Case students, community show support for Virginia Tech
April 19, 2007 On Friday, April 20, dozens of Case Western Reserve University students and other members of the campus community became honorary "Hokies" in spirit. They wore maroon and orange - the Virginia Tech school colors - in a show of solidarity and support. To remember and honor fellow students, faculty, staff and administrators who lost their lives or were injured at Virginia Tech earlier this week, several of Case Western Reserve's student organizations joined together to create a large "card" and a campus photo. All members of the university community were invited to sign the card, offering heartfelt prayers and words of healing and remembrance to their peers in Blacksburg, Va. In addition to the card, a photographer stood atop Kelvin Smith Library to take a photo of Case Western Reserve community members wearing maroon and orange - forming the letters VT - on Freiberger Field. Both the card and the photo will be sent to the Virginia Tech Student Union with hope that it will be displayed there. Students also redesigned - overnight - the university's large "graffiti" wall behind Thwing Center, the university's own student union. The wall now features a large VT and the words "You are in our thoughts," signed with a university logo. Organizations involved in creating these efforts included: Undergraduate Student Government, University Program Board, Class Officers Collective, Interfraternity Congress, Panhellenic Council, Residence Hall Association and Media Board. Posted by: Paula Baughn, April 19, 2007 02:31 PM -- Original Source: http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2007/04/19/vatechsupport
Creado por Julio Suárez Anturi 20 de abril de 2007 SÃ­, muchas cosas resultan increíbles en el caso del joven estudiante de Virginia Tech -EE.UU.-, Cho. Y dignas de evaluar desde el punto de vista comunicacional. Lo primero sobrecogedor, por supuesto, es el hecho de que a los 23 años decida matar una treintena de personas y suicidarse enseguida. Eso, habla mal de la juventud con sueños y futuro. Lo siguiente que llama la atención es que Cho haya demorado más de 2 horas para hacer todo lo que hizo. Tuvo tiempo, inclusive, para poner en un sobre varias fotografías, muchos minutos de video y un texto explicativo de su conducta. Después, puso el sobre al correo. El contenido de este sobre llegó a la cadena de televisión NBC, remitido por A Ihsmael, que fue como firmó Cho Seung Hui. La cadena de televisión decidió emitir ayer parte del material, un segmento del video en el que Cho hace una arenga contra los ricos. ¿Debió haber puesto al aire esas imágenes de Cho? ¿Estimulará con ello a otros jóvenes, probablemente perturbados mentalmente? ¿Qué aporte hizo NBC emitiendo ese video? Me llamaron la atención las apreciaciones del actual consultor de la ABC televisión, y ex presidente de la NBC, Richard Wald, conocidas hoy sobre los acontecimientos. Aportan una mirada distinta, que es la que deseo compartir e invito a leer con detenimiento. Quizás Wald despoja de cierto fetichismo este tipo de discusiones y recoloca los elementos sin mediatizar una valoración moral, sino informativa. Destaco únicamente lo que considero que es una visión desintoxicada: ¿Cree que la NBC hizo bien al divulgar las imágenes? -El principio en la organización de noticias es y debe ser decirle a la audiencia lo máximo que se pueda, y el problema en este caso es una cuestión de gusto, no de hechos. ¿Pero las imágenes no estimulan a otros estudiantes perturbados a hacer lo mismo para ser famosos? -No creo que las imágenes divulgadas vayan a agravar o no un problema. No está claro que la difusión por sí sola haga que alguien lo imite. La NBC, al divulgar las imágenes, ¿no cumplió con lo que un perturbado como Cho pretendía? -¿Y no crees que cualquiera en el mundo está interesado en lo que había en la mente de esta persona y lo que intentaba hacer? ¿Qué tipo de imágenes no se podrían divulgar en ningún caso? -Los gustos cambian, el mundo cambia. Y no hay reglas firmes. ¿Cree que las imágenes dan información importante? -Creo que enmarcan la pintura. Si la razón de la matanza estaba oculta, es porque no la podías imaginar. Y esa es una de las cosas que ahora te puedes imaginar. ¿Los otros medios habrían reaccionado de igual forma? -Muchos de los otros grandes canales copiaron las imágenes. -- Fuente Original: Astrolabio-jsa http://astrolabio-jsa.blogspot.com/2007/04/caso-cho.html Licencia de uso: Ceative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 2.5 Colombia.
Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 2.5 Colombia
MOURNING: At the official UC Irvine vigil for Virginia Tech administrators offered support to students. By Anam Siddiq Staff Writer In a vigil hosted by the Cross Cultural Center and UC Irvine Student Affairs, candles were passed out to hundreds of students, faculty and friends who had gathered on April 23 to give a final salute to all those killed and injured at the hands of one unstable man. Exactly one week earlier, the sun rose in Blacksburg, Virg. on a truly unfortunate scene. By the next week, the tragic events that had occurred at Virginia Polytechnic Institute were common knowledge, and although students across the campus had already held numerous vigils, UCI felt compelled to officially honor the victims in a formal ceremony. The event, advertised by the CCC, was also publicized by e-mails sent by Chancellor Michael Drake and included speakers from UCI administration, including Vice Chancellor Manuel Gomez and Dean of Students Sally Peterson. Irvine Mayor Beth Krom and Orange County Human Relations Representative Ken Inouye were also asked to speak at the vigil, as well as two student representatives, ASUCI President Stephanie Johnson and Korean American Student Association Rep Rheela Kim. At 6:45 p.m., student musician Andrew Heringer began the ceremony with penetrating music played on his acoustic guitar. At the end an uncommonly serene silence befell Ring Road as the chattering crowd delved into quiet contemplation. Peterson was introduced, and emphasized that the program was one of remembrance. As she listed the names of the victims, the wind rustled through the crowd and blew out the candles. Gomez then read a message from Drake, who was in Washington, and assured the crowd that in the aftermath of this terrible event, the administration would "redouble [its] efforts to confirm the safety of the students and faculty on this campus." Gomez continued, saying that even though Irvine is one of the safest cities in the world, UCI and Virginia Tech shared many similarities, including "stunned sorrow and common grief." He further reminisced upon some of the heroes of the Virginia Tech shootings and requested the crowd to pray for killer Cho Seung-Huis' family who was said to be feeling "helpless, hopeless and lost." Krom expressed her belief that "sometimes it takes a tragedy to bring a community together," and as proof she brought a family who worked for the Kids Who Care Club, a foundation that makes quilts for kids who have undergone major surgeries. The children who made a beautiful quilt with patches for each victim which was going to be sent to the university from the City of Irvine. Inouye verbalized the importance of refraining from letting the actions of a single individual reflect an entire ethnic community, reminding the students that despite everything "today, and for every tomorrow, we are all Americans." After the student speakers had expressed their sympathy for the tragedy and rallied the students to work together as a community, Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Cross Cultural Center Ana Gonzalez related the rest of the week's events, which included emotional distress, relief and open discussions about the Virginia Tech shootings. She also urged everyone present to write on the two boards set up for the students to express their thoughts, sentiments and prayers. By the end of the day, the boards were covered with such things as personal notes from students to artwork by sororities and fraternities. The vigil appropriately ended with Diedre Butler's "In the Arms of an Angel," the most heart-rending part of the entire ceremony. Some people were moved to tears and sought comfort in the arms of friends, while others sat in deep reflection. Blair Hollingsworth, a first-year drama major attending the proceedings, described the entire vigil as "beautiful and well-planned." The deaths of 32 people tragically killed on that terrible day brought a community together. Members of the crowd were drawn closer to each other as a group and all race, ethnicity, gender and religious differences were forgotten as students left their identities as UCI Anteaters and became one with the Virginia Tech students. As Gomez so rightfully put it, "This evening, we are all Hokies in spirit." -- Original Source:New University - April 30, 2007
Opening ceremony at Yankees vs. Hokies baseball game. Photo by George Norton.
Opening ceremony at Yankees vs. Hokies game. Photo by George Norton.
Chabad Responds to Tragedy With Mitzvah Drive: "Hearts to Hokies" Campaign to Begin Friday
Joshua Runyan Chabad.edu As a university and nation began the transition from shock to mourning one day after the deadliest shooting attack in American history, the network of more than 100 campus Chabad Houses declared a "Week of Goodness and Kindness" as a way to honor the memory of the slain. The goal of the effort, according to organizers, is simple: to translate the pain of grief into the healing of positive action. Beginning this Friday, Chabad on Campus representatives will be handing out "Hearts to Hokies" pledge cards at the campuses they serve. Students will be encouraged to pledge a good deed in the merit of those lost; the collected cards will be presented later to the students of Virginia Tech. Students and others can also complete an online "pledge card" at www.Hearts2Hokies.com. "This tragedy hits uniquely close to home for college students across America," stated Rabbi Yossy Gordon, executive director for the New York-based Chabad on Campus International Foundation. "Our campaign provides a tangible way to react in a substantive manner. It reminds that grief can be channeled into positive action, and highlights the concept that many small acts add up in a meaningful way." According to Gordon, "we look to our traditions for solace and direction. We recognize the essential human need to do something, to make something good result from tragedy, to attempt to somehow bring balance into the world by increasing in 'senseless' acts of goodness and kindness." In the immediate aftermath of an apparent rampage by a Virginia Tech student, two Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries from elsewhere in the state - Rabbi Yossel Kranz, executive director of the Richmond, Va.