Media Credit: Christina Parrish Members of the SMU community came together for a prayer service for those who were lost in Monday's Virginia Tech massacre. The service was to be held outside at the Flagpole but was moved inside due to inclement weather. -- Original Source:SMU Campus Daily - April 18, 2007
"Norris, Mark William" <mnorris@mail.smu.edu>
Senate acknowledges Virginia Tech shooting
By: Carey Elizabeth White, Contributing Writer, cwhite@smu.edu Posted: 4/18/07 Student Senate held a moment of silence for the victims and families of the Virginia Tech shooting and discussed campus safety yesterday in the second to last meeting of the semester. Senators discussed the need to increase awareness of safety procedures in addition to voicing their support of those affected by the Virginia Tech tragedy. One senator was concerned that no one knew the correct procedures for when the tornado sirens sounded last week. Senate agreed that more concrete legislation needs to be enacted to assure the safety of the students and our campus. Student Body President Taylor Russ said, "The first thing in our minds is survival," adding that, "We really do need an effective crisis management policy, because nothing in my mind outweighs the loss of a life." The current emergency preparedness plan can be found at smu.edu/newsinfo. The Senate hopes to help create a more effective policy for fall 2007. Later in the meeting, the League of United Latin American Citizens, otherwise known as LULAC, presented its case to be chartered as an organization on the SMU campus. The league advocates civil rights, supports leadership skills and provides scholarship funds to Hispanic educational communities. Several universities around the area charter this national organization. Universities like TCU, UT, UNT and TWU each have LULAC as a campus organization. Additionally, the executive committee ruled on the David Mingus Open Meetings Act. The act will create more transparency within Student Senate, making standing committees open at all times to all Senators and officers of the Student Senate, space permitting. The act was passed. The last Student Senate meeting of the year will be held next week on April 24. -- Original Source:SMU Daily Campus - April 18, 2007
SMU says it's ready for campus emergencies
By: Mark Norris, Editor In Chief, mnorris@smu.edu Posted: 4/17/07 SMU officials say they are prepared if an incident like the one at Virginia Tech happens here. As recently as December 2006 an active shooter scenario exercise was held according to Lee Arning, the director of emergency preparedness and business continuity. But the shootings at the Blacksburg, Va., campus have changed things. "Today's event has rewritten the rulebook," Arning said in an interview Monday evening. A gunman killed 32 people at Virginia Tech in the deadliest shooting rampage in United States history. The victims were massacred in two attacks two hours apart on opposite sides of the school's campus, with Tech's police force unable to warn anyone before the carnage ensued. It ended with the gunman committing suicide - making the final death toll 33. Arning said he would attend a meeting Tuesday morning with other administrators to discuss the incident and its ramifications for the SMU community. At SMU, in the event of such an incident, the building managers would be responsible for either locking down their buildings or taking other measures necessary to keep its occupants safe according to Arning. They could also pass along information through a network of people within each building. The next wave of communication would come electronically: via e-mail, the official university Web site and phone tree messages. Any messages could also be announced on an intercom system; however, there is not a central intercom system and not every building on campus has one to begin with. One thing that will not happen, Arning said, is police officers driving around the campus notifying people over speakers or bullhorns. He said that would make the police cars and officers targets. SMU has emergency "Lockdown/Take Cover" guidelines that Arning said he discusses during the annual campus fire drills at buildings. The guidelines say if a person perceives a threat of violence to dial 911 immediately or call SMU police at (214) 768-3333. It adds that evacuation alarms should not be sounded. It says to close, lock and barricade doors to reduce the potential risk of a violent person reaching the area where people are. The guidelines say the best way to secure oneself is by not moving around, crouching down and either getting out of sight or getting low on the floor. It says to remain silent because studies have shown that shooters will fire at things that move or make sounds. The guidelines also say to be prepared to remain in a lockdown state for an extended period of time. It will be safe to leave only when police on the scene gives an "all clear" message. "Your safety is dependent on compliance that may be uncomfortable for a little while," Arning said. Some Virginia Tech students told media outlets that the school failed to properly notify them of what was occurring and also accused the school of acting irresponsibly by not closing down the campus after the first shooting. Arning said if there were a similar incident at SMU, the school would err on the side of caution and shut down the campus. He said SMU PD, which would be the first responders to any incident on campus, has attended multi-day response training camps and would be ready for such events. Arning said it is likely SMU PD will go through more training after the events at Virginia Tech. "Their training is a strong part of their job," Arning said. The active shooter exercise held in December 2006 is another part of that training. Representatives of Highland Park PD, University Park PD, Dallas SWAT and SMU PD attended along with UP public affairs, SMU emergency management and public affairs. Arning said the scenario was based on research of previous incidents and allowed the different groups to have an idea of what it would be like to work together. At various points during the scenario, the group would stop and each agency would discuss what they would be doing at that point and how they could do their job better. "Everything is critically integrated," Arning said. After the scenario concluded the agencies discussed opportunities for improvement. Arning said the exercise was not the first one for the school, and credited SMU for continuing to refine its response to different events. He said meetings and discussions occurred twice already this semester in response to the incident at the Laura Lee Blanton Building with the suspicious envelope that wound up containing cooking powder and the meningitis infection that was on campus shortly before Spring Break. -- Original Source:SMU Daily Campus - April 18, 2007
The Virginia Tech massacre: Ed Board doesn't agree with the crisis policy or the media coverage
By: The Daily Campus Ed Board Posted: 4/17/07 The worst recorded shooting spree in American history occurred on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va., yesterday. Thirty-three people were murdered, dozens suffered injuries and the entire campus now must deal with grief. How does someone begin to digest the incomprehensible evil exhibited by this shooter and the needless loss of innocent lives? Our thoughts are with the families of the victims and the entire Virginia Tech community. This is the natural reaction people should have. We were shocked when we saw how politicians, such as John McCain, a Bush administration spokesperson and the media turned this event into a discussion about the right to bear arms. Political policy should not be a part of the discourse and coverage of the massacre at this early stage. It is entirely inappropriate to even mention political policy right now, when families are still being notified of their relatives' deaths. This is a time for mourning, not campaigning. If people need something to talk about, rather than just trying to cope, the discussion should be about why officials took two hours to close down the campus after the first shooting in the dorm. When a murder-suicide occurred at the University of Washington April 2, the entire campus was locked down. Rather than close down the entire campus immediately, Virginia Tech officials did not give students elsewhere on campus any information or warning for two hours. By this time, the gunman had closed off the exits to the engineering building and had begun his killing spree. Furthermore, students were first notified via e-mail about the incident. Ed Board does not think e-mail communication is sufficient for such a drastically dangerous event. Police should have been in every building within minutes of the dorm shooting, going into classrooms and locking down the campus. We wonder how officials here at SMU would react to such an event and hope that they would take better precautionary measures, leaving nothing to chance. In such cases, it's better to overreact than to sit by and do nothing. However, in SMU's emergency "Lockdown/Take Cover" guidelines, there is no indication of what officials, such as the SMU police, would do to protect students. The plan states that, in such an event, "emergency alarms should not be sounded" (dare they draw attention to the police instead of those in classrooms) and that information would be relayed via "e-mail, phone calls or word of mouth." Ed Board does not believe that this is an adequate means to alert the campus. A better solution would be to install a silent alarm system throughout campus, where flashing lights could indicate that something is wrong. Once again, we are shocked and saddened by this tragedy, and we encourage students to show their support by attending the prayer vigil at the Flagpole at 1:15 p.m. today. -- Original Source:SMU Daily Campus - April 17, 2007
