having intermediaries step, similar to RCAs, would greatly stimulate social interactions in upperclass dorms and encourage students with psychological issues not to isolate themselves. This could easily be achieved by expanding the mission — and budget — of dormitory assistants, whose current responsibilities are focused on questions of maintenance and living conditions. These measures are not intended to prevent tragic instances such as those at Virginia Tech. They would, however, encourage interaction in upperclass dorms and foster a greater sen…
creator: Anonoymous
publisher: Daily Princetonian
date: 2007-06-22
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Kavita Saini <ksaini@Princeton.EDU>
language: eng

The narrow reach of 'community'
description: By Uwe E. Reinhardt Princetonian Columnist Students gathered in Richardson Auditorium last night for a service in memory of the victims of Monday's shooting at Virginia Tech," reported The Daily Princetonian on April 18. A day earlier, President Tilghman stated that "my reaction was horror at the loss of so many innocent young lives," a sentiment echoed by President Bush when he remarked that "those whose lives were taken did nothing to deserve their fate. They leave behind grieving families and grieving classmates and a grieving nation." Congress openly prayed for the victims and their loves ones. Flags flew at half-mast across the nation. It was good. Solidarity with stricken fellow human beings forges a group of people sharing a geography into a "community" or "nation." As Associate Dean of Religious Life Deborah Blanks put it so eloquently during the memorial: "We dare to affirm that there is strength in community." It takes nothing away from the grief we share with Virginia Tech's community to let the mind wander from that tragedy to another one, the daily toll of fellow human beings grotesquely destroyed or maimed in Iraq, among them many American men and women just as young and innocent as those killed at Virginia Tech. As Keith Olbermann of MSNBC's "Countdown," standing out from the herd politically correct journalists, asked boldly on April 17: "In just the last 10 days, 32 American troops, many the same age as the Virginia Tech students, have died. While one may take issue with the comparison, one cannot ignore the similarities ... It seems fair to ask the question, if the violent deaths in Virginia send the nation into shock and expressions of concern and anxiety, why is not the continuous flow of blood in Iraq creating a similar reaction? Why isn't our flag permanently at half staff?" Olbermann has a point. In just the two days following the shooting at Virginia Tech, close to 400 Iraqis were brutally blown to shreds and hundreds more seriously wounded, …
creator: Uwe E. Reinhardt
date: 2007-06-22
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Kavita Saini <ksaini@Princeton.EDU>
language: eng

Would Public Safety be able to prevent a shooting?
description: By Owen Fletcher Princetonian Staff Writer About a week before last week's shootings at Virginia Tech, the University made the prescient purchase of a mass alert system to notify students of campus security crises. The University's system, which messages students' cell phones or other portable devices, has not yet been fully implemented, but it signals a heightened concern about campus security that existed even before the shootings. But the shootings have ignited a national debate on methods to prevent and effectively respond to crises and have led to questions about campus security procedures. Some Virginia Tech students have criticized campus safety officials for their slow response to gunman Cho Seung-Hui's murder of two students. Campus police notified students by email about two hours after the incident, but by then, Cho had begun his second round of shooting, taking 30 more lives and his own. Crises like last week's shooting are difficult to predict, Public Safety Deputy Director Charles Davall said. "You can never totally be prepared for something like this," he said. "It could happen anywhere." At a Senate hearing yesterday on campus security, Public Safety Director Steven Healy recommended that more universities adopt "mass notification systems that are capable of reaching community members." Getting students to provide their portable contact information for this system, however, could be difficult, Healy testified. "Even if you have a system that can reach a person's cell phone" or other portable device, he said, "they still have to be willing to give you those numbers." Healy, who is also president of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, said there is room for nationwide improvement on campus security. "[M]ost colleges and universities have plans" to respond to crises, he said, but "we're a long way from being able to say ... that all institutions know how those plans will play." Since last week's shootings, Public Safe…
creator: Owen Fletcher
publisher: Daily Princetonian
date: 2007-06-22
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Kavita Saini <ksaini@Princeton.EDU>
language: eng

