Security alerts prompt Faculty Senate meeting
description: Kendra Jones Issue date: 12/5/07 Section: News The University of Hawai'i at MÄnoa Faculty Senate Committee is scheduled to discuss campus security issues today at 3 p.m. in the Architecture Auditorium. The meeting is open to UH students. At a Faculty Senate Committee meeting on Nov. 21, the faculty senate unanimously affirmed that the campus community needs to be alerted to threats in a timelier manner while using better methods. During that meeting, a question arose from the faculty members about the obligation to notify the campus immediately and allow room for people to decide how to react for themselves. There was also concern that an Oct. 25 e-mail alert was too brief, vague and an insufficient way to notify the campus community. A mass e-mail notification was sent Oct. 25 by Campus Security to UH students and staff regarding a man who was overheard talking to himself about planning to shoot 30 UH students. It was not included in the e-mail that the suspect was known to the Honolulu Police Department and had a history of mental illness. Laura Saiki-Chaves, vice president of Associated Students of the University of Hawai'i said, "When it comes to alerting students of the possible dangers on campus, we believe that no measure is too small. Though e-mail alerts were sent to students, it was definitely not enough. There were many students who ... had absolutely no idea about the security alert." "E-mail is useful for those who may be sitting in front of their computer at the time of the incident, but by large is woefully inadequate," said Jerome Comcowich, a committee member from the School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology. Comcowich said he thought a more effective way to notify the campus would be to have security vehicles use their public address system to broadcast a warning throughout the entire campus. Gregg Takayama, UH director of communications, said the response would have been more intensive had HPD considered it a serious threat. Enabling the …
creator: Kendra Jones
date: 2008-03-12
contributor: Kacey Beddoes
rights: Kumari Sherreitt <editor@kaleo.org>
language: eng

Security discussions arise after shootings
description: By Joel Runck Statesman Staff Reporter In light of the massacre at Virginia Tech on April 16, security protocols are being reevaluated and modified at campuses nationwide. UMD is also devising and implementing measures to improve security and emergency response. "I would say that the most effective means of notification that we have—and we've just installed this in the last six months— is our tone-alert radios," said Greg Fox, UMD vice chancellor of finance and operations. "Most frequently they would be used for weather emergencies, but they are also available for live-time communication for other emergencies as well." With 60 such radios distributed across major departments at UMD, locations in possession of tone-alert radios can correspond with agencies such as law enforcement and the National Weather Service during specific types of emergencies. "It's kind of the same philosophy as the old weather radios," said Joe Michela, director of UMD Auxiliary Services. "Now we have them around campus, but we have own antenna and receiver ... so that's how we get the message out to warn (people)." Michela said that during a gunman-at-large scenario, the radios would be used to notify campus police who would then notify Duluth police departments across the city. The most recent use of these radios other than monthly testing, occurred during the snowstorm closing in March. Currently, UMD has 10 licensed police officers on payroll and after massacre at Virginia Tech occurred, that same night, two officers were stationed throughout residence halls, according to Fox. In addition to police presence, Fox said that UMD has more than 100 surveillance cameras, which are primarily located in residence hall parking lots. Furthermore, Fox speculates that UMD will be receiving $300,000 from the U of M -Twin Cities Central Security to install cameras that will monitor people entering and exiting residence hall buildings. Other buildings under video surveillance include Swenson Science…
creator: Joel Runck
publisher: The Statesman
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: Statesman Editor-in-Chief Desk - Suraj Rambhia <eic@sbstatesman.org>
language: eng

Security truck
description: 2007.04.17. Security truck and state police outside of Lane Stadium. Photo courtesy of Ivan V. Morozov
creator: Ivan V. Morozov
date: 2007-08-31
contributor: Haeyong Chung
language: eng

