April 26, 2007 By CLAIRE ST. AMANT Staff writer Even in the Garden of Eden, questions of evil abounded. Thousands of years later, we are still wrestling with the issue of depravity and the nature of evil. The tragedy at Virginia Tech University is the latest reminder of the human capacity to act in ways that harm others. Two psychiatrists, Dr. Michael Stone of Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Dr. Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist at New York School of Medicine, are developing systems to rank evil deeds according to degrees of heinousness. Both scales have implications for the legal system. Welner hopes his scale on depravity will be used as a guideline in criminal sentencing, and Stone's 22-level hierarchy of evil is based on biographies of violent offenders. Dr. Daryl Koehn, author of The Nature of Evil and chairwoman of business ethics at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, said she believes it's dangerous to rank evil behavior. "It seems to me that the ranking system would say that the people themselves are more evil and not the acts they are committing," Koehn said. "I think it will make us see some people as monsters and completely unlike us." "I don't believe Cho (Seung-Hui) was a monster," she said. "I think it's a mistake to see him as motivated by malice." Koehn said we're all "caught up in the same dynamics" of good and evil and are guilty of "identifying with a false self and trying to transfer our pain to others." When we suffer in some way -- physically, emotionally or otherwise -- we become frustrated and react in different ways, she said. Koehn offered the example of road rage as one modern expression of frustration. "The false self tells us we are a nobody," she said. "In some ways we are all trying to transfer that pain." Becky Robertson, a George W. Truett Theological Seminary student from the Ivory Coast, said the universal guilt of humankind manifests itself in different ways. "We have a natural tendency to say, 'I told a white lie. I didn't kill anybody,'" she said. "We always want to justify our actions, but in the end we are all sinners." Even though Robertson said distinctions for criminal actions are necessary, she believes the Christian outlook needs a component of grace. "If we were really caught doing every evil thing we did, what would our consequences be?" she said. Koehn identified another trouble spot with a ranking system. "Intent can be a hard thing to establish and rank," she said. "We have to be extremely careful telling people what their intentions are." Koehn said she believes the current system works well at separating legal levels of offenses, such as distinctions between murder and assault, and doesn't need remodeling. "I believe it's better to keep focus on the acts themselves rather than the evilness of the individual," she said. Dr. Dennis Tucker, associate professor of Christian Scriptures at Truett, said while Christianity has not historically had a hierarchy of evil, the issue can be explored outside of a theological context. "Creating a new way to distinguish levels of crime is entirely different than ranking sins," Tucker said. "It's not an issue of making one sin worse when it's serving the judicial system." Both Tucker and Kohen highlighted the difference in the understanding of evil in the Old Testament and current culture. "Today, we talk about someone doing something evil, but in the Old Testament the lines are a little more blurred," Tucker said. The word evil in Hebrew has a wide range of meanings, he said. In addition to what we commonly understand evil to be, it can also mean "disaster" or "destruction." "Older ideas of evil in the Hebrew and Greek traditions didn't identify evil with malicious intent, but with suffering," Koehn said. She said the question as to why God allows evil to exist is becoming of less interest as people begin to question the nature of evil itself. Tucker echoed Koehn's thoughts, and added that our contemporary culture could learn from the perception of evil in the Old Testament. "In the Old Testament the idea is that humans create or make evil," he said. Tucker said he believes the Old Testament wasn't as preoccupied with "the riddle of evil" as Christianity is today. "In the Old Testament, they understood that evil things happen, and God is still God of the universe," he said. "We have to learn to live with that tension." -- Original Source: Baylor University http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=45532
Aug. 20, 2007 By Claire St. Amant City editor In Texas, it isn't surprising to see cowboy hats, belt buckles and boots glistening under the sun. But there's one piece missing from the cowboy ensemble when Texans mosey on over to school campuses: a gun. According to state law, guns are banned in several places, including schools, places of worship, correction facilities, bars, sporting events and other locations. Currently, individuals with concealed handgun licenses must check their weapon at the door, but maybe not for long. In late April, Gov. Rick Perry called for "gun freedom" across Texas and said students should be allowed to protect themselves on campus. Arlington senior Andrew Sugg couldn't agree more. Sugg is the leader of the Baylor chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a national group in favor of gun freedom in schools. "I believe anyone with a CHL should be able to carry a gun everywhere," he said. "Most people don't even have to fire, just showing it is usually good enough (to control a situation)." Sugg, who has been a licensed gun carrier for almost two years, recalls a time near campus in 2005 when the mere presence of his weapon distilled a potentially dangerous individual. While Sugg was having a cup of coffee at Common Grounds, a homeless man started "aggressively" asking for money, he said. Feeling threatened, Sugg called the police, but before an officer made it to the scene, the man pulled a knife on another customer. "I drew my weapon, the guy saw me, dropped the knife and ran," Sugg said. "I just put it back in my holster and went back to my coffee." While this situation ended positively, Fair Oaks Ranch senior Alexandra Neville, president of Baylor Democrats, said she thinks gun control on and off campus are entirely different issues. "What you do with your gun on your own time and for your own protection is up to you, but college campuses have their own protective measures and having students carry guns isn't one of them," she said. Neville said students shouldn't have to worry about