Cho '04 calls campus friend
description: Comments to Manna adviser offer first glimpse of Cho family reaction By Doug Eshleman Princetonian Staff Writer While family members of the Virginia Tech gunman have secluded themselves during the last three days to avoid media attention, his older sister, Sun-Kyung Cho '04, reached out to a close friend and spiritual adviser from her Princeton days yesterday, offering the first glimpse of how the shooter's closest relatives are reacting to Monday's killings. At a discussion forum organized yesterday by the Korean American Students Association (KASA) to help students cope with the shootings, Manna Christian Fellowship director Rev. David Kim told the group that Cho — a member of Manna while at the University — called and talked to him over the phone yesterday morning. Some of Cho's conversation with Kim focused on the guilt he said she's feeling in the aftermath of her brother's actions. Kim said that Cho apologized for any negative repercussions Koreans on campus may have experienced after Monday's shooting. The 23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui — who shot himself after taking the lives of 32 people Monday on the Virginia Tech campus — immigrated to the United States in 1992 from South Korea, along with Sun-Kyung and their parents. "When she called, one of the first things she did was she apologized because she felt so bad for the Koreans on campus," Kim said. Several Korean students and alumni have expressed anxiety regarding a possible nationwide backlash against their community following the Virginia shootings. Kim added that in the next few days, Cho would release a public statement on behalf of her family, since her parents do not speak English. Cho has taken a leave of absence from her job with a State Department contractor, ABC News reported yesterday, and her parents left their Centreville, Va. house Monday before media members swarmed the location. Cho could not be reached yesterday. She declined to comment when contacted on her cellphone Tuesday. In an in…
creator: Doug Eshleman
date: 2007-06-22
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Kavita Saini <ksaini@Princeton.EDU>
language: eng

Finding meaning in tragedy
description: By Brandon McGinley Princetonian Columnist As the epigraph for "The Brothers Karamazov," Fyodor Dostoevsky presented John 12:24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." At first glance, the verse is difficult to decipher due to the vexing translation. The novel that follows, however, allows for a better understanding of this significant statement, which is particularly powerful in this time of national mourning. Faced with such senseless suffering, it is natural to recoil from any faith in divine harmony, for no amount of retribution, whether in this life or the next, can return the smiling faces of the lost to their friends and family. It is precisely at this moment, though, when that faith is being fired in the crucible of anger, grief and doubt, when it proves to be most comforting and, perhaps, most true. One of the most profound truths presented by Dostoevsky in his last novel is often simply accepted in contemporary society, without exploring its ramifications: We are all connected. It is a statement short on words but long on meaning. In "The Brothers Karamazov," the reader is blessed with the omniscience to understand that the entire cast of characters is hurtling toward tragedy, while each individual within the plot, particularly the three brothers, do not conceive the ultimate consequences of their actions or inactions. Though we strive, and rightfully so, for that connectedness in our lives — through friendships, community service, religious services, etc. — it is too often convenient to think of oneself as insulated from the rest of the community. At times of moral crisis, it is so much easier to disregard, either through true ignorance or active self-delusion, the propagation of ramifications throughout this tightly woven human network. When one decides to have sex without protection, proceed with an abortion procedure or take the life (or a…
creator: Brandon McGinley
date: 2007-06-22
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Kavita Saini <ksaini@Princeton.EDU>
language: eng