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. -- Original Source:The Daily Campus - April 25, 2007
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. -- Original Source:The Daily Campus - April 24, 2007
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. -- Original Source:The Daily Campus - April 24, 2007
By: Laura Alix Posted: 4/23/07 So this is it - my final column for The Daily Campus. Over the past few weeks, I've been pondering whether I should write a more traditional "farewell" column or whether I should just do what I've been doing all along and simply give my opinion on some matter or another. Well, being the indecisive type that I do tend to be sometimes, I felt I should do a little bit of both. Bear with me, please. Rarely am I unsure of whether to laugh or be horrified, but then again, rarely do I check the news for updates on Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church, and rarely do I visit Phelps' Web site. For those of you who don't know of the infamous Phelps, allow me to briefly fill you in. Phelps is the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church. He and his 71 followers - about 60 of whom are related to Phelps through either blood or marriage - are best known for protesting, well, just about everything. You may recall an uproar a little while back over some religious fanatics protesting the funerals of American soldiers killed in Iraq, claiming that the soldiers' deaths were God's punishment for America's tolerance of homosexuality. Those protestors were none other than Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church. They have also protested the funeral of Matthew Shepard, productions of "The Laramie Project" - the play that details the death of Shepard - and various other political events. When criticized, Phelps simply invokes his First Amendment right to free speech. Phelps and the WBC have most recently made the news for their plans to protest the funerals of those killed in the Virginia Tech shootings. No, they really do not have any shame or sense of decency. Phelps has claimed that Cho Seung-Hui was hearing the voice of God and carrying out God's orders, even though he is now in hell, too. The victims, according to Phelps, were punished for not being Christian enough. Although I consider myself non-religious, I have a hard time believing that any true Christian could believe the hateful nonsense that Phelps spews on a regular basis. His group has even made their own music videos, "God Hates the World" and "God Hates America," which is oh-so-cleverly set to the tune of "God Bless America." Ultimately, though, we really cannot take away Phelps' right to protest and free speech because it would be un-American to do so. The one consolation that I can offer to myself and others is we should just be grateful to live in a country so free that whackos like Phelps can enjoy the same rights as the rest of us. But it's time to move on to the more everyday stuff. The past few weeks have been extremely hectic for me, and I'm sure they have been for other graduating seniors as well. I have too many projects and papers due and a serious desire to procrastinate. I've also been forgetting what day of the week it is on a pretty regular basis, waking up each morning and asking myself, "Do I go to work or class today?" I need a break by now - I think we all do. I've also had family members, co-workers and what feels like just about the rest of the world breathing down my neck and asking me what I'm going to do after graduation. This is tricky, see, because until about eight months ago, I talked about going to graduate school or law school, and when I suddenly just dropped the subjects, I guess they assumed that I still wanted to go. I really did think I would go to law school and become a lawyer when I chose political science as my major about three years ago. Honestly, it seemed like a fantastic idea until I woke up one morning and realized that I just really didn't want to be a lawyer. Ditto on grad school - I just don't want to pursue political science anymore, and I'd rather not waste the money unless I'm totally sure of what I want to do. But maybe that's the whole problem to begin with. When we leave college, we are expected to know exactly what we want to do, as if this four or five year experience will help us to decide what the course of our entire lives will be. In middle school, we wondered what "the real world" would be like when we got to high school. In high school, we wondered the same thing about college. And now, well, I'm just not so sure that this proverbial real world is going to show its face in my presence. Much as I'm sure some of those in my life will be dismayed that I have not, in fact, charted the course of the rest of my life by now, I think that's impossible for many people. Some people have a plan, and they stick to it from start to finish - I can admire that, but I just don't think it's possible for most of us. Things change. So what am I going to do after graduation? Right now, the post-graduation to-do list consists of the following: play some more guitar, read some more Bret Easton Ellis, quit wasting so much time on Facebook, quit buying so much junk on eBay and hopefully go to Europe - or at least Canada - at some point. Every person who has asked me, "What are you going to do with a degree in political science?" has received any one of the following smart-aleck answers: be president, be a vagabond, or be on TV. I'm probably going to end up going back to school again in the not-too-distant future, but right now, I need a break. Not a single one of my friends who has graduated so far has gone on to do exactly what he or she planned to do as a freshman in college - at least not yet anyway. I thought that upon graduating, that I would only miss The Daily Campus, but I've felt more and more lately like I just might be wrong about that. I don't have the "Husky spirit," and I don't like basketball or beer pong, but I'm still going to miss UConn somehow. My only parting advice to anybody reading this would be to make the best of these few years in any way that you can - and come write for Commentary. Goodbye everyone. Have a good life. -- Original Source:The Daily Campus - April 23, 2007
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. -- Original SOurce:The Daily Campus - April 17, 2007
Words do not come easily at a time like this, but for a tragedy of this magnitude, it is important to take a step back and observe the world we live in. On Monday, Apr. 16, 2007, 33 people lost their lives on a campus a lot like this one, 2,700 miles away at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Their loss is a tragic one, and we at City on a Hill Press put our support, our condolences, and our deepest sympathy out for our brothers and sisters in education, their families, and the community that will never be the same. Apr. 16, 2007, a day that now marks what has been called the deadliest shooting in American history, is a day of suffering and sorrow. It is also Holocaust Remembrance Day, and just four days before the eighth anniversary of the Columbine massacre on April 20. This is a time for all to reflect upon our own lives, to tell our friends we love them, to honor our parents and family, and to be grateful for those things in life that it takes a tragedy for us to appreciate. This is not a time for politicking. The vultures that are circling, waiting to take their turn at spin, would do well to wait. Already we hear the rising crescendos of the pundits, each with a story to tell and an axe to grind, ready to milk this tragedy for every salty tear and heart wrench they can dig up. We at City on a Hill Press have chosen not to follow suit. We have chosen not to sensationalize the stories of these students, invade their privacy and harass a quote from them, simply to hype a point or sell ads. We feel that it is the people's right to know what happened, and it is our responsibility to tell. We will perform these tasks with the proper respect for this tragedy, providing an informed description based on police reports and research. We will afford the Virginia Tech community every shred of dignity entitled to them, by giving them the only thing we can at this point: time. Over the following days, weeks, months and years, there will be more than enough time to look at the issue, and seek some insight into the minds and the hearts of the people involved. For now, this is a time to grieve, and the people of the Virginia Tech community should be given the space, the respect, and the freedom to spend these next solemn days in peace, with our support. -- Original Source:City On A Hill Press - April 19, 2007