-based Chabad of the Virginias and Rabbi Shlomo Mayer from the Chabad House at the University of Virginia - traveled to the site of the attacks to assist with the needs of the students and faculty. And as Mayer and Kranz were busy on Tuesday coordinating the care of a victim's body in accordance with Jewish law - Virginia Tech professor of mechanical engineering Liviu Librescu, a 75-year-old Romanian Holocaust survivor who was shot by Cho Seung-Hui while shielding his class from the assailant's bullets - and arranging its transport to Israel for burial, their colleagues as far away as Seattle were planning Chabad's national response. "Jewish tradition teaches that each person is created in the Divine image," stated Rabbi Moshe C. Dubrowski, director of operations for the New York-based Chabad on Campus International Foundation, in reference to the April 16 carnage at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va., that left 32 victims dead and more than 20 injured. "All those affected by this tragedy are in our thoughts and prayers." "The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory, taught of the need to turn tears into action," explained Dubrowski. "In the light of this horror, Chabad on Campus urges students to increase in acts of goodness and kindness." "It's terrible and no one should ever have to know such a thing," said Chaya Estrin, who with her husband Rabbi Ellie Estrin, directs the Chabad House at the Seattle campus of the University of Washington. "It's okay to mourn, it's okay to be upset, but after crying, we have to channel our grief into positive actions." The University of Washington has had its own share of tragedy recently, following the April 2 murder of a 26-year-old researcher by an estranged boyfriend who then turned the gun on himself. In the wake of this week's news out of Virginia, "many students are in a state of shock, they don't know what to do," said Estrin. All the more reason, said Chana Mayer, co-director of the University of Virginia's Chabad House, to give students a chance to positively affect the world around them. "A little light dispels a lot darkness," said Mayer. "It doesn't have to be something complicated or expensive; simple good deeds are powerful things right at our fingertips." For more information please visit www.Hearts2Hokies.com. -- Archived with permission of Chabad on Campus International Foundation. Original Source: http://www.chabad.edu/templates/articlecco.asp?AID=512150
University will focus on solving issues involving wages, safety through transition to Gene Block By Jackie Barber Wednesday, May 9, 2007 Acting Chancellor Norman Abrams addressed myriad staff concerns such as Chancellor-elect Gene Block, employee compensation, and campus security on Tuesday afternoon during a staff meeting. About 100 staff members attended the meeting, hosted by Staff Assembly President Shelley Brown. Abrams began his speech by praising the staff's contributions to UCLA, calling the unique sense of community fostered on campus "a treasure" for such a large university and said he is impressed with Block. "You will find him open, a quick study, and one whose values are all in the right place," Abrams said. "I'm confident he will make a great chancellor." Abrams said the biggest challenge for Block will be "recruitment and retention of both staff and faculty." He cited the high cost of housing in Los Angeles as an obstacle in attracting employees from elsewhere, as potential employees have expressed concern about their ability to afford quality local housing. Each year the university attempts to increase the salaries of its faculty and staff, but these salaries have fallen below market, Abrams said, adding that a long-term goal for the university is to bring salaries back to market value. Raises for the university's lowest-paid workers is also a current focus, Abrams added. He said the university has been working with the unions toward this goal. Abrams called the salary concern "a work in progress," but said he believes Block is up to the task and is familiar with similar issues because of his experience serving as president of the University of Virginia. UCLA employee compensation is a major concern not only for the UCLA community, but also for the Los Angeles area, said Nicole Moore, lead organizer for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union Local 3299. "Custodians (at UCLA) are paid 25 percent below what community college custodians are paid, and many people here are without a living wage," she said. "We have many concerns about the budgeting process. We want to make sure UCLA is not creating poverty in the Los Angeles community." She said the university must address its role in providing quality jobs and affordable health care. Abrams enlisted Karl Ross, chief of university police, to address campus security in light of the recent Virginia Tech shootings. Ross said there are 61 campus officers, and after the Columbine shootings in 1999, these officers have been trained for active-shooter situations. The department is also "tied into a terrorism early-action task force," Ross said. Ross said a group from the department meets with Student Psychological Services weekly to monitor possible threats. The most likely disaster on campus, though, is an earthquake, Ross said. Abrams pointed to the new Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, which is not yet open, as a positive development this year. "It's going to be the most technologically advanced hospital in the United States, and possibly the world," he said. Brown read anonymous questions submitted for Abrams by the staff, including a question on the "lingering challenge" of course and space availability. The session also gave Abrams the opportunity to speak about the renovation of Pauley Pavilion, and he said a committee has formed to raise money and make decisions on the project. The building's name will not change, nor will the basic structure, but the committee has hired a firm to do preliminary designs, which Abrams has seen and called "very exciting," he said. Design ideas include reconstructing the bleachers to create better viewing angles and building a concourse to encase the building. Digging underneath Pauley to build a practice court is also a possibility, though an expensive one, he said. The renovation may be constructed by John Wooden's 100th birthday in about three years, Abrams said, prompting enthusiastic chatter from the audience. Dinora Duarte, Staff Assembly historian and secretary and an organizer of the event, said though there were no surprises, she was pleased with Abrams' presentation. "Considering he won't be here after July 31, I thought he had a good grasp on where the university is going," she said. She added she believes the assembly gave the staff a valuable opportunity to hear ideas firsthand from the chancellor. "We actually really look forward to the event," she said of the annual assembly. -- Original Source: The Daily Bruin - May 9, 2007
Chancellor responds to Virginia Tech tragedy
Message to the Vanderbilt community from Chancellor Gordon Gee regarding the April 16 tragedy at Virginia Tech Dear Members of the Vanderbilt Community, Today our support goes out to our colleagues, our peers, our brothers and sisters at Virginia Tech. Words fail to encompass a calamity of such magnitude. At this raw stage, we can offer our attention, our consideration, and our sympathy. We respond with the best part of ourselves. At a moment like this, we want you to know that the Vanderbilt community stands ready to offer help and guidance to all who seek it through the Psychological and Counseling Center (2-2571), the Office of Religious Life and Affiliated Ministries (2-2457), and, for students, your resident adviser, head resident, or assistant director. In addition, All Faiths Chapel on the first floor of the divinity school (below Benton Chapel) will be open Tuesday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. for personal reflection, meditation, and prayer. In light of this incident, we are also evaluating Vanderbilt's safety and emergency preparedness procedures. Please feel free to share this information with your parents and colleagues as well. Universities empower humans to understand the world by gathering us together in an atmosphere of implicit trust, mature safety, and mutual discussion and exchange. May that power not be shattered or compromised by the horrible and aberrant events of this day. May we, as a community and as individuals, continue to create and support conditions in which acts of violence like these are less likely to arise. Universities are strong of themselves, but we are stronger together. Individuals are strong of themselves, but we are stronger together. Please keep the people of Virginia Tech, and their families, and their friends and all who depend on them and know them, at the front of your minds and your hearts. Cordially, Gordon Gee -- Original Source: Vanderbilt Daily Register - April 17, 2007