Sister of Virginia gunman belongs to Class of 2004
description: By Michael Juel-Larsen Princetonian Senior Writer Though Monday's shootings at Virginia Tech had already cast a shadow over campus, the news yesterday morning that the gunman's older sister is a recent Princeton alumna brought the tragedy even closer to home. Sun-Kyung Cho '04 was an economics major who interned at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok during the summer before her senior year and wrote briefly for The Daily Princetonian. She now works as a "State Department contractor," The Washington Post reported yesterday, and was listed on Princeton's alumni directory as living in Centreville, Va., with her parents. The shooter was identified early yesterday morning as 23-year-old Virginia Tech senior Cho Seung-Hui. Later in the morning, the Chicago Tribune's "The Swamp" blog reported that Cho had a sister who graduated from the University. Sun-Kyung Cho's and Cho Seung-Hui's home addresses in Centreville, Va., are identical. Reached on her cell phone yesterday afternoon, Sun-Kyung declined to be interviewed for this article. At Princeton, Cho wrote her senior thesis on "ethnic enclave[s] and wage earning" among Korean immigrants in California. Her thesis adviser, economics professor Orley Ashenfelter, could not be reached for comment yesterday. In the past two days, intense national media scrutiny has been focused on the Cho family as the public struggles to understand the shootings. University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt '96 said the Office of Communications had received inquiries from at least seven media organizations yesterday about whether the shooter's sister had gone to Princeton, including ABC, CNN, the Newark Star-Ledger and The Washington Post. Cliatt said she could not disclose any information on Sun-Kyung Cho besides the fact that she had been a student, what she studied and when she graduated. Cliatt added that she also received a call from an alumna who was unrelated to the shooter and whose last name was also Cho. "She was concerned that she was receiving a lo…
creator: Michael Juel-Larsen
date: 2007-06-22
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Kavita Saini <ksaini@Princeton.EDU>
language: eng

Korean students afraid of backlash on campus
description: By Ilya Blanter Princetonian Senior Writer After the gunman in Monday's Virginia Tech massacre was identified as being of Korean origin by several news networks, members of Princeton's Korean community voiced apprehension over potential national reactions to the news. But students and alumni had mixed opinions about on-campus repercussions. "My parents ... are fairly concerned about other people trying to revenge their family's death or relative's death on Korean families," Jae Hammet '09, whose parents live in Virginia, said. Hammet added that he is not worried about his classmates associating him with the Virginia Tech killer, however. "I think that Princeton students will understand that one person is not representative of the Korean community," he said, "and I think that most people here see that student as an outlier and not as a [typical] Korean person." The 23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui — who shot himself after taking the lives of 32 people — immigrated to the United States in 1992 from a Seoul suburb, along with his parents and older sister. News outlets have reported that he dealt with personal mental issues, including depression, a penchant for isolating himself from peers and a fascination with gore that manifested itself in two bizarrely violent screenplays he wrote, which have since been posted online. In contrast to Cho's struggles, his sister Sun-Kyung Cho '04 graduated from the University with a degree in economics. She now works for the State Department. Princeton has a strong relationship with South Korea, with a consistently large contingent of students from the country matriculating at the University each year: The Princeton Facebook lists 20 students from Seoul alone. University trustee Y.S. Chi '83 is of Korean descent, and Un-Chan Chung GS '78 — a former president of Seoul National University — is widely thought to be considering a run for the country's presidency. Despite these connections, John Lee '06, president of the Korean American S…
creator: Ilya Blanter
publisher: Daily Princetonian
date: 2007-06-22
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Kavita Saini <ksaini@Princeton.EDU>
language: eng

Virginia dean Benson '73 recalls tragedy
description: Alumnus defends administrators' actions but says he understands complaints By Cornelia Hall Princetonian Staff Writer Richard Benson '73, dean of the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, has spent the last three days struggling to maintain composure while confronting his own grief over the deaths of his colleagues and students. In his first media interview since Monday's shooting, Benson relived his emotions in the aftermath of the incident, praising the nation's sympathy and the cohesiveness of Virginia Tech's campus while reflecting on ways to move forward. Benson was at a conference in Puerto Rico when the tragic violence unfolded Monday morning. The gunman, Virginia Tech senior Cho Seung-Hui, shot two people in a dormitory before moving, around two hours later, to Norris Hall, a central building in the School of Engineering and home to Benson's office. Cho shot and killed 30 people in Norris Hall before taking his own life. Benson, who majored in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton, was attending an Engineering Deans Institute meeting over the weekend. He first heard about the shooting when he checked his email during a coffee break and read that there was a gunman loose on campus. It was only when he switched on the television at his hotel that he saw that the shooting had moved to Norris. It was then that the reality of the situation hit home for Benson. "That's my building ... I walk through those doors every day," he said of Norris Hall. "It was just terrible to see that and not to be there." Upon hearing the news, Benson first tried to call his staff members in Norris Hall. "I was unable to get anybody, anybody," he said. He immediately booked a flight home and waited through flight delays and a layover to arrive in Blacksburg after midnight. "I would've gotten in a car and driven home," he said. His distance from his campus when the violence unfolded made the tragedy even more devastating, Benson said. "Being away heightened my emotional rea…
creator: Cornelia Hall
date: 2007-06-22
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Kavita Saini <ksaini@Princeton.EDU>
language: eng