Security Update
description: Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 22:00:00 -0400 From: Unirel@vt.edu To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU> Subject: Security Update August 16, 2007 Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff, With the return to school and the beginning of the new academic year, I know that you may be wondering what will be different on the Virginia Tech campus. Our university experienced violence and sorrow of unimaginable proportions this past spring. Many members of our community are still struggling physically and emotionally from direct or indirect involvement in that April tragedy. I trust that our mutual support and respect for each other will help the entire university community emerge stronger and full of Hokie Spirit. Soon, we will be announcing the results of the three Presidential working groups on security infrastructure, telecommunications, and inter-departmental protocols related to the events of April 16. However, I have received many questions about the status of classrooms and I am pleased to share with you now changes that are already underway. Classroom locks General assignment classrooms have had locks installed on the doors. These locks are designed so occupants can lock the door from inside the room in times of emergency. These locks are also designed so that the door does not remain locked after someone leaves the room. This feature will prevent people from locking the door as a prank or accidentally locking the door as they exit. Police, EMS, and some departmental personnel will have a key that will unlock these doors from the outside. Building door hardware In an effort to prevent unauthorized securing of interior and exterior pairs of doors in major academic and administrative buildings, the hardware on door pairs deemed susceptible to chaining, cabling, or being tied together are being removed and replaced. This work is currently ongoing and will be completed in accordance with the building priorities established by the Virginia Tech Police Department. Emergency …
creator: James A. Hyatt
date: 2007-08-15
contributor: Brent Jesiek
language: eng

Security with transparency
description: Staff Editorial Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Viewpoint There are still plenty of questions surrounding what happened Monday at Virginia Tech. But one thing that isn't up for discussion is that Notre Dame should have a plan in case the unthinkable happens here. Which is why University President Father John Jenkins' e-mail Thursday discussing emergency plans was a welcome - and much needed - announcement for students, faculty and, maybe most of all, parents. That message didn't come, however, until days after the shooting - days of wondering and worrying and wanting to know what Notre Dame would do. Earlier this week, members of the administration and Notre Dame Security/Police were unwilling to comment on the University's preparedness for such an emergency, leaving students questioning if the plan was fully developed. But now, Jenkins has reassured the community through an e-mail that, while somewhat vague, promises the University will work to further prepare for anything that may come along. It's understandable that Notre Dame would need time to work out certain details before making a plan public. Still, when information of this nature isn't being released, it's important to tell people why, instead of generating anxious speculation that no plan exists. Hopefully, Notre Dame's plan will eventually include the text-message initiative, one of the few specifics Jenkins included in his e-mail. If implemented, the procedure would go a long way to helping Notre Dame not repeat the delay in warning students that happened in Blacksburg. While other details of the plan will likely always be kept secret, it's necessary to be open about all procedures and safety measures that do not compromise security - and open in telling students when information isn't released due to security concerns. -- Original Source: http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/20/Viewpoint/Security.With.Transparency-2870855.shtml
creator: Editorial Staff
date: 2008-02-25
contributor: Kacey Beddoes
rights: Christopher Hine <chine@nd.edu>
language: eng

Security, Duke response raise some concerns
description: By: Zak Kazzaz Posted: 4/18/07 Two days after the Monday massacre at Virginia Tech, students nationwide remained on edge Tuesday as more details of the tragedy emerged and additional security threats occurred on several other college campuses. A bomb threat at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville Monday, just hours after the Virginia Tech shootings, caused university officials to evacuate two buildings there. Another threat received Tuesday at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, prompted the university to evacuate buildings and dormitories and cancel the entire day's classes. Although many Duke students said they are not worried about a similar catastrophe in Durham, several said that there are safety concerns for which the University cannot account. "What terrifies me, and what I'm sure terrifies most people, is that it was random," freshman Kate Van Buskirk said. "He just went in and started killing people." Some parents of Duke students also said they have been gripped by fear and anxiety regarding the issue. "I don't know what can happen or what can be done," said Ruth Azimi, parent of a Duke freshman and a Virginia resident. "On campus, everybody can get in, nobody asks for IDs, and now that's kind of scary." John Burness, senior vice president for government affairs and public relations, said Duke is currently evaluating all of its security and response practices. He added that the University is considering a system that can send out a mass text message to all students in case of an emergency. "Let's remind people what's going on, and dust [the emergency systems] off, and make sure they still work," Burness said. Junior Paul Slattery, the incoming president of Duke Student Government, said that text messages, however, might not fully address the issue. "What if a student doesn't have service or doesn't have their cell phone?" Slattery said. The shooter's student status at Virginia Tech makes such an incident very hard to predict since universities pl…
creator: Sara Hood
publisher: Duke Chronicle
date: 2007-06-24
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: David Graham <david.graham@duke.edu>
language: eng