Joan Brasher <joan.brasher@vanderbilt.edu>
I work at a University on the west coast. I was the first to arrive in our hallway on April 16th. I had left my apt at 7a.m., which would have been 10 a.m. on the east coast and there had been no mention of the first shootings. Fifty minutes later when I arrived on campus it was on CNN.com. As the hours passed the death count kept rising. What was going on? Finally by the afternoon the news media had been able to get a handle on what had happened and so did we, thousands of miles away. I notice security making frequent passes, which always makes me nervous. I thought of Columbine and those that had lost their lives and the survivors that had and will always struggle with what happened. Here we go again. Over the past couple of weeks as more unfolds, praise has been given to the heroes and criticism to the administration on how they dealt with the emergency. I feel the administration did the best they could that day with the information they had. Hind-sight is 20/20! The faculty and students who raised several previous red flags about Cho did the best they could. People died that day. In honor of them let's not point fingers, instead lets learn something and make some rational and educated changes. Most importantly communicate these changes. I have suggested to our Dean that there be a mandatory on line disaster/emergency course to be taken on line. Its impossible to cover all scenarios, but lets try and get everybody on the same page. If we have to do it for financial procedures and HIPAA, why not something that could save a life and possibly many. I realize that dealing with mentally ill people is a very complicated problem because it deals with civil liberties. People in the mental health profession are afraid any changes might alienate people from getting any help. I hope that things do change and that things become a little less gray when it come to being able to do something about seriously troubled individuals especially on college campuses. Faculty administrators and students should be able to protect themselves with out the fear of getting sued, threatening to quit or drop a class all because of one individual. Perhaps one thing that might help mental health professionals receive fewer patients in the future is to seriously address bullying. Teachers need to be educated on what to look for. Currently they are noticing 25% of what is actually happening. Students need be taught that it is a horrible thing to do that has consequences. If not immediate then down the road and is Cho's case. I went to the on-line blogs on April 17th and was very surprised to see that all the conversation was around gun control instead of the actually tragedy that had happened. I am glad to see that this week VA has change the gun laws that will not let anyone who has been found to be dangerous and ordered to undergo involuntary mental health treatment to be able to purchase a gun. That should become a national law! 60 minutes aired a piece titled "Armed and Dangerous". Steve Kroft interviewed Gun Owners of America, its former president, Michael Faenza. I was dumbfounded by Faenza's point of view. "If we want to be serious about handguns, targeting people with mental illness is not the place to start," Faenza said. "It seems like the perfect place to start if you know that somebody is psychotic and delusional and may not know the difference between right and wrong," Kroft remarks. "But when we're talking about intruding on the medical privacy of a class of people in this country that are already discriminated against, that is really a step in the wrong direction," Faenza replied. "As a matter of common sense, it seems like a good idea to try and keep firearms out of the hands of people who don't know the difference between right and wrong. Call me crazy, call me irresponsible," Kroft said. There is also the topic of violence, which actually I haven't heard much about. Personally I think there is too much violence on TV and especially in regard to video games. There is no denying although you might try that people get desensitized. If you see enough blood your mind just learns to deal with it. It's human nature. I am not saying we need to go back to the 1950 and "Leave It Too Beaver", but we don't need video games where the entire point is to see how many 'people' you can kill'. A horrific event happened in our country on April 16, 2007, but there is a lot of positive change that can happen. Lets make those changes in the memory of those who died and survived that day.
Chinese students were making origami cranes
On April 20, the VT-ACSS organized a donation on the drillfield. In this photo, several Chinese students were making origami cranes. The Chinese community of Blacksburg uses the "1000 cranes" to express grief and remembrance.
Chinese woman cited for rescuing US campus students
A Chinese woman assistant professor, or rather a doctoral student at the college of engineering at Virginia Tech, has shed a light onto the campus shooting rampage on April 16, which claimed a toll of 33 lives (including that of the gunman himself). In the past two days, a wise Chinese middle-age lady has been featured in American media, and her name is Haiyan Cheng, who, calm and composed, rescued the lives of students in her class at an extremely precarious situation. When her story was released and publicized, many Americans admired her courage from their bottom of hearts, "Really great, the Chinese." April 16 was a murky day at Virginia Tech when Seung-hui Cho, a young South Korean student, drenched the university compass in bloodbath. In Classroom 206, when students of civil engineering were having their lesson, their professor fell in blood. In Room 207, a German lesson was in session, 10 of a dozen students were shot and killed, in Room 211, a French lesson was in session, there were about 15 casualties out of the 20 students at the class and their professor was massacred ï¿½ï¿½ Meanwhile, in Room 205, the whole class still retained intact as Haiyan Cheng, the assistant professior, was filling in for the professor, who was away at a conference. Cheng, now in her late 30s and the mother of one daughter, came to the United States from the city of Hohhot, northern China in 1998. She obtained a Master's degree in Applied Mathematics from Michigan Technological University and a Master's degree in Computer Science from the University of Windsor, Canada. She is now working on her PH.D at the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech and concurrently serves as an assistant professor. Cheng arrived at the campus