Claire Walla <cityonahillpress@gmail.com>
Recent Shooting at Virginia Tech: Looking Through Another Lens
By John Williams "A 1st Sergeant handed me an ammo box of 240 rounds: the blood-stained rounds that my best friend had been using when he was shot and killed in an ambush, on a patrol that he wasn't supposed to be on, one day after we were told we were going to be back home." -Toby Hartbarger, Army SPC For me, it was this story that my mind instantly recalled after I heard about the shootings in Virginia last week, for Virginia Tech leads U.S. civilian schools in sending officers to the U.S. Military. It was a terrible tragedy, and I had heard of similar events before, but my thoughts intensified because the killings hit so close to home. I realized then that so many people I know have experienced similar, instantaneously deep connections to other tragedies that have occurred in different ways across the globe. It is these lightning connections, these synapses firing without control, that I would like to address. The tragedy at Virginia Tech (VT) is not an isolated incident, or an anomaly. Though some argue that Cho was insane, and while I have no doubt this might be true, we as a society commit acts of similar insanity on a regular basis. We must take notice of the correlation between a guy like Cho and people like us. The articles I have read about Cho try so hard to push him away from what we are; he was a loner, crazy, friendless, different. We point at the connections between his plays and his actions and wonder why his actions weren't noticed, or prevented. But what if we turn the camera on ourselves? It is much harder to look at the things we do — the video-game realities we spend time in, the films we see and books we read that are bound with senseless killing and violence — and ask the same questions. There is a surge of inspection thrown onto this lone figure, Cho, yet we place hardly an ounce of introspection onto ourselves. I would love to believe that the VT shootings were an isolated incident, that they were an anomaly, that I do not live in a world where such things can happen. But violent destruction is far too common an occurrence for me to believe that this is true. In the span of four days just last week in Houston, Texas, there were three separate incidents of men shooting others before committing suicide. There is constant and recurrent violence in our streets every day, especially in communities rife with poverty and oppression, such as New Orleans. Every day Iraq sustains the level of two Virginia Tech massacres. Only two weeks ago, a student with a bomb killed 40 fellow students at the University of Baghdad. I could go on, but I think most people realize that terrible things are happening, in different ways, to different degrees. Yet so often it seems as if we isolate these incidents, and pretend they don't relate to the world at large. But they do. Last week we ran an editorial urging the country to leave those affected by the VT shootings a litle space. While allowing time for grief is one thing, removing yourself from the collective consciousness is another. Everyone has to spend some time in grief: we all have jobs and classes, lives to live, and I'm not asking anyone to stop all that. What I am asking is for you to take as much time as you can spare to engage in these issues; examine the ways in which you can change, we can change. Change personally, locally, nationally, and globally. Because these are not separate tragedies. Because we are all connected, and everything we do is connected. -- Original Source:City on a Hill Press - April 26, 2007
Security discussions arise after shootings
By Joel Runck Statesman Staff Reporter In light of the massacre at Virginia Tech on April 16, security protocols are being reevaluated and modified at campuses nationwide. UMD is also devising and implementing measures to improve security and emergency response. "I would say that the most effective means of notification that we have—and we've just installed this in the last six months— is our tone-alert radios," said Greg Fox, UMD vice chancellor of finance and operations. "Most frequently they would be used for weather emergencies, but they are also available for live-time communication for other emergencies as well." With 60 such radios distributed across major departments at UMD, locations in possession of tone-alert radios can correspond with agencies such as law enforcement and the National Weather Service during specific types of emergencies. "It's kind of the same philosophy as the old weather radios," said Joe Michela, director of UMD Auxiliary Services. "Now we have them around campus, but we have own antenna and receiver ... so that's how we get the message out to warn (people)." Michela said that during a gunman-at-large scenario, the radios would be used to notify campus police who would then notify Duluth police departments across the city. The most recent use of these radios other than monthly testing, occurred during the snowstorm closing in March. Currently, UMD has 10 licensed police officers on payroll and after massacre at Virginia Tech occurred, that same night, two officers were stationed throughout residence halls, according to Fox. In addition to police presence, Fox said that UMD has more than 100 surveillance cameras, which are primarily located in residence hall parking lots. Furthermore, Fox speculates that UMD will be receiving $300,000 from the U of M -Twin Cities Central Security to install cameras that will monitor people entering and exiting residence hall buildings. Other buildings under video surveillance include Swenson Science, the Sports and Health Center and the library. While deterrence is one measure, communicating during an emergency situation is quite another. On the day of the massacre at Virginia Tech, two individuals were gunned-down in a dormitory around 7:15 a.m. More than two hours later, 30 more people were killed in classrooms at Norris Hall, about a half-mile away on Tech's campus, according to the Associated Press. Tech sent out the first e-mail warning in regard to the first shooting at approximately 9:36 a.m. "E-mail was never intended to be a form of emergency communication," said Susan Latto, director of UMD Public Relations. On April 18, a bomb threat occurred at the U of M-Twin Cities campus, which resulted in the evacuations of several campus buildings. Latto, who has received training in emergency and crisis communication by both the State of Minnesota and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that UMD strives to have efficient response systems in place "It's like buying car insurance," Latto said. "You always hope that you will never get in an accident just because you have insurance." Certain students have not changed their behavior patterns since the Virginia Tech incident and feel a strong presence of security on-campus. "I spend most of my time in the Swenson building in the research wing," said fifth-year student Nate Bruender. "To get back there, you have to go through an alarm door with this video camera, so for me, it's not much of a worry." Other students echoed Bruender's response and feel secure at UMD. "I feel like the campus is pretty close-knit and so I don't have to go outside a lot," said freshman Grace Johnson. "I feel pretty safe in that way because a lot of doors are locked—especially at night." Both Fox and Latto said that students can do their part by reporting any suspicious behavior to authorities. "Don't be nervous about calling 911," Fox said. "(Authorities) want that call if there is a reason that you think your safety is impaired." -- Original Source:The Statesman - April 26, 2007
Statesman Editor-in-Chief Desk - Suraj Rambhia <eic@sbstatesman.org>