S-a sacrificat pentru studentii americani!
description: 17 Aprilie 2007 Cristina Botezatu Liviu Librescu, profesor de aeronautica la Universitatea Tehnica din Virginia, a murit dupa ce l-a infruntat pe atacatorul care a produs cel mai mare masacru din istoria scolilor americane. Tragedia, produsa ieri, s-a soldat cu cel putin 33 de morti si 29 raniti. Conform ultimelor date oferite de politie, numarul victimelor se ridica la 33, inclusiv autorul atacului care s-a sinucis inainte de a fi prins de politie. Din primele date, atacatorul era un student chinez, de 24 de ani, care venise in SUA cu o bursa, in august 2006, din Shanghai. Unul dintre motivele vehiculate este prietena sa, pe care o banuia ca il insala. Cei doi s-au certat, o alta persoana intervenind pentru a stinge conflictul. Atacatorul i-a impuscat pe amandoi si a parasit caminul. La scurt timp a avut loc atacul in cladirea Noriss Hall, unde se tin cursurile Universitatii Tehnice. Politia nu a stabilit inca daca cele doua incidente au avut acelasi autor. "Avea ca 1,80 metri, infatisare asiatica, era imbracat ciudat, aproape ca un cercetas", a povestit pentru CNN Erin Sheehan studenta in primul an la inginerie mecanica. Politia federala Americana (FBI) a anuntat ca nu exista indicii care sa sugereze ca atacul ar fi un act terorist, dar ancheta nu exclude pentru moment nicio pista. Conform Star Tribune, unul din lectorii din sala de cursuri in care s-a dechis focul era roman: Liviu Librescu, profesor de aeronautica si specialist in mecanica fluidelor, numit Doctor Honoris Causa de catre Institutul Politehnic din Bucuresti in anul 2000. Romanul a murit incercand sa blocheze usa pe care a intrat agresorul, conform unor surse apropiate familiei. (Stefan Oprea) Un individ inarmat a facut cel putin 33 de morti intr-un campus universitar din Virginia, apoi a fost impuscat si el. Printre studentii si profesorii universitatii se numara si romani Un macel de proportii fara precedent s-a produs ieri la Universitatea Tehnica Virginia, din Blacksburg (estul Statelor Unite), c…
creator: Cristina Botezatu
date: 2007-06-21
contributor: Adriana Seagle
rights: Calin Hera (calin.hera@evz.ro)
language: ron

Eroul Americii indoliate
description: 18 Aprilie 2007 Livia Cimpoeru, Eugenia Mihalcea Masacrul produs luni la Universitatea americana Virginia Tech din Blacksburg ar fi putut avea un bilant si mai tragic daca nu ar fi existat oameni ca Liviu Librescu. America retraieste in aceste zile cosmarul masacrelor lipsite de orice ratiune. Pe harta ororilor s-a adaugat luni universitatea tehnica din orasul Blacksburg, unde un tanar student a omorat 32 de persoane, inainte de a-si pune capat zilelor. Printre personajele centrale ale tragediei de la Virginia Tech se numara si un profesor de origine romana care a reusit, cu pretul vietii, sa salveze o parte dintre studenti. In dimineata fatidica, in sala 207 a cladirii Norris Hall, se desfasura un curs de germana. Cateva incaperi mai departe, profesorul Liviu Librescu, un reputat om de stiinta nascut in Romania, le preda studentilor. „Era o atmosfera cat se poate de normala", povesteste Richard Mallalieu, student al profesorului Librescu. Ultima ora a profesorului Librescu Brusc, in jurul orei 9.00, atacatorul intra in sala 207 inarmat cu doua pistoale si-l impusca pe profesorul Christopher Bishop in cap. Apoi incepe sa traga inspre cei circa 25 de studenti aflati in clasa. „Cel putin 30 de focuri", isi aminteste studentul Trey Perkins. Doar trei-patru studenti au supravietuit. Criminalul a iesit pe hol, unde a dat peste un ingrijitor care incerca sa ajute o fata ce zacea intr-o balta de sange. A tras de cinci ori asupra ingrijitorului si s-a intors spre 207, insa supravietuitorii blocasera usa. Atunci s-a indreptat spre sala 204, unde studentii urmareau o expunere de imagini a profesorului Librescu. Auzind focurile de arma din incaperea alaturata, studentii au intrat in panica. Profesorul Librescu s-a repezit la usa, incercand sa o blocheze. Curajul sau a salvat probabil mai multe vieti, caci, in timp ce el tinea usa, o parte dintre studenti au sarit pe ferestre. Vieti salvate cu pretul vietii Alec Calhoun, un alt tanar care participa la cursul de ieri al prof…
creator: Evenimentul Zilei
date: 2007-06-21
contributor: Adriana Seagle
rights: Calin Hera (calin.hera@evz.ro)
language: ron