See How Alike We All Are
description: By Kim Heung-sook ``We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness ... We will prevail...'' _ Nikki Giovanni, Virginia Tech Distinguished Professor, poet, activist. Ten days have passed since 33 members of Virginia Tech community died in a shooting spree. Though many journalists have written about the 23-year-old Cho Seung-hui and his victims, I'm adding my two cents as I can't help thinking about him. Human beings are like china made of the same clay and a few other elements. No matter how great or vulgar a person is, the common things he shares with others far outnumbers the differences he has. The similarity, so to speak, is the ocean and the differences, the sea foam. Whether it's God or genes that create them, it is apparent that too much or too little of some ingredients are put into certain men and women. For Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in Patrick Suskind's ``Perfume,'' it is human scent that he is born without and the lack of it turns him into a serial killer obsessed with perfume. For Anna in Leo Tolstoy's ``Anna Karenin,'' her dazzling beauty is the starting point of the tragedy she will live through. People's lives are usually ruled by their excessive or deficient qualities owing to the human tendency to determine who is desirable or not on the basis of the small disparities. Babies are babies, but babbling, smiling ones are loved whereas crying, autistic ones are shunned. Seung-hui seems to have had too much silence from early childhood, a trait reportedly attributable to his father. For senior Cho, his quietness may not have been a serious social hindrance in his youth because such a quality had been regarded as a male virtue in his native Korea until recent years. For the eight-year-old immigrant Seung-hui, however, his reticence must have incurred double trouble as American culture cherishes expression, particularly verbal and articulate. The pressure to talk, let alone the stress of adopting an unfamiliar l…
creator: Kim Heung-sook
date: 2007-10-11
contributor: Haeyong Chung
language: eng

Seeking Healing
description: The media need our help to shift their focus from murderers and violence to the compassionate healing journeys of victims' families: After the Virginia Tech tragedy, the president of the American Psychiatric Association, Pedro Ruiz, wrote an open letter to the news media asking them to stop focusing on the murderer. Ruiz warned that the publicity would inspire copycat crimes. Please visit www.lenznichols.com and sign "The Petition" encouraging the media to stop reporting the names of school shooters along with any information related to the misguided purpose of their crime. Together we can make a meaningful difference. "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead- Our prayers and thoughts are with you!
creator: Len Zachidniak
date: 2007-06-16
contributor: Len Zachidniak
language: eng

Self-defense a necessary skill to know during times of danger
description: Guest commentary By: Lach R. Liwer | Issue date: 4/23/07 Section: Commentary This week we witnessed a brutal act of violence directed randomly at unsuspecting students of Virginia Tech University. Seung-Hui Cho, a VT student, shot nearly 45 students and faculty at the school, killing 32 including himself. Much has been said about the magnitude of this tragedy, and the nature of the mental disturbance that could have allowed Cho to conceive of and carry out his heinous crime. What we gravely need to discuss, however, is how it was possible that a lone gunman could, over the course of 35 minutes, stalk through a building with over 300 people locked inside and then systematically shoot more than 45 people, the whole time remaining effectively unopposed. On September 11, 2001, the famed flight 93 crashed into the fields of Somerset County, taking far fewer lives than the terrorists who hijacked it had intended. Had the passengers of this flight not given their lives to take back the plane, countless more innocents would have perished. I did not know any of the victims of the April 16 massacre, but I assume that they were not that different from my University classmates who graduated three years ago. Thinking about that group, I feel very confident that fewer than 1 in 10 of us had ever faced real violence, whether in sports, fistfights, or military combat. This became increasingly evident a year after my graduation when I became an Army infantryman. While training at Fort Benning, we participated in rigorous aggression training like hand-to-hand combat and tactical field problems to elevate our comfort with aggression and teach us to think rationally in the face of violence and fear. It quickly became apparent that many of us displayed little physical aggression or the ability to act violently and deliberately. But as we watched each other and experienced this sensation for the first time, along with the taste of our own blood and the fear and excitement of fighting, we…
creator: Lach R. Liwer
date: 2008-02-19
contributor: Kacey Beddoes
rights: Judy Riedl <jriedl@uoregon.edu>
language: eng

sell.com donating all proceeds to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund
description: As a graduate of Virginia Tech, I wanted to do something positive in response to the recent tragedy. My web company (sell.com) will donate ALL PROCEEDs for the rest of April to the Virginia Tech Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. Go Hokies! http://www.sell.com/announcements/virginia-tech/
creator: Darren Dittrich
date: 2007-04-25
contributor: Darren Dittrich
language: eng