oft Virginia Tech earlier as usual that day (April 16). Her class started at nine o"clock sharp am and went into her office to at 8:50 am to check her emails. When she went into her class at about 9 am, an unexpected tragedy occurred all of sudden shortly afterwards. In an interview with the "Washington Post", she recalled: "At 9:40 am, or 15 minutes before the end of my class, I heard the loud banging outside, very loud outside the classroom, but I could hardly tell where the banging came from, but one thing was certain that we were very close to the source of the banning. I mistook it as construction noise at first. Then came silence, a ten-minute silence, and more pops followed as I turned to the next subject..." A female student sitting at the front row was curious and rose to look around to see what was happening. Chen and that female student went to the door and peered out. It turned out that queer sounds came from Room 208, but no abnormity so far could be seen as its door kept closed. All of a sudden, they saw a man emerge from Room 208 across the hall. He was holding a gun, but it was pointed down. This gave her a start. At this moment, two boy students rushed out from corridors, and the gunman gunned down them immediately. two bullets flashing past Cheng's ears, and they quickly shut the door. "When coming back into the room, she told her students that the situation was in peril and then called every one to crawl onto the ground. One student from India, Zach Petkowicz, who was near the lectern "cowering behind it", realized the door was vulnerable, so proposed propping it up to stop the gunman from entering the room. There was a heavy rectangular table in the class, and she and several of her students pushed it against the door. When sporadic fire shots were heard, Cheng urged her students not to be scared but to hide themselves. No sooner had they fixed it in place than the gunman pushed hard from the outside. He forced it open about six inches, but no farther. He fired two shots through the door. In an e'mail to her friends, she said "we all crawled on the ground and felt very panic when heard the gunman change (cartridge) chargers. People inside the room used mobile phones to report the case to police. The gunman tried hard to open the doors several times but failed and then moved on. But sporadic fire shots did not end. Cheng and her students hid them in the room till they heard sounds of siren from outside the window. These startled students and Cheng stayed behind in the room till everything calmed down outside and heard knocks on the door. They finally verified when Cheng verified those knocked on the door was policeman. When the police were leaving, they told students it was safe then and other fellow policemen would soon arrive soon. And other police came one minute later, students lined up after them and escaped, Cheng acknowledged. Once outside the classroom, Haiyan Cheng saw used cartridges scattered on the ground, She urged her students to run away and not to step onto blood strains. When Cheng heard a female student sobing, she turned round to take her hand and lead her to safety along with other students. As soon as she escaped the danger, she emailed her husband and her research team about her safety. Despite praises lavished upon her, Cheng remained a low profile, saying her students had filled her with pride, and they did very well indeed. They worked together at the critical moment and made the correct decision. She said she felt extremely brtu sorry and appalled about such a tragedy, which posed a terrible nightmare for Virginia Tech. On the evening of April 16, Haiyan Cheng attended a funeral service at Blacksburg Church at the site of Virginia Tech, an Associated Press reporter took a photo of her praying for those who had died in the mass killings, which were used by a number of American media press units. On April 17, Cheng and her husband were shown attending another grand funeral service, The Washington Post carried her story in its websites, which was spread far and wide. People praised her "bravery" and the friend of one reporter referred to her as "the great hero of that classroom', and quite a few netizens said that she had won the honor for the Chinese, and foster their "positive image". Zheng, who however remained sober-minded, referred to herself as as simply "no hero". She said she was simple-minded, and what she was thinking about was only for survive. To be specific, they only did a correct thing, she said. -- Original Source: People's Daily Online, China http://english.people.com.cn/200704/23/eng20070423_368938.html
PD reporter Duan Congcong and PD special report to the UN Headquarters Hou Lingyu
Comments to Manna adviser offer first glimpse of Cho family reaction By Doug Eshleman Princetonian Staff Writer While family members of the Virginia Tech gunman have secluded themselves during the last three days to avoid media attention, his older sister, Sun-Kyung Cho '04, reached out to a close friend and spiritual adviser from her Princeton days yesterday, offering the first glimpse of how the shooter's closest relatives are reacting to Monday's killings. At a discussion forum organized yesterday by the Korean American Students Association (KASA) to help students cope with the shootings, Manna Christian Fellowship director Rev. David Kim told the group that Cho — a member of Manna while at the University — called and talked to him over the phone yesterday morning. Some of Cho's conversation with Kim focused on the guilt he said she's feeling in the aftermath of her brother's actions. Kim said that Cho apologized for any negative repercussions Koreans on campus may have experienced after Monday's shooting. The 23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui — who shot himself after taking the lives of 32 people Monday on the Virginia Tech campus — immigrated to the United States in 1992 from South Korea, along with Sun-Kyung and their parents. "When she called, one of the first things she did was she apologized because she felt so bad for the Koreans on campus," Kim said. Several Korean students and alumni have expressed anxiety regarding a possible nationwide backlash against their community following the Virginia shootings. Kim added that in the next few days, Cho would release a public statement on behalf of her family, since her parents do not speak English. Cho has taken a leave of absence from her job with a State Department contractor, ABC News reported yesterday, and her parents left their Centreville, Va. house Monday before media members swarmed the location. Cho could not be reached yesterday. She declined to comment when contacted on her cellphone Tuesday. In an interview after the forum, Kim said that Cho is "doing okay and [that] she appreciates the support of the Manna community that she knows." He added that he wanted to respect Cho's privacy by restricting his public comments about her, emphasizing his desire not to "compromise [his] ability to support her as a friend." Manna, a Christian undergraduate group, has historically had heavily Asian-American membership though its website emphasizes that it seeks diverse student involvement. Cho was involved with the group during her time at the University, but it remains unclear whether her affiliation with