On the Forbidden Subject of Culture
description: April 19, 2007 UPDATE: Thanks for the various thoughtful comments, thoughtful commenters - I'm sure you know who you are. First off, I do acknowledge that I was a little snarky and "aha!" in the initial reaction to things, and I agree that it just puts people in a bad mood. But, I could have easily erased what I said, and not because I think it was wrong to have the thought, but because it distracted so much from the majority of the stuff I was really trying to say. Yet, I would somehow feel it dishonest to do so, and the reason I write is to organize my thoughts and logic for people to see; I just wish people in general, and not just over the past few days, could read this blog as one man's thoughts in motion, as opposed my final thoughts on matters. I have strong opinions, but those thoughts wend and weave according to other good opinions. That said, I also know I write a lot. Loooong posts. Opinionated posts. Wordy posts. And that's off-putting as well. I know that, but it would take me forever to get this stuff out if I had to condense it down, distill it, make it simpler. And since the vast majority of blogs out there write in short form, I don't feel like I'm adding to a trend in need of reversal - on the contrary, I wish there were more thoughtful people who tried to think carefully, put in the time to express their opinions fully, and really engage with difficult subjects. So I think that perhaps the blogosphere is better off with a few wordy fools who try to think aloud and in the sense of intellectual full-contact sports. As for race, I think the media is talking about it pretty minimally, as I assumed they would. And looking at this from primarily an American perspective. I'm inevitably looking at this from a Korean perspective, because it is here in Korea that I sit, live, and work. It's here that I have worked with a lot of kids who look just like Cho in background, culture, and personality. I thought that I'd be one of the few people talking not about …
creator: Michael Hurt
date: 2007-06-21
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Michael Hurt (kuraeji@gmail.com)
language: eng

The Politics of Pride and Shame
description: April 18, 2007 [Update: I stand by my piece, which is mostly a bunch of questions, rather than statements linking race and culture in the explanative way it is being taken. I merely pointed out that as an American working deeply in the education field for years now, and having identified just such problems (and seen them connected in the Korean-language media for years), that perhaps questions about culture, as related to specific conditions that surround child-rearing, education, being educated overseas, the taboo of discussing mental health in Korean society, etc. might not have played some role here, on top of the fact that many Asian and Asian American males indeed might have specific ways of feeling alienated in "white society." Obviously, to even broach mere questions is deemed "racist" by many readers. Fine. I don't delete comments (unless they are abusive) and people have a right to come in and say what they want - that's why I blog, after all. Yet, before we start flinging around the "R-word" I hope people actually think about what I'm saying, and remember that what I said was that cultural context may be helpful as far as looking at context, but that "Korea" and the rest of the world should look at him as an individual. I spend half my post saying that, and the two need not contradict. And yes, when it comes to the fact that most serial killers have been/are still white men, it does astound me that America seems to have trouble talking about this obvious fact, and mums was the word when Columbine happened. Yet, broaching the topic is going to get one accused of saying their horrendous acts were committed "because they were white," which would again, be not what I said. But pundits of all kinds of backgrounds have license to talk about the concerns of "black youth" as it relates to drugs or violence for years. I don't call doing so "racist" although some strains of it certainly can be. For those who call such explanations as this "back-tracking," well, I gu…
creator: Michael Hurt
date: 2007-06-21
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Michael Hurt (kuraeji@gmail.com)
language: eng