carrying their own gun to protect themselves because that responsibility falls more on the school and law enforcement. "It's my belief that if you're trying to solve the problem of violence on campus, the last you would want to do is allow more people to carry weapons," she said. Instead, Neville believes the problem could be combated with increased school counseling and preventive programs at an earlier age. Sugg doesn't see it that way, and said he hopes people will move past the idea that "guns are bad" and recognize how they can be good, too. "Most people who fear guns don't understand them at all," he said. "They have a Hollywood image of the gun being for the bad guy." Josh Felker, U.S. Army veteran and owner of LoneStar Handgun in Killeen, agrees with Sugg. "It's very important to expose people to guns and educate them about gun safety," he said. "Once people learn to use them, they usually aren't afraid (of guns) anymore." In response to the shooting at Virginia Tech, Felker offered a free handgun-licensing course for teachers and students from May to July. Felker said around 40 people took advantage of the promotion, and while one student traveled from Oklahoma, most participants were local. "There were quite a few Baylor students and a couple professors as well," he said. Although guns are currently banned inside school facilities, Felker said, he hopes that will change. "Law-abiding, licensed individuals should be able to carry a firearm because thugs and criminals will do it no matter what," he said. Houston senior Theresa Doll disagrees. "As an institute of higher learning, it's just not necessary to have students carrying guns," she said. "That's what law enforcement is for." Doll, a member of the Baylor Democrats, said the right to bear arms is often overstated. "Yes, we have a constitutional right to own and carry a gun," she said.""But that doesn't mean they have a place on college campuses." Doll said she worries about students carrying guns and making irrational choices. "It wouldn't make me feel safer for my roommate to have a gun," she said. "Especially not during finals when she's all stressed out." While Doll believes shooting tragedies like Virginia Tech and Columbine need to be addressed, she said the problem is with adequate police units, not armed citizens. "Supporting concealed weaponry is not the answer to the school shooting crisis," she said. -- Original Source: Baylor University http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=46392
Aug. 20, 2007 By Claire St. Amant City editor In Texas, it isn't surprising to see cowboy hats, belt buckles and boots glistening under the sun. But there's one piece missing from the cowboy ensemble when Texans mosey on over to school campuses: a gun. According to state law, guns are banned in several places, including schools, places of worship, correction facilities, bars, sporting events and other locations. Currently, individuals with concealed handgun licenses must check their weapon at the door, but maybe not for long. In late April, Gov. Rick Perry called for "gun freedom" across Texas and said students should be allowed to protect themselves on campus. Arlington senior Andrew Sugg couldn't agree more. Sugg is the leader of the Baylor chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a national group in favor of gun freedom in schools. "I believe anyone with a CHL should be able to carry a gun everywhere," he said. "Most people don't even have to fire, just showing it is usually good enough (to control a situation)." Sugg, who has been a licensed gun carrier for almost two years, recalls a time near campus in 2005 when the mere presence of his weapon distilled a potentially dangerous individual. While Sugg was having a cup of coffee at Common Grounds, a homeless man started "aggressively" asking for money, he said. Feeling threatened, Sugg called the police, but before an officer made it to the scene, the man pulled a knife on another customer. "I drew my weapon, the guy saw me, dropped the knife and ran," Sugg said. "I just put it back in my holster and went back to my coffee." While this situation ended positively, Fair Oaks Ranch senior Alexandra Neville, president of Baylor Democrats, said she thinks gun control on and off campus are entirely different issues. "What you do with your gun on your own time and for your own protection is up to you, but college campuses have their own protective measures and having students carry guns isn't one of them," she said. Neville said students shouldn't have to worry about carrying their own gun to protect themselves because that responsibility falls more on the school and law enforcement. "It's my belief that if you're trying to solve the problem of violence on campus, the last you would want to do is allow more people to carry weapons," she said. Instead, Neville believes the problem could be combated with increased school counseling and preventive programs at an earlier age. Sugg doesn't see it that way, and said he hopes people will move past the idea that "guns are bad" and recognize how they can be good, too. "Most people who fear guns don't understand them at all," he said. "They have a Hollywood image of the gun being for the bad guy." Josh Felker, U.S. Army veteran and owner of LoneStar Handgun in Killeen, agrees with Sugg. "It's very important to expose people to guns and educate them about gun safety," he said. "Once people learn to use them, they usually aren't afraid (of guns) anymore." In response to the shooting at Virginia Tech, Felker offered a free handgun-licensing course for teachers and students from May to July. Felker said around 40 people took advantage of the promotion, and while one student traveled from Oklahoma, most participants were local. "There were quite a few Baylor students and a couple professors as well," he said. Although guns are currently banned inside school facilities, Felker said, he hopes that will change. "Law-abiding, licensed individuals should be able to carry a firearm because thugs and criminals will do it no matter what," he said. Houston senior Theresa Doll disagrees. "As an institute of higher learning, it's just not necessary to have students carrying guns," she said. "That's what law enforcement is for." Doll, a member of the Baylor Democrats, said the right to bear arms is often overstated. "Yes, we have a constitutional right to own and carry a gun," she said.""But that doesn't mean they have a place on college campuses." Doll said she worries about students carrying guns and making irrational choices. "It wouldn't make me feel safer for my roommate to have a gun," she said. "Especially not during finals when she's all stressed out." While Doll believes shooting tragedies like Virginia Tech and Columbine need to be addressed, she said the problem is with adequate police units, not armed citizens. "Supporting concealed weaponry is not the answer to the school shooting crisis," she said. -- Original Source: The Lariat http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=46392