Our View is prepared by the Editorial Board which operates independently from the newsroom. By The Editorial Board On April 20, 1999, the United States watched in horror as the shootings at Columbine High School unfolded and sparked a series of high school violence that has ensued in the years after. As the shock of the initial shooting subsided, educators and students across the country scrambled to both understand and prepare themselves for this new and horrifying threat in American education. In the wake of last week's tragedy at Virginia Tech we can relate the emotion and logic of our response to Columbine as we struggle with the processes of grieving, understanding and preparing ourselves to trudge forward. While we will never entirely understand Seung-Hui Cho's motivation, feelings of anguish flood our mind as we try to comprehend the progression of his deadly thought-process. Although it is extremely difficult to find comfort following the deaths of so many, we can see as we did eight years ago that perhaps our best tools in the grieving process are overcoming and preparing as best we can for such events. Key to our understanding of these tragedies, is our attention to their most obvious similarities. The gunmen of Columbine, Virginia Tech and other schools across the country all felt they were waging a personal war with the world. While we are angry at them for their actions, if we can set aside those emotions and view them as victims of psychological disorders and an increasingly impersonal society, we can better grasp what led to these horrors. In doing such, we form a deep respect for our individual ability to prevent these atrocities by consciously guiding ourselves in being more aware, respectful and interactive with people we see on a daily basis. Our generation and the generations that will follow, live in a world where technological advancements allow us to move so rapidly that we can leave individuals behind and not even notice. While preventing these events must be our priority, we must also prepare for our reaction if they occur. Here at UMD for example, we can install locks on our classroom doors, public address systems, electronic command stations, etc. We can also publish lock-down procedures and ensure every campus community member knows what to do if anything were to happen. As we grieve for the victims of Virginia Tech, let us also move forward by devoting our individual and collective selves to preventing and preparing for a similar disaster. The most effective tool in ensuring our health and safety, which should be our number one priority, is not any piece of technology. Rather, it is our own attention to the people in the world around us. EDITORIAL BOARD: Karin Gelschus ~ Content Editor Joshua Newville ~ Editorial Writer Anna Woodwick ~ New Writers Editor -- Original Source:The Statesman - April 26, 2007
Country mourns and questions campus killings
By Lisa Kunkel Statesman Staff Reporter Horrific school shootings such as the Virginia Tech massacre leave people wondering what can possibly drive an individual to such extreme measures. Seung-Hui Cho took the lives of 33 people including himself at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va. Initially, "investigators offered no motive for the attack," read the article on Yahoo! News the day of the shooting, titled "Gunman kills 32 in Virginia Tech rampage." Witnesses said Cho shamelessly opened fire as if he had no victims in mind, leaving the event to appear to be a random act of violence. "It's hard to say what was random and what wasn't," said professor Emily Gaarder, of UMD's Department of Sociology/Anthropology. Monday's shooting reminds us of another tragic event that occurred eight years ago in Littleton, Col., where two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed 12 classmates and a teacher before taking their own lives at Columbine High School. Prior to Virginia Tech, the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history took place in 1966 in Austin at the University of Texas, where Charles Whitman climbed to the 28th floor observation deck killing 16 people before he was gunned down by police, according to MSNBC. These tragic events, along with many others, leave many boggled with one main question: What brings young people like Cho, Harris, Klebold and Whitman to commit such horrendous acts of violence? Cho chose to tell the world his motive in a shocking yet disturbing videotape mailed to NBC news network the day of the shooting. "You had a 100 billion chances and ways to have avoided today," Cho said in the footage. "But you decided to spill my blood. You forced me into a corner and gave me only one option. The decision was yours. Now you have blood on your hands that will never wash off." Though there is no motive that could ever make such a horrendous act acceptable, Cho's disturbing message does help to clarify what was going through his mind. In the case of Columbine, investigators worked to find the killers' drive for a long time. After years of research on the case, the FBI and its team have come to the conclusion that "the school served as means to a grander end, to terrorize the entire nation by attacking a symbol of American life," according to an article at slate.msn.com. AP PHOTO Student Gatane Gallagher, 19, cries at a memorial on Virginia Tech's drill field. Gaarder noticed that the cases at Columbine and other schools often followed a stereotypical trend where the perpetrator was an outcast who was bullied. However, these mass murderers can often be clinically labeled "psychopaths." "Because of their inability to appreciate the feeling of others, some psychopaths are capable of behavior that normal people find not only horrific but baffling," wrote Dr. Robert Hare, in "Without Conscious," a book about the disorder. "For example, they can torture and mutilate their victims with about the same sense of concern that we feel when we carve a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner." Gaarder also noted that it is typically men who are involved in these situations. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice note that "males represent 77 percent of homicide victims and nearly 90 percent of offenders," and "approximately one-third of murder victims and almost half the offenders are under the age of 25." AP PHOTO Student Gatane Gallagher, 19, cries at a memorial on Virginia Tech's drill field Gaarder said random acts of violence happen everyday to and from all sorts of people and that there might be ways to help prevent these acts. "Maybe one thing we could do is teach the emotional skills as well as intellectual skills to students," Gaarder said. Gaarder felt that people should come together to discuss what can be done to keep UMD safe aside from gun control and increased security. "It would be a good conversation for students and faculty to have together," Gaarder said. "Students are at the frontline of people who could help bring attention to this." Sociology/Anthropology Professor Robert Weidner teaches his students daily about crime and the media. "From a criminology standpoint, you can't study it," Weidner said. "The hindsight of it is 20:20." Weidner said that high school shootings are very rare events and college are even more rare. "School is the safest place to be," Weidner said. Less than 7 percent of all crimes occur in school, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice. "Violent victimization is 20 percent lower among college students compared to non-college 18-24 year olds," Weidner said. -- Original source:<a href=
Stanley Evans, Contributing Reporter Students and faculty, including senior administration, formed a maroon "V" and an orange "T" on Freiberger Field last Friday to show their support for the Virginia Tech community. The turnout included various professors and administrators, including the provosts. President Eastwood wore a maroon button-down shirt. From the top of Kelvin Smith Library, photographers and cameramen captured the event. Two poses were taken: one with participants looking up at the camera, another with heads bowed. The composition of the photographs is similar to those taken of incoming freshman classes spelled out to read "Case" or "CWRU." "I think a lot of people really wanted to show their support to the community of Virginia Tech and I think that sentiment is only stronger if we do this as a large campus group as we are now," said Andrew Witte, who pinned a maroon and orange ribbon to his shirt. Three local television news teams and a Plain Dealer reporter were on hand to record the event. Student and faculty were interviewed, and students were asked to read biographies of the victims for a camera. Some students seemed skeptical of the coverage. "I think Case does this kind of stuff for the publicity," said a student who wished to remain anonymous. However, she was wearing maroon and orange and posed as part of the human letters. The USG executive board organized the event. Other organizations involved were the University Program Board, Class Officers Collective, Interfraternity Congress, Panhellenic Council, Residence Hall Association, and Media Board. Other events included painting the wall outside of Thwing in memoriam and a card signing in Thwing last Friday. The cards and pictures were sent to Virginia Tech on Monday. "I know we can't compare to their loss, but we at least are trying to do something," said Jose Baez. -- Original Source:The Observer - April 26, 2007
Reflections on a Mass Homicide (Commentary)