Manna reflected her family's religious beliefs or convictions she developed on her own. Cho was an economics major who interned at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok during the summer after her junior year. She also wrote briefly for The Daily Princetonian. Kim said he had known Cho when she was an undergraduate at the University and described her as "one of the sweetest people." He also said that though her family was in great need of support, Cho told him that rumors and media reports that her parents had attempted suicide were untrue. During the discussion last night, some Korean students said they could not help feeling somehow connected to Cho Seung-Hui. "I can't help feeling a relation to him," Jin-Hee Kim '07 said. "I feel connected to him even though there is no pressure from others." She explained that, like Cho Seung-Hui, she has two foreign-born Asian parents. "We feel embarrassed because we associate him as one of our own," Jae Han '09 said. Andrew Kim '10 said he felt differently about the situation. "I think the feelings that we have are a manifestation of what the media is putting into us," he said. He added that he believes the media tends to emphasize Cho's ethnicity unnecessarily. "I feel that it is important to not become part of that." But, he emphasized, as a Korean, he does not feel threatened or uncomfortable on campus. Juyoung Chung '10 said he, too, hopes that the tragedy at Virginia Tech will not become too closely tied to the Korean ethnicity. "Even though Koreans can feel associated, I hope people recognize that this was an isolated event," he said. -- Original Source: Daily Princetonian - April 19, 2007
Cho Family's American Dream Broken in Pieces
By Kim Rahn Staff Reporter The family of Cho Seung-hui, the gunman of the Virginia Tech massacre, was a typical immigrant success story of the American dream until a few days ago. Father, 62, and mother, 56, moved to the United States in September 1992 with their daughter and son, and started a laundry business, one of the most common businesses among Korean residents in the U.S. They achieved financial stability and purchased a two-story house worth $400,000 in Centreville. Their children entered prestigious universities - their daughter going to Princeton University and their son to Virginia Tech - a dream come true for the average Korean immigrant. Before heading for the "land of opportunity," the Cho family lived a poor life, renting a room in the basement of a building. According to Cho's grandfather in an interview with local daily Hankyoreh, the family ran a small secondhand bookstore before emigrating to the U.S. According to neighbors, the parents devoted themselves to the success of their children, as most Korean parents do. Some said the parents drove their son to and from the university, about four hours away from where they lived. However, the almost realized American dream was suddenly shattered, with the son committing the deadliest ever shooting rampage. What went wrong? People who knew Cho in Korea, including his grandfather, a teacher at an elementary school Cho attended before heading for the U.S., and the owner of the house where the family lived, said Cho seemed just an ordinary kid who was very quiet. But people around him in the U.S. said with one accord that Cho behaved strangely - talking to nobody, avoiding eye contact, writing morbid scripts and sometimes behaving violently. They say he never got along with anyone - a complete loner. Some experts say Cho's problem in interpersonal relations and depression may have resulted from a young Korean immigrant's hardship in adapting to a whole new world. Many young Koreans who move to the U.S. with their parents seeking the American dream suffer culture shock from exposure to the strange environment where they cannot even understand the language. They also have confusion about identity - neither being Korean nor American. Despite their difficulty, most of them may not always receive enough care from their parents, who have to focus on working all day to survive in the new country. "Emigrant children are left alone without enough care and suffer isolation. They become introvert and self-concentrated," Korea University's sociology professor Cho Dae-yop said. Not all child emigrants have such problems, however, and those who have once suffered hardship later adapt themselves well to American society, but people need to pay attention to their difficulties along with the shooting rampage, the professor said. rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr -- Original Source: Korea Times http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/nation_view.asp?newsIdx=1343&categoryCode=113
Leader Sunday April 22, 2007 The Observer Julia Pryde is not a household name. She was a 23-year-old graduate biology student who wanted to encourage recycling at the cafeteria at Virginia Tech University. Her face is not as universally known as that of Cho Seung-hui, the man who shot her and 31 others on campus last week. Cho secured his status as an icon of infamy by taking time, amid the massacre, to send a video manifesto to a TV network. Cho wanted not only to terrorise his fellow students, but to stare the world in the face, or rather, to force the world to look him in the eye. NBC has been criticised for showing the footage. Although there was a legitimate public interest in airing the material - it helped explain the dark motivation of the killer - the decision to run it on a constant loop within hours of the killings was clearly not taken with any consideration of sensitivity to survivors or victims' relatives. NBC apologised and toned down their coverage. But in the modern media age, Cho's broadcast would always have found a worldwide audience. He would still, one way or another, have forced everyone to hear his awful message: it is you who are responsible for this, not me. That is not true, of course. Cho was a psychopath, determined to kill. It may be the case that his determination was expedited by easy access to guns. But that is a feature of American society and American politics with its own strange logic, immune to comment by outsiders. The image of Cho striking murderous poses crosses all cultures. It is the face of modern, media-literate terror. That is not a fair emblem of modern American society. A truer symbol is found in the packed classrooms and lecture theatres of Virginia Tech, filled, just days after the massacre, with students who were determined to get on with their education - a triumph of youthful optimism over deadly nihilism. Pickleme April 22, 2007 8:16 AM Tragic though this all is , one has had a media onslaught day after relentless day,whilst ignoring 200+ killed/maimed/injured etc etc etc ad nauseum, a day in Iraq and thousands more in just as violent and senseless episodes elsewhere in world that are ignored or glossed over by media. . And disturbing though Cho was, one has surely to remember that this kid was desperately needing psyche help ? . I feel as sorry for him as his victims. That not one person bothered to follow up on the signs of his mental instability, and it seems enough powers that be and indeed students noticed, but did nothing is somehow as shocking as his mental breakdown that ended in this tragic episode .How sad is