Profesorul-erou LIVIU LIBRESCU a fost ploiestean
description: Vineri, 20 Aprilie 2007 De ieri, el este Cetatean de Onoare - post mortem, al municipiului Cea mai oribila crima savarsita vreodata intr-un campus universitar din SUA - dupa cum a fost caracterizat atacul armat de la Universitatea Virginia Tech, in urma caruia au fost asasinate 32 de persoane - a adus in prim-planul atentiei opiniei publice mondiale un erou. Numele sau - Liviu Librescu, profesorul care si-a aparat studentii, blocand cu propriul corp, usa de acces criminalului. Strapuns de gloante, ultima lui lectie urma sa fie aceea a curajului, a sacrificiului, a apararii studentilor sai cu propria-i viata. S-a spus despre profesorul erou ca este de origine romana. Cu fireasca emotie aveam sa aflam insa, ca profesorul Librescu este ploiestean. Aici s-a nascut, in 1930, aici a locuit si si-a facut studiile liceale. In memoria si pentru cinstirea jertfei sale, ieri, la Sinagoga din Ploiesti, a avut loc o manifestare omagiala. Aceasta a constat intr-o rugaciune traditionala spusa in limba ebraica si a fost oficiata de Gilu Iuftariu, vicepresedintele comunitatii evreiesti din municipiu, organizatie ce aduna in prezent, aproximativ 100 de membri. "Liviu Librescu s-a nascut la Ploiesti acum 77 de ani dintr-o familie de evrei, a facut studiile la Liceul "Sfintii Petru si Pavel" si a absolvit Institutul Politehnic din Bucuresti in 1953. Profesorul erou era considerat, in lumea academica, drept o somitate; a fost recunoscut ca fondatorul teoriei aplicatiilor in domeniul petrochimiei si, de asemenea, foarte apreciat datorita muncii sale de cercetare in domeniul aerospatial. Din nefericire, profesorul Librescu a fost ucis in incercarea sa de a-si salva studentii de ploaia de gloante", cu aceste cuvinte si-a inceput discursul vicepresedintele comunitatii evreiesti. De asemenea, acesta a mai precizat: "L-am cunoscut pe profesorul Librescu, cu multi ani in urma si chiar am mentinut legatura prin intermediul corespondentei. Intotdeauna a demonstrat un grad de cultura si de bunata…
creator: Ziarul de Prahova
date: 2007-06-20
contributor: Adriana Seagle
rights: Dumitru Carstea, Director al Editurii Prahova (edprahova@asesoft.ro)
language: ron

Cartier Liviu Librescu
description: Evenimentul Zilei Nr. 4846 7 Iunie 2007 Silvia Vrinceanu Focsaniul va avea, de luna viitoare, un nou cartier, "Erou prof. dr. Liviu Librescu", situat chiar in centrul orasului, in jurul templului evreiesc, construit in 1896. Consiliul Local Focsani a decis, saptamana trecuta, sa atribuie fostului cartier evreiesc numele profesorului in semn de omagiu pentru ca si-a aparat cu viata studentii in timpul masacrului din 16 aprilie de la Universitatea Virginia Tech din SUA. Propunerea se afla acum la avizare la Comisia Judeteana de Atribuire de Denumiri de pe langa Institutia Prefectului, urmand sa fie aprobata in cateva zile. Decizia municipalitatii focsanene a fost salutata si de fostii studenti ai profesorului evreu de origine romana. Tinerii au facut o baza de date digitala cu toate materiale publicate in lume despre masacrul din 16 aprilie. Baza de date, care cuprinde peste 350 de documente, poate fi accesata pe site-ul www.april16archive.org. Profesorul Liviu Librescu a stat la Focsani pana la varsta de 14 ani. -- Sursa Originala: http://www.expres.ro/article.php?artid=308428
creator: Silvia Vrinceanu
date: 2007-06-20
contributor: Adriana Seagle
rights: Silvia Vrinceanu-Nichita (silvia@ziaruldevrancea.ro)
language: ron