(PDF, 30KB; Full text below.) Commentary Reflections on a Mass Homicide Jimmy Lee,1 MBBS, MMed (Psych), Tih-Shih Lee,1,2 MD, PhD, FRCP (C), Beng-Yeong Ng,1 MBBS, MMed (Psych), FAMS 1 Department of Psychiatry, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore2 Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore Address for Correspondence: Dr Tih-Shih Lee, Department of Psychiatry, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Outram Road, Singapore 169608. Email: tihshih.lee@gms.edu.sg Introduction The names "Virginia Tech" and "Cho" will be associated forever with the tragic mass homicide of 32 persons cum suicide by Seung-Hui Cho on 16 April 2007. In the aftermath, many questions have been posed: "What happened and why?", "Was he crazy?", "Could it have been prevented?", "Could it happen here?" This was the third mass killing in a US campus, with the largest number of fatalities. The first was in 1966 in the University of Texas with 16 dead and 31 wounded, then the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, in which 13 students were killed. We do not profess to know more about what happened in Blacksburg, Virginia, or Cho's neuropsychiatric condition than whatever is published in the popular press.1 But through a series of questions, we reflect on this tragedy, attempt to place it into a human and psychiatric perspective, and offer insights into if, and how, it can be averted in the future. Question 1: Was Cho insane? Cho was described as a shy and quiet child, who was good in mathematics, but struggled with English. There were allegations of him being taunted and bullied in school since young. Both his pastor and relatives had suspected he might be autistic and suggested professional assistance. There was no record of him being involved in overt violence except that he had harassed 2 female classmates, one of whom called in the campus police. He expressed suicidal ideation and was involuntarily committed by a judge in a mental health facility briefly for assessment. A psychiatrist wrote in his chart, "Affect is flat and mood is depressed" and "Insight and judgment are normal," and released him. He was supposed to have been on some treatment regimen but may not have adhered to it. In English Literature classes he wrote on haunting themes of violence and death. Moreover, from the rantings of his final macabre video, it can be inferred that he had grandiose and persecutory thoughts. One could conceivably argue that anybody who murders en masse and then commit suicide must be insane. But insanity is an imprecise term that is no longer in the psychiatric lexicon. So we ask if he met criteria for a diagnosis based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) or International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD-10)? Or was he of a criminal antisocial or psychopathic mind? Unfortunately without having interviewed him or having access to his records, we cannot say for sure. We could speculate that he was depressed with delusional thoughts, and perhaps had undiagnosed Asperger's disorder (a mild variant of autism), or was taking illicit substances. But we do not have enough evidence to be certain of a definitive psychiatric condition that could account for his extremely violent behaviour. Question 2: Was it due to psychosocial developmental difficulties? Cho emigrated at the age of 8 years from South Korea and had difficulty speaking English. He was reportedly ostra-cised by his classmates and was isolated. The effects of migration on mental health are well described in the litera-ture. In the US, alienation is a problem for many Asians. Among Southeast Asians, the Hmong feel the most alien-ated, followed by Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese.2 Many symptoms could be due to acculturative difficulties, racism, and overwork. A migrant faces difficulties with 3 main areas; changes in social environment, changes in interpersonal relations, and cultural differences.3 Reports from those who knew Cho strongly supported the roles of these 3 factors in his maladjustment to the new country. From his video and writings, it is evident that he had tremendous envy and rage projected onto better-adjusted and well-to-do American kids. Southeast Asian refugees have higher rates of brief reactive psychosis and paranoid psychosis compared to other Americans.4,5 Sometimes paranoia develops among Southeast Asians when they are dealing with a new environment and experiencing "varying degrees of miscommunication, fear of rejection, and feeling mistreated, slighted or discriminated against".6 Psychosis among Southeast Asians can take the form found in many ethnic groups, e.g. "Aliens' paranoid psychosis", a syndrome characterised by a usually short-lived xenophobia and by feelings of persecution because one belongs to an ethnic minority group.7 On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of immigrants and minorities are well-adjusted and functioning, despite having endured many of the same stressors that Cho endured. In particular, his sister, who shares much of his genetic substrate and environmental milieu, had apparently been doing very well. Many immigrants may have coping difficulties, but they do not usually resort to violence. The other 2 campus mass murderers were neither immigrants nor from minority groups. So, whereas difficulties relating to migration probably played a part in his violence, it would be simplistic to attribute it to primarily these stressors. Instead it would be a disservice to the large immigrant and ethnic minority communities. Question 3: What factors may have precipitated Cho's sudden outburst? There is a small literature considering situational factors and triggers that have consistently been found to be important in initiating a homicidal episode. Triggers for murder in Ressler et al's study8 included financial, legal, employment, marital and other conflicts. Emotional states such as frustration, anger, hostile moods, and feeling agitated and excited were reported at a lower frequency. Levin9 has offered a four-factor model of sudden indiscriminate mass killing. First, the potential offender has led a "life of frustration"; second, he has access to, and the ability to use, firearms; thirdly, there is a significant destabilising experience of a loss of "social controls", such as moving to a new area or the loss of an important relationship; fourth, there must be a precipitating event such as unemployment or divorce. Gresswell and Hollin10 have suggested that a more useful way of conceptualising the "firearms" component would be to consider that a fascination with weapons indicates a style of coping with stress, frustration, and low self-esteem that includes violent fantasies involving weapons. In such cases, the nature of such fantasies may be the best predictor of a homicidal response to a stressful event. Questions 4: Is there a neurological basis for aggression? Aggression refers to behaviour that is intended to cause harm, and is the behavioural manifestation of disturbances in the brain or mind. We now have some, though incomplete, appreciation of various neuroanatomical structures that may be involved in aggression. These structures include the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hypothalamus, and temporal lobe. In particular, some evidence suggests frontal lobe dysfunction in violent and criminal behaviour, especially in the presence of focal orbitofrontal lobe injuries.11 Brower and Price11 proposed that clinically significant focal frontal lobe dysfunction is associated with aggressive dyscontrol. Orbitofrontal syndrome is associated with behavioural excesses, impulsivity, disinhibition and mood lability. Outbursts of rage and violent behaviour occur after damage to the inferior orbital surface.12 Abnormal brain concentrations of the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid are implicated in impulsivity and aggression.13 Pharmaco-therapy with selective serotonergic reuptake antagonists, antipsychotics as well as mood stabilisers have all been used in treatment, with mixed results. Studies of aggression in patients with brain injury suggest that their aggression tends to be (1) reactive, i.e., triggered by modest stimuli; (2) non-reflective, i.e., not premeditated or planned; (3) non-purposeful, i.e., does not serve long-term goals; (4) explosive; (5) periodic; and (6) ego-dystonic.12 Some of these features describe Cho's aggression. But we do not know, and may never know, if a definable lesion was present in Cho's brain, or if present, whether that was severe enough to account for the violent behaviour. With the evolving science on aggression, a discussion about "nature versus nurture" often arises, i.e. whether murderers are born or bred. Research has now demonstrated that genetic aberration per se is not the sole reason leading to violence; environmental factors such as childhood adversities play a significant part in the development of violent behaviour.14 Gene expression is influenced by environmental factors, and brain circuits are affected by life experiences. Question 5: How is dangerousness assessed? Psychiatrists are often called upon to determine how much a threat someone will