Senate acknowledges Virginia Tech shooting
description: By: Carey Elizabeth White, Contributing Writer, cwhite@smu.edu Posted: 4/18/07 Student Senate held a moment of silence for the victims and families of the Virginia Tech shooting and discussed campus safety yesterday in the second to last meeting of the semester. Senators discussed the need to increase awareness of safety procedures in addition to voicing their support of those affected by the Virginia Tech tragedy. One senator was concerned that no one knew the correct procedures for when the tornado sirens sounded last week. Senate agreed that more concrete legislation needs to be enacted to assure the safety of the students and our campus. Student Body President Taylor Russ said, "The first thing in our minds is survival," adding that, "We really do need an effective crisis management policy, because nothing in my mind outweighs the loss of a life." The current emergency preparedness plan can be found at smu.edu/newsinfo. The Senate hopes to help create a more effective policy for fall 2007. Later in the meeting, the League of United Latin American Citizens, otherwise known as LULAC, presented its case to be chartered as an organization on the SMU campus. The league advocates civil rights, supports leadership skills and provides scholarship funds to Hispanic educational communities. Several universities around the area charter this national organization. Universities like TCU, UT, UNT and TWU each have LULAC as a campus organization. Additionally, the executive committee ruled on the David Mingus Open Meetings Act. The act will create more transparency within Student Senate, making standing committees open at all times to all Senators and officers of the Student Senate, space permitting. The act was passed. The last Student Senate meeting of the year will be held next week on April 24. -- Original Source:SMU Daily Campus - April 18, 2007
creator: Sara AA Hood
publisher: SMU Daily Campus
date: 2007-08-24
contributor: Sara AA Hood
rights: "Norris, Mark William" <mnorris@mail.smu.edu>
language: eng

Seoul does some soul searching over Virginia massacre
description: Wednesday April 18 2007 By Mark Tran / USA 04:39pm Like others around the world, South Koreans have reacted with horror to the killings at Virginia Tech university, but they are also nervous about a possible backlash against the large Korean community in the US. The headline in the Korea Herald encapsulates the sense of alarm: Massacre puts US-based ethnic Koreans on alert. "I and my fellow citizens can only feel shock and a wrenching of our hearts," said the south Korean president Roh Moo-hyun at a press conference, the third time he has offered his condolences. The government has already held several cabinet emergency meetings since the killer was identified as a South Korean, although he had been in the US since the age of eight. South Korean citizens pray for the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre in front of the US embassy in Seoul. For the blogger, Michael Hurt, an American of Korean and African-American descent who lives in South Korea, the incident raises interesting questions about South Korean society and the "cultural context" of the killing, which he admits is highly sensitive ground. Hurt believes that the South Korean fears of retaliation are misplaced but argues that such fears are a "fair extrapolation of how foreign Others are treated as scapegoats and categorical symbols of many Koreans' opinions of other nations and races". But he raises more troubling points such as the apparent problem that Korean male students have in adjusting to the US. From conversations he has had with American academics, he says: "What came out is that many Korean men felt displaced and disempowered as males who lived in a society that catered to them, while in the US, those forms of automatic power and status - being male, rich, or having come from Seoul National University - mean nothing. And at the same time, Korean women experience a social liberalisation compared to where they would often be in Korea." In further food for thought, Hurt notes that the record holder …
creator: Mark Tran
date: 2007-08-10
contributor: Adriana Seagle
rights: In consideration of the fee of GBP 0.00 ("the Fee") Guardian News & Media Limited ("GNM") grants the Licensee the right to: publish on its website for 10 years. Contact: Eve Thompson;permissions.syndication@guardian.co.uk
language: eng

Sept. 11 Bear
description: One of the items on display at the Alumni Center Art Exhibit. On 4/16/08, as part of the Day of Remembrance observance, the Holtzman Alumni Center Museum displayed examples of art, crafts, quilts, and other memorabilia contributed since April 16, 2007. This is one of over 60,000 items that will eventually go to Special Collections at Newman Library. A teddy bear from the Voices of September 11th sent to President Steger with a letter that said: "On behalf of the staff and members of Voices of September 11th, I wish to offer my deepest and heartfelt condolences for the tragedy which the Virginia Tech community has suffered. Like September 11, 2001, your loss is one of national proportions, devastating your individual families and community, but also weighing on the hearts of those who you may never meet. After the death of my 24-year-old son in the attacks on the World Trade Center, my family received an outpouring of support from around the world. Of the most poignant and memorable was a small teddy bear carrying a message of hope. Such a tangible symbol of caring and support helped us to stay strong in those trying days and weeks. From one community affected by a senseless act of violence to another, I offer you these teddy bears not only as a gesture of goodwill, but as a promise of support. Our doors both literally and figuratively are open to you. I hope that as your collective journey of healing begins, the lessons we have learned workig with the 9/11 families and others traumatized by terrorism may serve...to you in the months and years to come. You are all in our thoughts and prayers. Sincerely yours, Mary Fetchet Founding Director Voices of September 11th"
creator: Kacey Beddoes
date: 2008-05-09
contributor: Kacey Beddoes
rights: Kacey Beddoes (kbeddoes@vt.edu)
language: eng