Julie Freeman (Julie_Freeman@baylor.edu)
PUBLISHED APRIL 19, 2007 To the Editor: I agree with Mara Richard ("Triumph Over Tragedy," April 19) that sexual assault occurs far too often to be tolerated. Richard proposes that Americans "start asking how we can create a culture where women don't have to defend themselves." What a wonderful world it would be if nobody ever had to worry about protecting herself or her possessions. In reality, our society contains a critical mass of people who prey on the innocent and use force to overpower victims. Both the massacre at Virginia Tech and the brutal attack committed near Columbia illustrate the damage a single assailant can do. We may never know what prompted these thugs to action. Incarceration alone can ensure that they won't ruin more lives, and armed resistance alone would have stopped them in their tracks last week. Clara Magram, Barnard '06 Apr. 19, 2007 -- Original Source: Columbia Spectator http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/24955
Students reach out with support to VT campus By: Clarissa Bottesini and Angela Marie Latona Posted: 4/24/07 After last week's deadly shootings at Virginia Tech, many Boston University students have joined efforts to offer their physical and emotional support. The BU community is still in the early stages of organizing how to best aid those directly affected by the shootings, though Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said many students have approached him about how they can reach out to the Virginia Tech community. "It's a tough one, because people are thinking, 'What does the community need?'" he said. "People are trying to figure out how best to be effective and what can be done to reach out." Marsh Chapel and the Office of Residence Life are in the process of sending support letters to Virginia Tech. A candlelight vigil held last night at Marsh Plaza marked the second time the BU community came together to reflect on students affected by the shootings, in which 32 people were killed by a Virginia Tech senior who then shot himself. Elmore said students have also discussed ways to help hospitalized victims and offer assistance to fire department and police officials. In an email sent to students April 20, President Robert Brown expressed his condolences to the Virginia Tech community and announced efforts to improve campus safety and communications procedures. "Our hearts go out to the students, parents, faculty, staff and families impacted by these senseless killings," Brown said in the letter. "Many members of our community are grieving." Response has also reached the Internet, with some BU students changing their Facebook.com profile photos to Virginia Tech tributes that read, "Today, we are all Hokies." Some groups, including Champions, a College of Communication community service organization, are taking small steps to help Virginia Tech by planning to compose support letters at its upcoming meeting Monday. However, members have not decided whom the letters will be addressed, said Champions President Grace Cho, a COM sophomore. On a national scale, students have started online memorial pages and message boards. CircleBracelets.com is selling Virginia Tech bracelets to help the school establish the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund in honor of the victims, according to the website. School of Management sophomore Von Bryan Suresca said students have shown their support by wearing maroon and orange colors to represent Hokie pride, adding Facebook dedications have demonstrated BU students' condolences in the wake of the shootings. College of Engineering freshman Steven Lee, of Virginia, said last Monday's events teach people not to take anything for granted. "[BU is] doing the vigils, and some student counseling programs [are] going on," Lee said. "I think it's pretty adequate for the situation. "I have a lot of friends who go to Virginia Tech, and I also feel real bad about the situation and really take it to my heart," he added. -- Original Source:The Daily Free Press - April 24, 2007
Clarissa Bottesini and Angela Marie Latona
LETTER: Massacre is 'senseless loss'
By: Clarissa Nemeth Posted: 4/18/07 To me, a college campus is one of the best places to be on earth. A university represents a lot of great things: youth and promise, for starters. A sense of community. A devotion to a life of the mind. Personal improvement. Ambition, dedication, discipline. All kinds of respect -- respect from students who want to learn, respect from professors who are honored to be able to share their knowledge, respect of colleagues and self-respect for a job well done. And above all, a love of knowledge, learning and teaching, with the idea that these things can improve the quality of life for everyone in the world. This is why what happened at Virginia Tech horrifies me so much. Any senseless loss of life, especially in such high numbers, is numbing and saddening. But the idea that this took place on a college campus -- especially with the shooter being a student -- is particularly difficult for me to wrap my mind around. Such a thing is in direct reproach to all the wonderful things that a university, one of the civilized world's oldest and most respected institutions, stands for. This was the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, and it happened in a community devoted to higher learning. How does a university community -- teachers, students and staff alike -- begin to recover from such a horrific turn of events, especially because the betrayal came from within? There is already much criticism of the way the university handled itself during the crucial hours. But how much better could it have done it? How prepared could it have been for something like this? I'm certain that, had it happened here, Boston University would have not have fared much better. University administrators do think about student safety, but they are generally not thinking about their own students going on shooting rampages. And what a horrible precedent this has set. Clearly, now they will have to start thinking about it. I have a friend at Virginia Tech, and thankfully, she and her friends are safe. But I grieve for her, nonetheless, because of what her community will be going through in the days and months to come, particularly when the media coverage subsides and they are left to pick up the pieces on their own. Somebody on CNN said yesterday that because of these circumstances no matter what college we are affiliated with, "Today, we are all Hokies." My heart goes out to the friends and families of those who died, but my prayers belong to everyone affiliated with Virginia Tech. I believe that every university in the country should have its flag at half-mast tomorrow. This tragedy did not just happen to Virginia Tech. It happened to all of us, in this larger community devoted to everything that colleges and universities stand for. Clarissa Nemeth CFA '08 -- Original Source:The Daily Free Press - April 18, 2007