pose to others and society, also known as dangerousness. Dangerousness is a subjective assessment of the element of danger attributed to a particular person and is qualitative in nature. Predicting dangerousness, particularly in an extreme form such as mass homicide, has been an elusive goal for those investigators who have attempted it. It is often said that "Hindsight is 20/20". When a person is exposed to be a murderer, we tend to focus on those warning signs in his character and biography that were previously ignored. For a category of violence such as mass homicide, however, the low base rate and consequent likelihood of finding false-positive results are overwhelming.15 Just as in Cho's instance, numerous questions were raised about the concerns of his teachers and the psychiatric assessment in November 2005. It must be emphasised that the assessment of dangerousness is not an exact science, and cannot yield a black-and-white result of "dangerous" versus "not dangerous". In our psychiatric assessments, we weigh various factors such as past history of violence, history of mental illness, personality, social background, context and state of mind in which dangerous behaviours manifest. Past behavioural patterns provide the best insight into future behaviours. However, the accuracy of dangerousness assessments quoted in the literature is as low as 0.33.16 Mossman17 in 1994 extracted 58 datasets from 44 published studies, and revealed that mental health professionals' violence predictions were better than chance. Current risk assessment tools such as the Historical/Clinical/Risk Management 20-item (HCR-20)18 and Psychopathy Checklist (revised) (PCL-R)19 offer a structured and more systematic approach to violence prediction, but none could tell with consistent (surely not 100%) accuracy that a person would re-offend. Homicide is clearly the most serious of all crimes. Approximately two-thirds of homicides involve the killing of a victim by a partner, relative, friend or acquaintance. This may partly explain why the clear-up rate for these crimes is particularly high - the police do not need to look very far in order to solve the majority of murders.20 The relation between mental illness and dangerous behaviours has been overemphasised, especially in the eyes of the public. There is a tendency to believe that murderers are mentally ill. However, a recent study among homicides in Singapore showed that 57% of murderers have no mental illness. Out of the 110 charged with murder, depressive disorders accounted for 9.1% and schizophrenia, 6.4%.21 The proportion of foreigners (defined here as non-citizens and non-permanent residents) who committed murder in Singapore was significantly higher compared with locals, which supports the earlier point about the stressors of migration. Also, foreigners tend to suffer from more serious psychiatric disorders, are less likely to have a known history of violence, and are more likely to be new to psychiatric services.22 This implies that the first violent outburst is usually the first presentation to psychiatric services. Cho did not have a history of overt violence prior to April 16. Question 6: What about the psychological trauma to family and friends of the victims? For those who saw their friends getting shot and killed, those who were injured and those who survived unharmed, the families and friends of the victims, it would be very difficult to collectively summarise the ordeal they went and are still going through, as each will have their own individual experience of it. Some may be at high risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but others will cope fairly well with milder symptoms. But it is safe to say that life will never be the same again. And we must not forget the hapless and unfortunate family of Cho, whose suffering cannot be fathomed. There were positive measures taken by the school and public authorities in the aftermath that are worth learning. The measures included leave from school, time and ceremony to grief, and the provision of counsellors to all students of the school. School events such as examinations and convocation ceremonies continued as usual in an attempt to restore normalcy. The telecast of Cho's video on national TV was highly controversial. Many others around the world later saw Cho's nefarious video and images of the "massacre". The national broadcast potentially traumatised viewers and re-traumatised survivors. In addition, it helped Cho achieved his aim of broadcasting his views, possibly achieving "martyrdom", and it may inadvertently encourage copycat murderers, as if a race were on to increase the body count. We would strongly urge that TV network companies and their regulating agencies revisit the guidelines and regulations on such telecasts. Question 7: Can it happen to us? Mass murder in a US school or college is a relatively rare event - three times in 40 years, despite the widespread availability of firearms and the large numbers of disenfranchised youths. Hence, it can be described as a low-probability, catastrophic-outcome event, like an earthquake occurring on a given day. The probability of its happening is very low, but once it hits, the results may be catastrophic. For countries with strict firearm and explosive control laws, the risk of a mass murder on the same scale is much lower. With the benefit of hindsight, to discuss what the psychiatrist or the judge should have diagnosed or done is moot now. There was and always will be a balance between protection for society and infringement of the individual's civil liberties. This dilemma is all the more difficult if the assessment is made before a crime is actually committed. It would be virtually impossible for a psychiatrist to predict which of the patients would commit violence, least of all mass murder. If the decision is to commit the patients as a preventive measure, how long should the internment last, and who would set him free? Nevertheless, for psychiatrists and all doctors, this is a timely reminder to be thorough and diligent in the assessment for dangerousness, and to acknowledge that we are far from perfect in our assessments. Under Section 34 of the Mental Disorders and Treatment Act (1973, revised in 1985), any registered physician in Singapore may refer a patient suspected to be of unsound mind or requiring psychiatric treatment to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for evaluation and treatment. IMH is the only gazetted mental hospital that has the statutory authority to hold patients involuntarily, should the person be deemed to be suffering from a mental illness, and detention serves the person's best interests and those of other persons. For the majority of patients who are deemed not to need involuntary hospitalisation, there is little we can do to enforce treatment, other than relying on the family to supervise medications and appointments. If we suspect that a patient may pose a specific threat to another person, we may face an ethical dilemma with regard to confidentiality. This issue brings us back to the landmark Tarasoff case where the Californian courts found the therapist negligent for not warning the intended victim of a threat.23 Kok et al24 discussing this case with regard to the applicability of the Tarasoff ruling in Singapore, concluded that in the absence of local case law, a psychiatrist caught in this situation should consult the Singapore Medical Council prior to breaching doctor-patient confidentiality. The Cho case also brings to mind the problems of troubled youths in Singapore - a combination of disengagement from society, low self-esteem, poor coping with rising expectations, and academic pressures. These forces predispose them to seek alternative forms of release and validation, such as using illicit substances and joining street gangs. Therefore, parents and school authorities should always be on the lookout for troubled or poorly adjusted youths. If need be, they should be referred to mental health professionals for evaluation and treatment. Another lesson in the local context would be for us, as a society, to be more tolerant and empathic to those who are less well-adjusted and successful, especially foreigners and migrants, so as to minimise resentment and wrath. Conclusion In summary, as we try to make sense of this apparently senseless violence, we find ourselves in the recurring debate of nature versus nurture. We probably will never know what Cho was really thinking when he pulled the trigger repeatedly, or nor can we be sure if he had a psychiatric condition that fulfilled DSM IV or ICD-10 criteria. Our hypothesis is that he had an underlying neurobiological or genetic vulnerability; he endured developmental psychosocial stressors in a chronic invalidating environment; and that finally some yet unknown "third-hit" triggered his rampage. Nevertheless, we highlight the need for thorough assessments of dangerousness by mental health professionals despite the limitations of our tools; the need for a system to attend to the psychological anguish of the survivors and loved ones of the victims; and the need for us collectively to adopt a more empathic stance towards our less fortunate brethren. We also remember the 33 lives extinguished and countless more traumatised on that Spring day in 2007. REFERENCES Thomas E. Special Report: Making of a Massacre. Newsweek April 30, 2007:18-30. Nicassio P. Psychosocial correlates of alienation: study of a sample of Indochinese refugees. J Cross-cultural Psychol 1983;14:337-51. Moilanen I, Myhrman A, Ebeling H, Penninkilampi V, Vuorenkoski L. Long-term outcome of migration in childhood and adolescence. Int J Circumpolar Health 1998;57:180-7. Nicassio P. The psychosocial adjustment of the Southeast Asian refugee: an overview of empirical findings and theoretical models. 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Ann Acad Med Singapore 2002;31:535-6. -- Archived with permission of the editor. Original Source: Annals, Academy of Medicine, Singapore, June 2007, Vol. 36 No. 6 http://annals.edu.sg/PDF/36VolNo6Jun2007/V36N6p444.pdf