that.? winemaster April 22, 2007 2:03 PM Of course Cho, what ever his mental instablity, psychotic modus operandi at age 23, was not born as a killer. It is violent America that made him one, and for that matter, he is not exclusive, not that such maniac sociopaths are acceptable. Nevertheless, innocent Americans are not the only people that are dying or are killed. The war on Iraq and in Afghanistan; and the real terror of poverty, hunger, starvation, diseases like AIDS, malaria, denge fever, rift valley fever and hundreds of deadly viruses, parasites is a much bigger toll in thousands every day. The difference is the indifference of America to other people. As far as emblem of America, we have George W. Bush, that is showing up the whole world with his megalomaniac, compulsive-obsessive, sociopath mentality, divine religious mandate, being the messenger of his. Plus the like minded perverse ideology of inequality and rights only of their kind, not to mention their malignant narcissism, chronic scape goating, uncorrectable grab bagging, while sacrifcing others with coercion, reckless abandon and impunity to promote their own, outward, hypocrite self image of good and perfection. MDELELWA April 22, 2007 6:12 PM To me Cho represents at an individual micro level what the American nation stands for in the world. It is a vast, wealthy, but sickly nation that readily lashes out with a violence whose totality is as chilingly complete as Cho's at nations that pose no immidiate or even remote danger to it. To understand what dark forces operated and lived in Cho's mind we need to first understand the American national psyche-the sickly desire of one nation to dominate and control the rest of the world and its willingness to visit total destruction on those who stand on the way of its crazy, demented, schezophrenic designs. Of course I do not mean to trivialse the loss of the relatives of the dead students. Their loss is particularly severe in that all those lost were young people so full of promise and potential yet cut down in their prime years by a single lunatic. Inevitably so many lives there have been roughly touched by the hand of fate and altered for ever. Some will inevitably never recover from this loss. And all of them will go through life saying 'only if' so and so had not died in that shooting. Indeed a vacuum never to be filled has been left in the lives of many parents, siblings, children and loved ones. No words can ever articulate their pain. However this tragic path that Americans now grieving have to tread on is a well worn path. Countless Iraqs walk it daily. Many in Afghanistan have to too. All because of America's madness. Black Africans bear a simillar loss on a daily basis because of the American policies on issues of AIDS etc. All this means the world is a tough neighbour-hood. The likes of Cho are forever larking everywhere, foreever ready to visit mayhem and chaos and destruction within communities at all levels. In that vein as we take a pause to reflect on the tradegy and loss at VT lets also reflect on the countless lives lost elsewhere on that same day-dozens of kids succumbing to hunger and AIDS in Zimbabwe due to sanctions imposed by the West, and over and above all the 200 plus lost in bomb blasts at the very time the VT carnage was underway in Bhagdad Iraqi. It is a world gone mad. davidfletcher26 April 22, 2007 8:03 PM I doubt if America is a more aggressive culture than Britain and I also dont think they have any more violent nutters than we do. What is different is the ease with which such a young man can get hold of a high power handgun or an assault rifle. The knowledge that this kind of weaaponry is available helps to feed meglomaniac fantasies of mass killing. America is not a uniquilely evil society as some would like to think. Was the British Empire that good or that of Soviet Russia? WoollyMindedLiberal April 22, 2007 10:02 PM This poor young man was clearly a victim of religious delusion and is emblematic of the problems caused by the pernicious 'Christianity' strain that has plagued our civilization these last 2000 years. The time has come to grow up and put behind us these infantile games of make-believe which disturbed individuals take seriously with the terrible consequences we see daily in Iraq and every year in the USA. vandygirl April 24, 2007 8:58 AM I am a college student in the USA. I would like to say to all who will listen that what happened is at Virginia Tech is a tragedy, but it is not representative of the US or our citizens. We are a large and varied country, and I promise that most of us are not psycopathic, gun-happy murderers. In fact, most of us are disgusted and disturbed by the actions of people like Cho, but we are not the ones you hear about in the news. We are the ones forgotten by the media and the world (including within our own borders). And please don't let this become a debate on the war in Iraq - there is massive opposition to the war by people in the US, and many of us who disagree with the actions of our government and support the Iraqi people. Cho is not symbolic of the US or its people. There are many of us who are aware of the many crises facing the world today - yes, even those that occur outside the US - and we do sympathize with them. We do not hold our lives to be any more important than other peoples, and we are not indifferent to the rest of the world. Please don't assume all people in the US are the same, and don't judge us by the ones you hear about in the news - inevitably those are ones who have committed atrocities rather than the average US citizen. And as for the media - It is not the fault of the people if the media descends into the tabloid news that it so often is. The students at Virginia Tech have asked all media to leave their campus, an action supported by many. They need their time to grieve in private without being used to boost ratings. On Guardian Unlimited Full coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings Gun violence in the US Gun violence in Britain Full US coverage Related articles Virginia massacre gunman named Unofficial list of shooting victims emerges Massacre on campus Q&A: US gun laws World news guide North American Media Media CNN New York Times Washington Post Government Virginia state government portal US government portal White House Senate House of Representatives Copyright Guardian News & Media Ltd 2007. -- Original Source:http://www.guardian.co.uk/usguns/Story/0,,2062898,00.html
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Artist's Comments Image made for the newspaper I work at (Nyhedsavisen). Asking questions like "was the evil or just haunted? Was it something in his head or the society around him?" Kinda funny... A few months ago this was a guy I'd never ever have a chance to even know. And now I'm actually drawing him. Amazing what killing some people will get you. The media said he had no feelings, but I think he had too many of them. -- Provided courtesy of Riana Møller, http://www.fealasy.com/ Original Source: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/55107879/
Artist's Comments Ask yourself... -- Original submitted to deviantart.com on April 20, 2007: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/53664372/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5.