I was in college in the 1960s. During that wild decade, there were so many acts of violence that it felt like a time never experienced before and in many ways, it had never been known before. The assassinations, the war in far-off Viet Nam, the demonstrations against the war, the Kent State killings by National Guard troops, the murders on college campuses happened over and over like a horrible wave of increading disorder. With each event, we felt a sense of impending disaster build. On April 16, I had finished the very ordinary task of getting my hair cut and was paying at the desk when I noticed a silent tv screen behind the receptionist. Cutlines spilled across the images and I was so shocked that I had to ask the young woman if she knew what had happened. She reponded that there had been shootings at VA Tech. I was so stunned that I couldn't move, I wanted to watch and I wanted to leave, but I could only stand there transfixed and horrified. Because I am older and the mother of now grown daughters, I reminded myself that these were two young women the same age as those in peril on the campus in Blacksburg and I wanted to be reassuring. But shock overcame maternal instincts and I must have showed it. The other girl turned to her computer and quickly dialed up information. The other turned away from the screen and looked busy. It took me back to the shootings at the University of Texas and all of the other shocking events of the 1960s that came with less coverage but the same announcement on television...my first feelings were the same-- a sense of shock and disbelief --that I had felt then. I couldn't protect these two--or myself--from the television images and it made me deeply sad. Sad for the innocence of the students and faculty on the campus that day, sad for the parents who must have been in agony, and sad for all of us who remembered this cruelty from a time long ago. My sympathy to the Virginia Tech family. Claudia Smith
Issue Date:Tuesday April 17, 2007 Section: HeadLine News Section In response to the shootings at Virginia Tech, West Virginia University President David Hardesty said Monday afternoon in a statement that the "campus police are alert to the incident and are monitoring the situation as it unfolds. If deemed necessary, increased coverage by our campus police will be initiated." Students in need of counseling are encouraged to visit the Carruth Center in the Student Services Center next to the Mountainlair. The center, open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., offers walk-in counseling services and an after-hour emergency phone consultation service (293-4431). On Monday, the center extended its walk-in services to 8 p.m. A candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the shootings will be held Wednesday at 9 p.m. in Woodburn Circle on the Downtown Campus. The University community and the general public are invited to attend. The WVU United Methodist Student Movement will sponsor an interfaith vigil today at 9 p.m. in the Mountainlair Ballrooms. — cls -- Original Source: The Daily Athenaeum http://www.da.wvu.edu/show_article.php?&story_id=27564
In honor of the Virginia Tech Tragedy, NASCAR Whelen All-American Series driver Corey Agee of Martinsville, VA, shows his newly designed helmet for the 2008 racing season.
Virginia dean Benson '73 recalls tragedy
Alumnus defends administrators' actions but says he understands complaints By Cornelia Hall Princetonian Staff Writer Richard Benson '73, dean of the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, has spent the last three days struggling to maintain composure while confronting his own grief over the deaths of his colleagues and students. In his first media interview since Monday's shooting, Benson relived his emotions in the aftermath of the incident, praising the nation's sympathy and the cohesiveness of Virginia Tech's campus while reflecting on ways to move forward. Benson was at a conference in Puerto Rico when the tragic violence unfolded Monday morning. The gunman, Virginia Tech senior Cho Seung-Hui, shot two people in a dormitory before moving, around two hours later, to Norris Hall, a central building in the School of Engineering and home to Benson's office. Cho shot and killed 30 people in Norris Hall before taking his own life. Benson, who majored in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton, was attending an Engineering Deans Institute meeting over the weekend. He first heard about the shooting when he checked his email during a coffee break and read that there was a gunman loose on campus. It was only when he switched on the television at his hotel that he saw that the shooting had moved to Norris. It was then that the reality of the situation hit home for Benson. "That's my building ... I walk through those doors every day," he said of Norris Hall. "It was just terrible to see that and not to be there." Upon hearing the news, Benson first tried to call his staff members in Norris Hall. "I was unable to get anybody, anybody," he said. He immediately booked a flight home and waited through flight delays and a layover to arrive in Blacksburg after midnight. "I would've gotten in a car and driven home," he said. His distance from his campus when the violence unfolded made the tragedy even more devastating, Benson said. "Being away heightened my emotional reaction," he said, adding that he repeatedly thought about how it was "very likely that people that I cared for had died." Though Benson's assistant, Linda Perkins, and his chief of staff, Ed Nelson, survived, he said he knew of people down the hall from his office and on a lower floor who had