Sepultan en Puerto Rico a víctima de matanza en Virginia Tech
description: BAYAMÓN | AP Abril 24, 2007 Tras una ceremonia en la que nadie quiso hablar de la matanza que cobró su vida, el estudiante puertorriqueño de la Universidad Virginia Tech Juan Ramón Ortiz Ortiz fue sepultado este martes en un funeral privado. En lugar de hablar de su muerte, sus amigos y familiares prefirieron hablar de su vida. Fue lo más cercano a la perfección, expresó Jesús Ortega sobre su amigo desde la infancia. Ortiz Ortiz fue una de las 32 personas que mató Cho Seung-Hui, un estudiante de literatura inglesa de 23 años de edad, antes de suicidarse con una pistola el lunes de la semana pasada. Juan fue un árbol que dio fruto a temprana edad: benignidad, paciencia, justicia y amor. Celebremos hoy la vida que con tan sólo 26 años Juan compartió con nosotros, dijo el profesor Amado Vélez, de la Universidad Politécnica donde estudió el joven. Vélez destacó que la timidez del joven era opacada por sus acciones: Hablaban más de lo que la alocución podía decir. Durante los actos fúnebres, los padres del joven ingeniero acompañaron en todo momento a la viuda Liselle Vega Cortés, quien también se encontraba en Virginia Tech al momento de la masacre. El trío permaneció silencioso y en aparente calma durante la triste jornada de despedida, en la que amigos como Ortega volvieron a sonreír al recordar el amor de Ortiz Ortiz por el ritmo de salsa, al que dedicó parte de su vida. Era tan fanático de la salsa que una vez... puso música de salsa (en el automóvil) y se llenó de tanta alegría que se bajó del carro y bailó en el mismo medio de la acera, relató Ortega. Para el párroco de la Iglesia San José, José María Almendariz, la muerte de Ortiz Ortiz fue inexplicable. No hay ninguna explicación humana para el dolor que no sea mirando a Cristo, expresó a los más de 200 amigos y familiares que abarrotaron la Iglesia San José de Bayamón, a las afueras de San Juan. La matanza de Virginia Tech ha sido considerada la peor masacre estudi…
creator: BAYAMÓN | AP
date: 2007-07-18
contributor: Elva Orozco
rights: José Darío Maldonado Jefe Unidad de Negocios Internet DIARIO EL UNIVERSO jmaldonado@eluniverso.com
language: spa

Seung Cho and what I know
description: I was in his playwriting class last fall. I was always a quiet guy myself, not really making too many friends during my years at Virginia Tech. On a couple of occasions, we'd end up sitting close to each other. I had always thought that Cho was a little "off" but since I was strange in my own right, I didn't think too much of it. People like Cho and I never seem to make friends easily and the fact that we were both loners of sorts made me pay a little more attention to him that usual. Just before Christmas I passed by Seung Cho while he was walking around the Drill Field, a little more sad-looking than usual. I offered him a cigarette which he refused with a wave of his hand. I then tried to talk to him about one of the plays we had recently reviewed in class and he finally started talking a little. We talked about the plot and the characters when suddenly Cho asked me what others had thought about his "Richard McBeef" story. It was then that I told Seung Cho that some of the others in the class were a little concerned with his writing. Seung seemed to get a kick out of that because he suddenly had a smile where only a grin existed before. I told him that some people were talking about him before class, talking about he was a little strange acting and with this play of his, some other students joked about him being a charter member of the trenchcoat mafia. Cho wondered what that was, so I told him about the whole Littleton, Colorado school shooting. He seemed intrigued by my words. We talked a little more about "sticking it to the man" and how good it feels to break things sometimes. I used to steal cars and smash them into buildings, Seung mentioned he liked to hurt things. I didn't ask anymore questions. After that day I thought differently about Seung-Hui Cho. I thought I might read about him in the paper one day, and not for any good reason. And then it happened. All over the news. School shooting at Virginia Tech. My first thoughts when my mother called and ask…
creator: null
date: 2007-06-02
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5
language: eng