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5
Artist's Comments Experimental black and white comics on Cho Seung Hui, the Virginia Tech gunman. -- Original submitted to deviantart.com on April 24, 2007: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/53908783/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
Artist's Comments Experimental black and white comics on Cho Seung Hui, the Virginia Tech gunman. -- Original submitted to deviantart.com on April 28, 2007: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/54219309/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
Artist's Comments Experimental black and white comics on Cho Seung Hui, the Virginia Tech gunman. -- Original submitted to deviantart.com on April 23, 2007: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/53830744/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
Thursday, April 19. 2007 As all of America mourns the deaths which occurred on the Virginia Tech campus, bloggers are drawing comparisons to the body count that issues daily from Iraq. See a particularly poignant post from Floyd Rudmin of commondreams.org titled "32 Senseless Deaths: A Chance for Empathy, Change of Heart, and Change of Course" which concludes: The tragedy at Virginia Tech was caused by lone gunman, probably deranged. It was a one-time event. It is finished. The tragedy in Iraq was caused by the US government, with the over-whelming support of the US Congress, most of the US media, and much of the US population. This war was planned and executed by rational men and women, none of them deranged. The US decided to start the war against Iraq. The US decided to destroy the infrastructure of Iraq. The US decided to destroy the Iraqi government and to disband its police and army. The US decided to send too few soldiers to secure the nation after doing these destructive deeds. And the tragedy of Iraq is not a one-time event. It is not finished. It continues, apparently without end. By many reports, the US is now preparing to start another war, this time against Iran. Americans feeling the shock and grief of the tragedy at Virginia Tech should look into their hearts and realize that they through their government are bringing this same tragedy again, and again, and again, and again, and again, endlessly and needlessly, to other people in the world who also have hearts that can be torn out, who also feel grief and loss when family and friends are suddenly killed when doing ordinary things of life, like going to school. Tragic deaths force us to feel our humanity and to see we are similar to others in the world. The tragic deaths in Virginia might serve to motivate Americans to curb their militarism and to minimize the tragedies of sudden death that they have been bringing to other families in the world. Read the full article. It is heartening to witness a vigorous debate emerging online as people come to terms with these killings and their significance, not only for the victims and their families and friends, but for an entire culture. As Americans draw comparisons to Iraq, we who are not American are reminded that America is a house divided. I sometimes catch myself drawing hasty generalizations, styling all Americans as arrogant war-mongerers. But the comments I read online remind me that, in fact, those who share the president's world view stand in a minority. I must pause to recognize that most Americans grieve for the state of their country and fear for their safety abroad. As non-Americans, our generalizations merely implicate us in the sins we condemn. Perhaps a more difficult task comes in moderating the generalizations we make as we consider Cho Seung-Hui who was the perpetrator of these killings. Every account I have read thus far refers to him as "deranged." Doubtless a person who commits mass murder is mentally ill. But the use of this particular epithet continues the media habit of drawing a causal connection between violence and mental illness. This is an oversimplification, much like the suggestion that American troops are in Iraq to stabilize a country that has no infrastructure of its own. The media's continuing association of violence and mental illness perpetuates the stigma which haunts millions of people who suffer from major mental health issues. In fact, mental illness is not a significant indicator of violence. See this pdf document from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Indicators which are more significant include: youth, male gender, and history of violence or substance abuse. Let me make that a little clearer: if you are a male, that fact alone is a stronger predictor of violent behaviour than if you suffer from schizophrenia. A non-clinical list of indicators might also include such factors as availability of weapons and exposure to desensitizing materials (e.g. video games, movies, media that televise a killer's manifesto and cell phone video of shots being fired, etc). From the CAMH document comes this quote: "While it is true that some people who have a mental illness do commit crimes, public perceptions of mentally ill persons as criminally dangerous are exaggerated. In fact, 80 to 90 percent of people with mental illness never commit violent acts. They are actually more likely to have acts of violence committed against them, particularly homeless individuals who may also have a mental illness." (Italics added.) If the mentally ill are more likely to be victims of violent acts, then it is possible that Cho Seung-Hui only became a risk after he was, himself, victimized. Following the shootings at Columbine, it was revealed that the shooters, Harris & Klebold, were victims of significant bullying. The same is probably true in this instance. See here for a profile of Cho. Let's not perpetrate a generalization about mental illness. Let's seize this moment as an opportunity to put an end to a cycle of violence by putting an end to our fears of mental illness. I would invite Floyd Rudmin and commondreams.org to revise their post. There were 33 senseless deaths. To state that there were 32 reveals a stigmatizing bias that we must reckon with. Otherwise, our generalizations merely implicate us in the sins we condemn. Posted by David Barker in Health/Mental Health at 23:08 -- Original Source: http://theoblog.ca/serendipity/archives/248-Cho-Seung-Hui-A-Lone-Deranged-Gunman.html Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5.
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