been killed. Of the five deceased faculty members, three taught at the Engineering School. Lessons from the massacre Benson said he did not blame the Virginia Tech administration for its widely reported delay in notifying the campus community of the first shooting. While some students and parents have accused the Virginia Tech administration of not doing enough to prevent the escalation of violence by alerting the student body of the danger, Benson said he disagrees. "I understand grief, and I understand why somebody would be really angry," Benson added, emphasizing that he did not fault the students or their families in any way for criticizing the administration. "There's a human desire to blame somebody, [but] I worry that we're going to start blaming people who worked like crazy, who are grief-stricken, who didn't sleep that night." Benson also stressed the extreme improbability that the shooter would strike a second time. "A two-site crime is extraordinarily rare," he said. "People were trying really hard to find the person who did it ... I do believe that the authorities were responding very quickly, very ably." Yet the reverberations from the violence are likely to continue indefinitely. "You can always do better," Benson said of the University's response to the incident. "We've learned something in the last two days." Administrators from other institutions have been contacting him to offer condolences and to ask the question, "How can we prevent this?" The incident has prompted concerns about campus safety across the nation. Though Benson acknowledged the importance of developing preventive measures for academic communities everywhere, he said he knows that the next step for Virginia Tech is to deal with the emotional repercussions. "The point is [that] we know that we need to provide a lot of counseling, and we're going to do that," he said. Department heads will convene today to address the issue of counseling services not only for students but for faculty, Benson said, adding that he hoped this would help them better support students emotionally. "I want our faculty [to be] as insightful as they can possibly be," he said. "And frankly, they also need counseling." The most affected faculty members are likely those who were in Norris Hall when the violence unfolded. Benson described the experiences of several of his colleagues while Cho was in the building. One professor, Liviu Librescu, barricaded the door of a classroom to allow his students to escape through the windows, Benson said in a widely distributed email. Librescu, a Holocaust survivor, was shot through the door. "Heroes! Never forget their names!" Benson wrote. A campus transformed Norris Hall is forever changed, as the Virginia Tech community will always associate it with the horror that occurred there. Benson acknowledged that it is a place marked with emotion. "Many of us aren't ready to walk into that building, not yet," he said. "There is an enormous job in Norris Hall to come to grips with the magnitude of the killing that went on there." Until the end of the semester, only investigators will be allowed in the building. Monday's events will also have academic ramifications, Benson said. While some classes will be relocated to other campus buildings, "some courses will just end." One graduate course taught by civil and environmental engineering professor G.V. Loganathan will simply be eliminated, Benson said, since Cho shot the professor and the majority of students in the class. Despite the shock, horror and grief overwhelming the Virginia Tech campus, Benson said he cannot help but be moved by the outpouring of emotion he has witnessed. "There's something very beautiful unfolding at Virginia Tech," he said, attributing the campus' unity to the spirit of compassion pervading the student body. "I have been hearing over and over and over again, on the radio and on TV, how struck people are by that spirit, and I think it's absolutely true," he said. "All of these people wanted to let their pride come through." Faculty members, too, provided sympathy, offering their offices to those displaced from Norris Hall. His voice breaking, Benson expressed his pride and respect for the students. "Despite the horror, you take away something really uplifting," he said. "Boy, they are just banding together." -- Original Source: Daily Princetonian - April 18, 2007
Campus comes together to mourn victims of shooting By Cornelia Hall Princetonian Staff Writer Photo by Gabriela Aoun Students gathered in Richardson Auditorium last night for a service in memory of the victims of Monday's shootings at Virginia Tech. With solemn faces, some stained with tears, they listened to musical performances, prayers and speeches. Associate Dean of Religion Life Deborah Blanks took the podium first, addressing the assembled students with deliberate, heartfelt remarks. She emphasized the renewed interconnectedness of the student body, calling the Princeton community "united in heart, spirit and solidarity." "We dare to affirm that there is strength in community," she said. In addition to the sense of unity on Princeton's campus, Blanks spoke of its tie to all academic institutions. "When tragedy touches one life, its universal reach reminds us of the fragility and the vulnerability of all life," she noted. She closed her remarks with a prayer. USG president Rob Biederman '08 also stressed the transcendence of the college experience, bringing the events at Virginia Tech closer to the Princeton campus. He spoke solemnly as the audience kept their gazes fixed on the podium. "Every college campus should be a place apart; I imagine Princeton and Virginia Tech are no different in this regard," he told the gathering. "Here at Princeton, some casually refer to this as the Orange Bubble. At Virginia Tech yesterday, the bubble was ruptured, and we felt the shocks of that rupture here." Monday's gunshots reverberated across the country, with President Bush seeking to console an appalled America and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offering a moment of silence on the House floor. "Those whose lives were taken did nothing to deserve their fate," Bush said at a memorial held at the Virginia Tech campus yesterday. "They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now they're gone, and they leave behind grieving families and grieving classmates and a grieving nation." One reason why Princeton felt the repercussions of the tragedy, Biederman said, is the similarity of all students' campus experiences. "As college students, we can feel for