Bush honors Israeli professor killed in Virginia Tech shooting
description: 'This Holocaust survivor gave his own life so that others may live,' US president says during Shoah memorial service in Washington. On Iran: You who have survived evil know that the only way to defeat it is to look it in the face and not back down Yitzhak Benhorin Published: 04.18.07, 20:24 / Israel News WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush on Wednesday honored Professor Liviu Librescu, an Israeli Holocaust survivor who died trying to keep a gunman from shooting his students in a killing spree at Virginia Tech University. Librescu, an aeronautics engineer and teacher at the school for 20 years, saved the lives of several students by using his body to barricade a classroom door before he was gunned down in Monday's massacre. "That day we saw horror, but we also saw quiet acts of courage," Bush said at a memorial service held at the US Holocaust Museum to a crowd that included many survivors. "We saw this courage in a teacher named Liviu Librescu. With the gunman set to enter his class, this brave professor blocked the door with his body while his students fled to safety. On the Day of Remembrance, this Holocaust survivor gave his own life so that others may live. And this morning we honor his memory and we take strength from his example. 'You who have found refuge in a Jewish homeland' President Bush continued to say that, "This is a place devoted to memory. Inside this building are etched the words of the prophet Isaiah: You are my witness. As part of this witness, these walls show how one of the world's most advanced nations embraced a policy aimed at the annihilation of the Jewish people." Turning his attention to the Iranian nuclear threat, the American president said, "You who bear the tattoos of death camps hear the leader of Iran declare that the Holocaust is a myth. You who have found refuge in a Jewish homeland know that tyrants and terrorists have vowed to wipe it from the map. And you who have survived evil know that the only way to defeat it is to loo…
creator: Ynetnews
date: 2007-06-20
contributor: Adriana Seagle
rights: Efrat Yaari,Marketing Manager,Ynetnews (Efrat-ya@y-i.co.il)
language: eng

Israeli killed in Virginia massacre
description: One of victims in Virginia Tech shooting rampage Monday is Prof Liviu Librescu, senior researcher at university. Librescu was killed after he stayed behind his class to block door and protect students. Massacre claimed lives of 32 people Yitzhak Benhorin Latest Update: 04.17.07, 17:04 / Israel News WASHINGTON - Prof Liviu Librescu, a senior researcher and lecturer at Virginia Tech, is among the 32 people who were killed during a shooting rampage at the university Monday. His wife, Marlina, and two sons, Arieh and Joe, have already begun making arrangements for his burial in Israel. The Virginia Tech Police Department identified the campus gunman as Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a student and native of South Korea. An official at the South Korean Foreign Ministry said that it could not rule out that the shooter was from South Korea but said it had not received any such notification from the US Embassy. One of Prof Librescu's students, Alec Calhoun, who was with him at the classroom when the shooting started, told AP that at about 9:05 am, he and classmates heard "a thunderous sound from the classroom next door, what sounded like an enormous hammer." When students realized the sounds were gunshots, Calhoun said, they started flipping over desks for hiding places. Others dashed to the windows of the second-floor classroom, kicking out the screens and jumping from the ledge of the room. Calhoun said that just before he climbed out the window, he turned to look at the professor (Librescu), who had stayed behind to block the door. Librescu's wife drove him to work on Monday, and he was killed about an hour later. His daughter-in-law Ayala, who is married to his son, Joe, told Ynet: "I heard he blocked the door of the classroom he was teaching... he must have realized that the murderer was approaching. He saved his students and was killed by gunshots." "He has been teaching there for 20 years, and was a senior, world-renowned lecturer. He is the professor with the highest number of p…
creator: Ynetnews
date: 2007-06-20
contributor: Adriana Seagle
rights: Efrat Yaari,Marketing Manager,Ynetnews (Efrat-ya@y-i.co.il)
language: eng