Jimmy Lee, Tih-Shih Lee, and Beng-Yeong Ng
Kirat Kaur (Ms) Editorial Executive Annals, Academy of Medicine, Singapore annals@academyofmedicine.edu.sg
Kevin Granata, PhD (December 29, 1961–April 16, 2007) [Obituary]
(PDF, 172KB; Full text below.) Kevin Granata, PhD (December 29, 1961-April 16, 2007) [Obituary] Marras, William S. PhD; Stokes, Ian A. F. PhD; Abel, Mark F. MD Address correspondence to William S. Marras, PhD, E-mail: marras.1@osu.edu; Ian A. F. Stokes, PhD, E-mail: istokes@uvm.edu; and/or Mark F. Abel, MD, E-mail: MFA2M@hscmail.mcc.virginia.edu Kevin Granata, PhD, died tragically at the age of 45 on April 16, 2007 on the campus of Virginia Tech where he had worked since 2003. He had started the Musculoskeletal Biomechanics lab at Virginia Tech and held the rank of Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics. Dr. Granata was a prolific and innovative contributor to the field of spinal biomechanics. Dr. Granata earned a PhD in biomechanics in the Biodynamics Laboratory at Ohio State University in 1993, where he used both analytical models and experiments with human subjects to determine the magnitude of muscle forces around the lumbar spine in the work place. His early contributions in this area dealt with integrating electromyographic (EMG) data into analytical models, reflex responses to loads, and the relationship to trunk stability. He also expanded understanding of how brain injury in children with cerebral palsy interferes with balance and movement, using his training in dynamics and control theory. Dr. Granata was one of the most gifted engineers in the field of biomechanics. His scientific achievements are documented in 66 peer-reviewed articles published in a broad range of scientific journals, including Spine. His extraordinary productivity in his tragically shortened career was directed especially at two areas of control theory applied to neuromuscular control of movement—movement impairments in people with cerebral palsy and dynamic aspects of trunk stability. He introduced new and challenging concepts, questioning the accepted paradigms. He pioneered the idea of reflex dynamics in trunk stability, representing the trunk as a multi-joint system stabilized by muscles having activation dependent stiffness and reflex delays with variable gain. This was tested in critical experiments involving pseudo-random perturbations of human subjects, with the data subjected to nonlinear systems-identification analyses. His most recent paper establishes the necessity for having reflex muscle responses in the control of spinal stability. He was extraordinarily talented in his thinking, in attracting the best students, and tenacious in obtaining funding and pursuing rigorous peer-reviewed publications for his work. Visiting his lab was exhilarating. In all areas of his research, he combined innovative theoretical models and tested them in cunningly designed experiments using human subjects. He undertook ambitious clinical gait studies, including pre- and postoperative comparisons, to identify interactions between gait patterns and recruitment of multi-joint limb muscles. These theories are now making their way into clinical practice. Dr. Granata was extremely logical and had a keen intellect. He was a big picture thinker and possessed a "moral intellect;" he always tried to do the right thing. He was a gifted lecturer and teacher, and a great mentor to his students whom he respected, and from whom he commanded respect. While he delved into complex concepts to spinal stability, he was able to make these concepts understandable to everyone; he loved to use simple models to clarify complex theoretical ideas. Like most successful people, Kevin Granata was determined, tough, disciplined, and highly educated. His Ohio upbringing included farm work, carpentry, athletics, and of course academics. Kevin was clearly a whole person; he was a consummate educator, a man of action, and a compassionate family man. His immediate family that survives him includes his wife, Linda, and three beautiful, bright children to whom he was devoted. It is estimated that Kevin Granata's memorial service was attended by nearly 1000 people; he touched the lives of so many. He will be sorely missed by numerous colleagues around the country, around the world, and by the generations of students whom he has mentored. -- Archived with permission of publisher. Original Source: Spine, Volume 32(16), 15 July 2007, p 1699 http://www.spinejournal.com/pt/re/spine/abstract.00007632-200707150-00002.htm;jsessionid=GSpb6WnRHjhjVGPCh7MRpZJ1pL1GG6YHGZ40vRNxnzLcQntGSlB3!-79285651!181195629!8091!-1
William S. Marras, Ian A. F. Stokes, and Mark F. Abel
David O'Brien Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Medical Research, a division of Wolters Kluwer Health Worldwide Copyright Management Group Licensing Manager 351 W. Camden St. Baltimore, MD 21201 + 1 410.528.4016 PH + 1 410.528.8550 FX David.OBrien@wolterskluwer.com
Overview of the findings and recommendations of the April 16 tragedy internal review committees
By Larry Hincker BLACKSBURG, Va., August 22, 2007 -- On May 9, 2007, Virginia Tech President Charles Steger directed three internal reviews in the wake of the April 16 tragedy on the Virginia Tech campus. He directed the chairs "to look at strengths and weaknesses of our existing systems/infrastructure and how they may be improved or augmented to address emergency situations that might arise in the future." These reviews are internal in structure and focus and not intended to be forensic in nature. Says Steger, "I asked for the creation of two different, but concurrent review processes. The external review commissioned by Governor Kaine is essentially investigatory in nature, while ours is a forward looking review of university policy, resources, and infrastructure through the prism of April 16." The Security Infrastructure Group was charged with examining the university's existing security systems and recommending changes that would enhance the university's ability to respond quickly and effectively in situations where the safety of the campus community is jeopardized. This group was also directed to identify strategies that might decrease the probability of such situations occurring, looking at both technological and behavioral aspects. The Information and Communications Infrastructure Group analyzed and inventoried the communication infrastructure and information systems used during the crisis period, evaluated their performance, and identifies tactics and strategies for improvements. The Interface Group evaluated the relationships between the university's student counseling services, academic affairs, judicial affairs, and the legal system. It was charged with examining the existing systems and the interface between them and determining what constraints, legal or otherwise, hamper effective interactions in order to respond to and support at-risk students. Security Infrastructure Group Among its findings the security infrastructure group found good cooperation and sound agreements between Virginia Tech and local police, fire, and EMS jurisdictions including ongoing training exercises; sound emergency communications; robust communications infrastructure; a sound emergency preparedness plan; engagement of the leadership in campus emergencies; and a nationally accredited campus police department. The security group recommends enhancements in physical infrastructure, emergency communications, emergency preparedness, and selected protocols. Infrastructure recommendations include modification of building door hardware, installation of locks on general assignment classrooms, evaluating the utility of centrally controlled electronic key card access to key academic and administrative facilities (such as the system currently in place on all residence halls), constructing a public safety building combining the university police and rescue squad, and evaluating installation of