Remembering the Fallen
description: 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
creator: Christina Parrish
publisher: SMU Daily Campus
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: "Norris, Mark William" <mnorris@mail.smu.edu>
language: eng

Senate acknowledges Virginia Tech shooting
description: 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
creator: Sara AA Hood
publisher: SMU Daily Campus
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: "Norris, Mark William" <mnorris@mail.smu.edu>
language: eng

SMU says it's ready for campus emergencies
description: 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 SM…
creator: Mark Norris
publisher: SMU Daily Campus
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: "Norris, Mark William" <mnorris@mail.smu.edu>
language: eng

The Virginia Tech massacre: Ed Board doesn't agree with the crisis policy or the media coverage
description: 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 precaut…
creator: The Daily Campus Ed Board
publisher: SMU Daily Campus
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: "Norris, Mark William" <mnorris@mail.smu.edu>
language: eng

Privacy Laws Should Be Changed
description: 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 ill…
creator: Alex Sanders
publisher: The Daily Campus
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: Melissa Bruen <eic@dailycampus.com>
language: eng

Campus Saftey Measures Must Be Sensible
description: 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 UCo…
creator: Daily Campus Editorial Board
publisher: The Daily Campus
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: Melissa Bruen <eic@dailycampus.com>
language: eng

Stop To Remember Our True Heroes
description: 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 Briti…
creator: Kyle Thomas
publisher: The Daily Campus
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: Melissa Bruen <eic@dailycampus.com>
language: eng

Fred Phelps And A Final Farewell
description: 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 C…
creator: Laura Alix
publisher: The Daily Campus
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: Melissa Bruen <eic@dailycampus.com>
language: eng

University tragedy
description: 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
creator: Freesia Singngam
publisher: The Daily Campus
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: Melissa Bruen <eic@dailycampus.com>
language: eng

CHP Reflections on Virginia Tech
description: 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 i…
creator: Op/Ed
publisher: City On A Hill Press
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: Claire Walla <cityonahillpress@gmail.com>
language: eng

Recent Shooting at Virginia Tech: Looking Through Another Lens
description: 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 worl…
creator: John Williams
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
language: eng

Security discussions arise after shootings
description: 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…
creator: Joel Runck
publisher: The Statesman
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: Statesman Editor-in-Chief Desk - Suraj Rambhia <eic@sbstatesman.org>
language: eng

THE STATESMAN: Our View
description: 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 the…
creator: Editorial Board
publisher: The Statesman
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: Statesman Editor-in-Chief Desk - Suraj Rambhia <eic@sbstatesman.org>
language: eng

Country mourns and questions campus killings
description: 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 c…
creator: Lisa Kunkel
publisher: The Statesman
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: Statesman Editor-in-Chief Desk - Suraj Rambhia <eic@sbstatesman.org>
language: eng

Campus reaches out to Virginia Tech
description: 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
creator: Stanley Evans
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: Margaret Grady <observer@case.edu>
language: eng

Reflections on a Mass Homicide (Commentary)
description: (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…
creator: Jimmy Lee, Tih-Shih Lee, and Beng-Yeong Ng
date: 2007-08-26
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Kirat Kaur (Ms) Editorial Executive Annals, Academy of Medicine, Singapore annals@academyofmedicine.edu.sg
language: eng

Kevin Granata, PhD (December 29, 1961–April 16, 2007) [Obituary]
description: (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 stabi…
creator: William S. Marras, Ian A. F. Stokes, and Mark F. Abel
date: 2007-08-26
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: 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
language: eng

Overview of the findings and recommendations of the April 16 tragedy internal review committees
description: 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 an…
creator: Larry Hincker
date: 2007-08-26
contributor: Brent Jesiek
language: eng

https://april16archive.org/items/show/1241
description: Consolation during the August 19th memorial dedication
creator: Mark Umansky
date: 2007-08-29
contributor: Mark Umansky
language: eng

Report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel
description: 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
creator: Virginia Tech Review Panel
date: 2007-08-30
contributor: Brent Jesiek
language: eng