Israeli VA Tech massacre victim laid to rest
description: Hundreds of mourners accompany Prof Librescu to his final resting place. 'After surviving the Holocaust and Nicolae Ceausescu's regime in Romania, he ended up being shot in Virginia,' friend says Ines Ehrlich Published: 04.20.07, 12:44 / Israel News Professor Liviu Librescu, who was murdered in the Virginia Tech shooting this week, was buried Friday morning at the Ra'anana cemetery. Hundreds of mourners accompanied Librescu to his final resting place. Among those who came to pay their respects was the head of Jewish Agency Zeev Bielski who was also the former Mayor of Ra'anana, the Romanian consulate general, friends, relatives and media from all over the world. Shmulik Moyal, a neighbor and friend of Professor Librescu for twenty years, spoke of how one can never know how life will turn out. "After the professor survived the Holocaust and Nicolae Ceausescu's regime in Romania, he ended up being shot in Virginia." "He died in the place he most loved; he stopped the killer with his own body so that students could live," Moyal said. 'Never gave up on his dream' Choked by tears, the professor's wife, Marlena, thanked her husband for the two sons he gave her, saying that she hoped he would look after them from above. The professor's two sons, Joe and Arieh, eulogized their father in Romanian, English and Hebrew, saying that their father had always taught them to be good people, but he never taught them how to become heroes. In his eulogy Bielski said that it seems that the way Librescu met his death reflects more than anything his personal life story. "As a Holocaust survivor he managed to rehabilitate his life, to raise a warm and loving family with his wife Marilena who had also been through the Holocaust," Bielski said. "He struggled to come to Israel, never giving up his dream of living a meaningful Jewish life; he realized his dream of coming to Israel in 1978 thanks to the personal intervention of Menachem Begin with Romania's leader at the time Ceausescu; he beca…
creator: Ynetnews
date: 2007-06-20
contributor: Adriana Seagle
rights: Efrat Yaari,Marketing Manager,Ynetnews (Efrat-ya@y-i.co.il)
language: eng

ANOTHER INCONVENIENT TRUTH: The Tragedy at Virginia Tech
description: Bethany Gizzi and Christine Plumeri 26 Apr 2007 The tragedy at Virginia Tech on April 16th, 2007 is no doubt on many of our minds. We struggle with the impossible task of trying to understand how such a horrific act of violence could occur on a beautiful, thriving college campus. Some of us have to try to explain this to our young children. We turn to the media for information, for facts, evidence, and perhaps, an explanation for something that is so difficult for us to comprehend. As those who work in the media work tirelessly to gather information and share it with the public, we cannot help but notice that almost all of the attention thus far seems to be on individual, blame-centered explanations for why this troubled young man took his and 32 others' lives. Certainly, this is understandable and necessary to help us to make sense of such incredulous violence. Yet, we wonder why not also focus on the larger, cultural, macrolevel factors that are common denominators in our nation's acts of mass murder in the workplace and in educational institutions? We would like to raise our voices to encourage the media to follow one of the most important aspects of this story. One which can provide us with an understanding of this tragedy and a way in which we can create positive and necessary social change out of this tragic act. As professors of Sociology, we study and teach courses on Sex & Gender and Criminology. It is obvious to us that the time is now to face the issue of gender and gender based violence. This is not just a gun control or "hawk versus dove" debate and this is not just a woman's issue. To quote Jackson Katz, an anti-violence educator who writes and lectures on gendered violence, "we need to say this is a men's issue", too (www.jacksonkatz.com). In 2003, according the F.B.I.'s arrest-based Uniform Crime Reports, 90.1% of homicides were perpetrated by males and 77.5% of their victims were other males. The perpetrator of these violent acts at Virginia Tech wa…
creator: Bethany Gizzi and Christine Plumeri
date: 2007-06-07
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication
language: eng

Memorial Balloon Release
description: With both state and national flags flying at half-staff, the memorial balloons are released into the heavens.
creator: Lindsay Hughes
date: 2007-06-18
contributor: Lindsay Hughes
language: eng

Flags at Half Staff
description: These flags flew at half-staff in front of the Metropolition Art Museum in New York City the weekend after the shootings at Virginia Tech, showing national solidarity and support for the University.
creator: Lindsay Hughes
date: 2007-06-18
contributor: Lindsay Hughes
language: eng