centrally monitored video surveillance cameras. Communications recommendations include mass notification techniques within classrooms and other locations, message board in key or high profile public areas and along major vehicular thoroughfares, a people locator system, and further articulation of the recently adopted VT Alerts notification system. Emergency preparedness recommendations include updating the emergency preparedness plan, more frequent emergency exercises or drills, creation of building coordinators for emergencies, and identification of backups for the policy committee (university leadership with oversight of an emergency). Protocols include increased education of the university community about appropriate emergency response actions and creation of a comprehensive security master plan and campus security committee. Read the full Security Infrastructure Group report (PDF) ›› Information and Communications Infrastructure Group Broadly defined, telecommunications comprises the university's data network, telephone systems (university and/or vendor owned), cable TV, educational systems, and centralized information services. They were dramatically stressed but performed adequately during the crisis. The university on-campus phone system was not degraded but was affected by external problems. External cellular telephone systems and the Public Switched Telephone Network (hardwire telephone systems off campus) experienced huge demand increases and experienced some blocking of calls during the initial periods of the crisis on April 16. Other university systems experienced some loading, which were quickly identified and rectified, and performed well with no significant problems. For example, the university website www.vt.edu saw a 3,000 percent increase in traffic on April 16, Virginia Tech Police dispatch experienced 450 percent increase, and the university switchboard experienced a 300 percent increase in calls. Emergency Responder Radio Communication continues to suffer nationally and locally from "interoperability" issues because they use a variety of radio systems and frequencies. Radio systems typically do not support mobile data, encryption, GIS, or other advanced capabilities. Indicative of relatively common signal penetration problems in large buildings, emergency responders reported that radios did not work in some areas of Norris Hall. This group provides a series of strategic and tactical recommendations. The full report details more than 120 tactical recommendations. Two major strategies emerge: 1) Installation of a new fully integrated digital campus architecture for all telecommunications functions based on Internet Protocol (IP). The new system, based on a diverse optical core and including wireless and wired access, would fully integrate all telecommunications functions including voice, video, data, entertainment, and educational systems. This system could remediate every problem and enable every innovation identified by the study committee. 2) Make selected research and administrative IT capabilities available to local first responders to improve radio communications capabilities. In addition to improving interoperability problems, the new systems would be integrated with IP based information architecture allowing new applications such as GIS, identity management, sensor networks, location awareness, high-speed links to criminal information databases. Read the full Information and Communications Infrastructure Group report (PDF) ›› Interface Group The Interface Group looked at policies, procedures, capabilities and interdepartmental relationships and communications for the selected areas related to identifying and supporting at-risk students. By its nature the system was found to be logically connected and responsive. The Division of Student Affairs is at the core and supported by and interacting with law enforcement, the academic enterprise, and other university resources offices. Consistent with the national findings of the federal report commissioned by President Bush, the Interface Group found some confusion about applicability and interpretation of privacy laws among some offices or faculty. To some extent, this created internal silos and feedback problems preventing some offices from having salient information on students at risk. The "system may not be robust enough to provide the kind of analysis that is warranted by more complex, high risk cases... with need for significant mental health services." The committee makes a series of recommendations under three broad themes: 1. Expanding Capacity in the System Refining and expanding the Care Team, a key SA group that identifies and responds to students at risk (among other responsibilities), including addition of VTPD to standing membership and connecting academic personnel to deliberations where appropriate. Creating a Threat Assessment Team charged with examining the most complex cases of distressed students and empowering it to act quickly, when necessary. Expanding Case Management Capacity by adding case managers to the Dean of Students office and Cook Counseling Center to improve follow-up with students and to improve information flow through appropriate units about students at risk. 2. Improving Communications in the System Improve Communications in the Systems with particular emphasis on privacy law education throughout the university, clarifying policies for communications with external agencies, establishing a central university contact with a clear picture of distressed students. 3. Connecting Strategies for Identifying and Supporting at Risk Students to the Broader University Plan for Campus Safety Expanding Training of Administrators, Faculty, and Staff in Violence Prevention recognizing the campus safety is the province of all university employees to some extent. Extending the University-wide Violence Prevention Policy to integrate the numerous university-wide efforts to enhance campus safety. Building Community to Promote Individual and Community Well Being Virginia Tech has a strong, supportive, and vibrant community which is essential in creating a safe campus environment with very good policies and support systems. However, it is recommended that a more systematic approach be instituted with campus well-being as a goal. Read the full Interface Group report (PDF) ›› Read and/or listen to formal statements regarding the reports: Charles W. Steger, president (MS Word) | Listen James A. Hyatt, executive vice president and chief operating officer (MS Word) | Listen Earving L. Blythe, vice president for information technology (MS Word) | Listen Jerry Niles, retired dean, College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences (MS Word) | Listen Contact Larry Hincker at hincker@vt.edu or (540) 231-5396. ##07433## -- Original Source: Virginia Tech News http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2007&itemno=459
Consolation during the August 19th memorial dedication
Report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel
Mass Shootings at Virginia Tech April 16, 2007 Report of the Review Panel Presented to Governor Kaine Commonwealth of Virginia August 2007 Cover (pdf, 224kb) Inside Cover (pdf, 39kb) Table of Contents (pdf, 52kb) Dedication (pdf, 525kb) Foreward (pdf, 62kb) Acknowledgements (pdf, 51kb) Summary of Key Findings (pdf, 72kb) Chapters I - Background and Scope (pdf, 100kb) II - University Setting Security (pdf, 647kb) III - Timeline of Events (pdf, 103kb) IV - Mental Health History of Seung Hui Cho (pdf, 280kb) V - Information Privacy Laws (pdf, 156kb) VI - Gun Purchase and Campus Policies (pdf, 111kb) VII - Double Murder at West Ambler Johnston (pdf, 297kb) VIII - Mass Murder at Norris Hall (pdf, 399kb) IX - Emergency Medical Services Response (pdf, 855kb) X - Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (pdf, 175kb) XI - Immediate Aftermath and the Long Road to Healing (pdf, 177kb) Appendices A - Executive Order 53 (pdf, 932kb) B - Individuals Interviewed by Research Panel (pdf, 94kb) C - Public Meeting Agenda (pdf, 155kb) D - Recommendations on Revised Methodology (pdf, 79kb) E - Virginia Tech Guidelines for Choosing Alerting System (pdf, 54kb) F - Active Shooter Excerpt from University of Virginia Emergency Response Plan (pdf, 65kb) G - Guidance Letters on Interpretation of FERPA and HIPAA Rules from U.S. Department Of Education (pdf, 5.85MB) H - Summary of Information Privacy Laws and Guidance from U.S. Department of Education (pdf, 87kb) I - Federal and Virginia Gun Purchaser Forms (pdf, 2.87MB) J - Notification of Adjudication of Involuntary Commitment or Incapacitation (pdf, 512kb) K - Articles on Mixture of Guns and Alcohol on Campus (pdf, 790kb) L - Fatal School Shootings in the United States: 1966-2007 (pdf, 1.75MB) M - Red Flags, Warning Signs and Indicators (pdf, 68kb) N - A Theoretical Profile of Seung Hui Cho (pdf, 48kb) -- Original Sources: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/TempContent/techPanelReport.cfm http://www.vtreviewpanel.org/report/index.html