their tragedy because we too know the sense of safety and security they felt that morning. We must give our thoughts and prayers to them because we are the same." For some, the tragedy hit especially close to home. Misan Ikomi '08, from Leesburg, Va., said about a third of her high school class attends Virginia Tech. After Monday's violence, she contacted a close friend to check in on her and was assured of her safety. "She said it's been pure chaos, like being in a movie and not really understanding what's happened," Ikomi said. Jeff Hall '08 has a brother who attends Virginia Tech. Hall reflected on the conversation he had after calling to make sure his brother was okay. "He didn't really talk about it too much," Hall said. "He was in a building nearby when it happened, and he saw people running out the door when it happened. I didn't really get much of a reaction from him." "Even for those of us without friends or relatives in Blacksburg," Biederman said, "it's nearly impossible to feel unaffected by what has transpired," he said. Students clapped sporadically during the service, seemingly unsure of the appropriate response to the speeches. Applause was subdued and brief. The speakers also offered a sense of optimism, encouraging students to look toward the future in evaluating how they go about their daily lives. President Tilghman was traveling and could not attend the service, but Vice President for Campus Life Janet Dickerson, Provost Christopher Eisgruber '83 and several officials from Public Safety were in attendance. At an Episcopalian memorial service in the University Chapel earlier yesterday afternoon, Princeton community members remembered the victims of Monday's attacks while searching for higher meaning through religion. "I would hope that this would be an opportunity to develop habits of prayer and ongoing awareness of the transient nature of life and what that means for us in terms of our relationships, with one another and with God," Rev. Stephen White, an Episcopal chaplain, said after the service. Eisgruber offered similar advice at the memorial. "Take the time to honor and value your own life and the lives of the people around you," he said. Biederman suggested the University community address the issue of personal safety not with increased security but with increased trust. "We should work daily to deepen and strengthen the bonds that make the college experience so special," Biederman told the gathering. "We need to look out for each other." -- Original Source: Daily Princetonian - April 18, 2007
Letters to the Editor: Self-defense could stop violence
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 The tragic event that took place at Virginia Tech on Monday raises many questions in students' minds: How safe are we? What measures are in place to keep us safe from harm while we're in class, in our dorms, or walking across campus? Heaven forbid that a shooting should occur on our campus, but if it did, what would you do? What could you do? The truth is ... not much. Current law, as well as UC policy, prohibits you from providing yourself with a means of self-defense. UCLA's weapons policy prohibits common defensive items. Like Virginia Tech, UCLA doesn't allow firearms on campus even for law-abiding individuals trained and licensed to carry a concealed weapon. Even if UCLA did, California state law forbids it. As UC students, we're forced to remain unarmed and defenseless. Because of this, we can only hope that suspension or expulsion will serve as a sufficient deterrent for those that mean to harm us. Forgive me if I'm less than confident. While you could always call the police if such a situation were to occur, their response times are measured in minutes. However, in life-threatening situations like the shooting at Virginia Tech, survival is measured in seconds. A single armed student or faculty member could have quickly ended - if not prevented - any and all school shootings. It's time for change. It's time to rethink the "feel-good" legislation that is leaving thousands of innocent people defenseless. It's time to let our state and national representatives know that we want to be safe. It's time that we let university students and public school teachers protect themselves and those in their care. I urge you to call, write a letter or send an e-mail to your representatives to ask them to make public schools and college campuses places where law-abiding citizens can defend themselves. Craig Chi UCLA graduate student, Electrical Engineering -- Original Source: The Daily Bruin - April 18, 2007
S-a sacrificat pentru studentii americani!
17 Aprilie 2007 Cristina Botezatu Liviu Librescu, profesor de aeronautica la Universitatea Tehnica din Virginia, a murit dupa ce l-a infruntat pe atacatorul care a produs cel mai mare masacru din istoria scolilor americane. Tragedia, produsa ieri, s-a soldat cu cel putin 33 de morti si 29 raniti. Conform ultimelor date oferite de politie, numarul victimelor se ridica la 33, inclusiv autorul atacului care s-a sinucis inainte de a fi prins de politie. Din primele date, atacatorul era un student chinez, de 24 de ani, care venise in SUA cu o bursa, in august 2006, din Shanghai. Unul dintre motivele vehiculate este prietena sa, pe care o banuia ca il insala. Cei doi s-au certat, o alta persoana intervenind pentru a stinge conflictul. Atacatorul i-a impuscat pe amandoi si a parasit caminul. La scurt timp a avut loc atacul in cladirea Noriss Hall, unde se tin cursurile Universitatii Tehnice. Politia nu a stabilit inca daca cele doua incidente au avut acelasi autor. "Avea ca 1,80 metri, infatisare asiatica, era imbracat ciudat, aproape ca un cercetas", a povestit pentru CNN Erin Sheehan studenta in primul an la inginerie mecanica. Politia federala Americana (FBI) a anuntat ca nu exista indicii care sa sugereze ca atacul ar fi un act terorist, dar ancheta nu exclude pentru moment nicio pista. Conform Star Tribune, unul din lectorii din sala de cursuri in care s-a dechis focul era roman: Liviu Librescu, profesor de aeronautica si specialist in mecanica fluidelor, numit Doctor Honoris Causa de catre Institutul Politehnic din Bucuresti in anul 2000. Romanul a murit incercand sa blocheze usa pe care a intrat agresorul, conform unor surse apropiate familiei. (Stefan Oprea) Un individ inarmat a facut cel putin 33 de morti intr-un campus universitar din Virginia, apoi a fost impuscat si el. Printre studentii si profesorii universitatii se numara si romani Un macel de proportii fara precedent s-a produs ieri la Universitatea Tehnica Virginia, din Blacksburg (estul Statelor Unite), cel putin 33 de tineri pierzandu-si viata impuscati, potrivit primelor indicii, de un agresor care a fost doborat in cele din urma de politie, a anuntat canalul de televiziune Fox News, citand surse federale. Spitalele din zona universitatii au declarat un total de cel putin 21 de raniti, din care o persoana in stare critica. „Astazi, universitatea a fost lovita de catre o tragedie pe care noi o consideram a fi de proportii monumentale", a declarat rectorul universitatii, Charles Steiger. „Avem cel putin 20 de morti", s-a rezumat sa spuna Wendell Flinchum, seful politiei campusului, adaugand ca o mare parte a victimelor au fost ucise intr-o singura sala de curs si ca ucigasul se numara printre morti, desi inca nu se cunoaste identitatea acestuia. "Deocamdata nu stim daca tragatorul era unul dintre studenti sau nu", a declarat Flinchum. Macel in doua episoade Cele dintai focuri de arma au fost semnalate la primele ore ale diminetii, cand un student a fost ucis si alti cativa raniti in caminul universitar West Ambler Johnston Hall, care gazduieste 895 de studenti. In urma focurilor de arma, in camin s-a declansat un haos general, au relatat reporterii ziarului universitatii. „O gramada de studenti alergau de colo-colo, ingroziti, in vreme ce politia incerca sa convinga pe toata lumea sa se culce la pamant, pentru a tine situatia sub control", au relatat reporterii citati de CNN. Doua ore mai tarziu, macelul a fost reluat la Norris Hall, una din cladirile complexului care adaposteste catedrele de inginerie mecanica. Mai multi dintre martorii intervievati de posturile de televiziune americane au declarat ca au auzit „zeci de focuri" trase in incinta campusului si ca au vazut personal manifestari de panica in cladirile adiacente. Unii dintre studentii raniti spun ca au scapat cu viata numai sarind pe geam de la etaj, dar ca nu au vazut cum arata atacatorul. Panica in masa Matt Waldron, unul dintre studentii aflati in cladire, descrie scena de panica izbucnita dupa ce cursantii au vazut afara politisti adapostindu-se dupa copaci. „Ne-au spus sa iesim afara si sa traversam campul din fata cladirii, cat de repede posibil. (....) Au urmat scene de cosmar. Era infricosator. Doua colege si-au pierdut controlul din cauza panicii si au sarit de la fereastra salii aflate la etaj. Una din ele si-a rupt glezna, iar cealalta a ramas intinsa la pamant", a povestit Waldron. Universitatea Virginia Tech, situata la 400 de kilometri sud-vest de Washington, gazduieste nu mai putin de 25.000 de studenti. Acestia au fost sfatuiti ieri sa ramana in cladiri si sa nu se apropie de ferestre pana la identificarea eventualilor alti agresori. In zilele de 2 si 13 aprilie, campusul a fost evacuat din cauza a doua alerte cu bomba, ambele dovedite false, administratorii promitand o recompensa de 5.000 de dolari pentru deconspirarea farsorilor. Masacre in scolile americane Atacul de ieri este cel mai grav de acest gen produs intr-o institutie educationala din SUA. 1. August 1966: Charles Joseph Whitman, un fost puscas marin de 25 de ani, a ucis 13 persoane la Universitatea Texas, inainte de a fi impuscat de politisti. 2. Martie 1998: Doi baieti, de 11 si 13 ani, impusca mortal patru fetite si un profesor in Arkansas. 3. Aprilie 1999: Doi adolescenti ucid 12 elevi si un profesor de la Scoala din Columbine, Colorado, inainte de a se sinucide. 4. Martie 2005: Un elev al unei scoli din Minnesota isi impusca mortal noua colegi si se sinucide. 5. Octombrie 2006: Un individ de 32 de ani ucide 5 fete la o scoala amish din Pennsylvania si isi pune capat zilelor. MARTURII Un film de groaza trait pe viu Inainte de terminarea oficiala a tragediei, mai multi studenti de la Virginia Tech si-au facut publice impresiile pe miniforumul BBC alocat „macelului din Virginia". Intre ei, primul pe lista, romanul Mihai Alexe: „Sunt student la Virginia Tech si, din fericire, m-am hotarat sa nu ma duc in campus in dimineata aceasta. Am fost instiintati foarte rapid de primul incident, fiind sfatuiti sa stam in camere si sa fim extrem de atenti. Una dintre prietenele mele era la un curs in Norris Hall, unde s-a produs cel de-al doilea incident. Mi-a trimis un e-mail si un mesaj spunandu-mi ca s-a intalnit din intamplare cu faptasul si ca era sa fie impuscata din greseala. A reusit in cele din urma sa se refugieze cu alti studenti intr-una dintre sali si, din cate stiu pana acum, este in siguranta". Mihai Alexe „Scena de aici este suprarealista. Te uiti la TV si pe internet si stii ca toate astea se intampla la tine in campus. Dar, mai ales ca student, nu-ti dai seama de asta, nu pe de-a-ntregul. Am avut un prieten in salile in care s-a tras, iar scenele pe care le descria el erau de cosmar. Semanau cu scenele din filmele de groaza, ceva la care te uiti, dar nu te-ai astepta vreodata sa ti se intample chiar tie". Brandon „Suntem inca in soc total, departe de a ne fi revenit. Faptul ca 20 de oameni au fost impuscati in campusul meu mi se pare de neconceput si incredibil. Parca e ceva dintr-un film, numai ca real. Este o tragedie ingrozitoare, una care va avea un impact asupra acestei universitati in anii ce vor veni". Timothy Owen „E oribil, realmente oribil. In clipa de fata stau chiar in fata campusului. Atat de multi dintre prietenii mei sunt inauntru, fara sa stie ca e oribil. Inca nu-mi vine sa cred ca peste 20 dintre noi au murit...". Richard Allnutt Cititi si "Profesorul-erou, inventator si reputat om de stiinta" -- Sursa Originala: http://www.evz.ro/article.php?artid=300908
Escrito por Cronista en 11:11 AM jueves 19 de abril de 2007 Intento redactar una nota sobre lo ocurrido en Virginia Tech pero no puedo. Me perturba leer los testimonios. Me perturba la fragilidad humana. El punto de quiebre tan variopinto como difícil de entender. No sabré nunca esa respuesta... qué lo llevó a cometer tal masacre. No entiendo la situación, no la asimilo. Intento rearmarme de valor y seguir escudriñando en este entuerto de emociones, de contradicciones, de tristeza y desamparo. Estoy con las víctimas, estoy con los muertos. 33 velas levanto hoy por los muertos y espero, solamente espero que esa sociedad tan violenta como marginadora entienda que el éxito no solo se mide por los triunfos materiales, sino por la correcta convivencia, por el respeto a los demás y por interesarnos despojándonos de la filosofía de que somos más que todos... Paz en 33 tumbas abiertas por Seung Cho... -- http://cronicacero.blogspot.com/2007/04/por-qu-seung-cho.html Derechos Reservados: Creative Commons Atribución-SinDerivadas 2.5 Argentina.
Creative Commons Atribución-SinDerivadas 2.5 Argentina
This photo was captured at the Ohio University vigil for the Virginia Tech victims. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465093635/ Photo Courtesy of Cuong Nguyen
Permission: Cuong Nguyen http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465093635/
This photo was captured at the Ohio University vigil for the Virginia Tech victims. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465088664/in/set-72157600093950887/ Photo Courtesy of Cuong Nguyen
Permission: Cuong Nguyen http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465088664/in/set-72157600093950887/
This photo was captured at the Ohio University vigil for the Virginia Tech victims. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465087372/in/set-72157600093950887/
Permission: Cuong Nguyen http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465087372/in/set-72157600093950887/
This photo was captured at the Ohio University vigil for the Virginia Tech victims. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465094395/in/set-72157600093950887/ Photo Courtesy of Cuong Nguyen
Permission: Cuong Nguyen http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465094395/in/set-72157600093950887/
Americans have a right to feel safe from gun violence everywhere
By: Letter to the editor | Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: Commentary In response to Elon Glucklich's article ("Controlling the threat," ODE, Apr. 23, 2007), I am also outraged by the increase in gun violence in America, especially the recent shooting at Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, incidents like this happen all too often in all parts of this nation. All Americans have the right to be safe from gun violence in their homes, neighborhoods, schools, and places of work. And all children have the right to grow up in environments free from the threat of gun violence. It is too easy for anyone - children, teens, and troubled adults - to access firearms in this country and the lethality of guns make death or severe injury more likely. This must stop! Curtis Taylor Eugene -- Original Source: Daily Emerald http://media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2007/04/26/Commentary/Americans.Have.A.Right.To.Feel.Safe.From.Gun.Violence.Everywhere-2882636.shtml
WAITE: Shootings show a need for change in gun laws
By: Cyndi Waite / Junior film studies major Posted: 4/23/07 Guns kill people. People kill people. Guns help people kill people. It's an inevitable truth that firearms in the wrong hands lead to the deaths of innocent people. As a nation, as students, we witnessed and felt the tragic deaths of 33 individuals; Virginia Tech is a forever-changed campus, cloaked in confusion and fear, anger and resentment. Pointing fingers and placing blame does no good, but learning and moving forward in such a way that will prevent similar future tragedies is not only a good idea, but a necessary one. And in order to make positive, permanent, preventive change that will ensure not one more innocent life will be taken from mass shootings in our nation, we must address the issue of gun control. This is not a liberal or a conservative issue. It's not a rural or urban argument. This is a conversation among Americans who value their lives and their neighbors' lives. Gun control has become such a politically taboo subject that politicians, on both sides of the fence, avoid discussing it and refuse to make it a part of their campaigns for fear they will lose Midwestern, Southern, rural and many conservative voters. "Cries for stricter gun-control laws by some Democratic lawmakers following the Virginia Tech mass murders have been met with caution from their party leads," William Douglas wrote in his Fort Wayne News Sentinel article "Democrats unlikely to revisit gun-control legislation." "Other Democrats recommend steering clear of the issue because it could jeopardize their party's recent gains in pro-gun Southern and Western states," Douglas wrote. It's still unclear as to whether or not the Bush administration plans to officially address the issue; the Chicago Tribune quoted the administration as saying, "We understand that there is going to be, and there has been, an ongoing national conversation about gun control ... We are going to be participants." Whether those conversations happen in a few days or in a few weeks, they need to happen soon. Regardless of what our forefathers meant by "the right to bear arms" in the Second Amendment, we live in a society where legally bearing arms has proven to be lethal. Admittedly, only a few of the many who purchase and own guns use them in inappropriate ways, but when the few engage in destructive behavior that affects the masses, they have to give up some of their rights in order to protect all of society. Social contract theories have been around since Locke, Hobbes and Rousseau. When individuals have full autonomy, they argued, their choices are completely their own - whether those choices are negative or positive, and no matter how they affect others. In order to live in a society where we don't live in constant fear for our safety, we agree to give up some autonomy to provide social order. Relinquishing the right to own personal firearms to ensure the safety of the society at large seems like a pretty decent compromise. While a full ban on firearms may be outlandish and farfetched, stricter restrictions are not. Currently, gun owners have to go through a registration process that involves, among other things, submitting a record of one's mental health. These restrictions need to be stricter, enforced to higher standards and maintained better. Only 17 states send medical information in for full background checks, reported Michael Luo of The New York Times in his article "Gun control questions raised." Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui had a "stay in a psychiatric center under a magistrate's order" in 2005, the article reported. Virginia officials say that Seung-Hui was found to be legally eligible to purchase handguns, an immediate red flag about the inadequate gun-ownership registration policies that are currently in place. The Bush administration and other sources keep reiterating that it's "too soon" to have these gun-control arguments, that we need to "take a deep breath" for a while before we deal with these issues. It's not. And we can breathe while we make policy changes. Gun abuse is an issue far too serious to put on the back burner until the country calms down, until everyone heals. It's in this time of pain that we need to begin these conversations; that we need to pressure our representatives to consider changing their views. Thirty-three lives were taken on April 16. Are we going to wait around for another mass shooting before we consider changing our policies, or are we going to step up and speak out against gun-violence and demand change? I choose safety. I choose change. I hope you do, too.
Josh Swartzlander <jdwriter19@yahoo.com>