Shaalan memorial
description: Memorial stone of Waleed Mohamed Shaalan on 4/16/08. Photo by Brian Sewell. -- Original Source: http://flickr.com/photos/briansewell/2419984312/in/set-72157604577382666/
creator: Brian Sewell
date: 2008-05-02
contributor: Kacey Beddoes
rights: Brian Sewell <bwsewell@vt.edu>
language: eng

Sherman memorial
description: Memorial stone of Leslie Geraldine Sherman on 4/16/08. Photo by Brian Sewell. -- Original Source: http://flickr.com/photos/briansewell/2419171037/in/set-72157604577382666/
creator: Brian Sewell
date: 2008-05-02
contributor: Kacey Beddoes
rights: Brian Sewell <bwsewell@vt.edu>
language: eng

Shock and Horror
description: On the morning of April 16 I was in my office at George Mason University recording a podcast with two colleagues. When we came out of our recording session, I sat down to check my email and saw on the news feed that there had been a shooting at Virginia Tech and that as many as 16 people were believed dead. I could hardly believe what I was reading. How could so many students and faculty be killed in one rampage? Little did I know that I knew only half the story, half the tragedy. As each hour passed we learned more by updating our browsers and each time the number of dead and wounded grew. And each time I wondered if the people I knew there in the History Department were safe? Were the children from my neighborhood who attend Tech safe? Not having names to put with the numbers made the waiting so much more excruciating. Later that day I saw a former student in our main student union building. From the stricken look on her face, I knew something was wrong. When I asked, she told me that her sister's best friend was among the wounded and had been shot in the leg. We hugged one another for a moment and agreed that this young woman, at least, had been a little bit lucky--she would be one of the survivors. That night, I had to sit down with my two children, ages 10 and 8, and explain what had happened. Why it was that the free access to handguns in our society made it so easy for someone to carry out such vengeance on those he believed were at the root of his own personal darkness, and why now, perhaps, my boys understood why their father hates handguns so much. I told them about the time I was one of the lucky ones--when the man who had shoved a pistol under my nose decided to run away rather than shoot me. I told them that I never, ever want them to own a handgun as long as they live. Then I had to explain to them why they didn't have to worry that their father, a professor like those who died at our sister institution in Blacksburg, was in no danger at his job at Geo…
creator: Mills Kelly
date: 2007-04-25
contributor: Mills Kelly
language: eng

Shooting amps up gun debate
description: By: Alexander Trowbridge, Staff Writer Posted: 4/25/07 The shooting at Virginia Tech last week put the gun control issue back in the national public forum. While Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine dismissed taking political advantage of the incident as deplorable, both pro-gun groups and those advocating gun control rallied for change. Barbara Hohlt, executive director of States United to Prevent Gun Violence, said stricter gun laws could have saved lives at Va. Tech. "We do a very poor job in this country at doing adequate background checks." Pro-gun advocates attacked gun-free safe zones such as the Va. Tech campus, which they claim prevented victims from protecting themselves. Carl Abbe, the owner and president of Calibers Indoor Gun Range in Greensboro, said gun-free zones let criminals know that no one is there to stop them. Abbe said Va. Tech should consider arming and training select members of the campus community to defend their fellow classmates. "If that one professor who blocked the door had had a handgun, he would have been able to do more than just block the door," Abbe said. "He would have been able to stop that man." The N.C. House passed a bill on Thursday that would allow judges to carry concealed weapons. Rep. Walter Church, D-Burke, sponsored the bill and said it was a response to the shooting of a judge in a courtroom in Atlanta last year. "The judges that I've talked to thought it was a good idea," Church said, adding that even those who don't carry guns appreciate the attention to their security. The passage of the bill just days after the shooting at Va. Tech concerned some N.C. residents. Lisa Price, executive director of the North Carolinians Against Gun Violence Education Fund, said courtrooms already are protected. "In general, we dislike putting guns in more places," Price said. The issue of gun control is complex, and in North Carolina it is not always divided along party lines. Though Church sponsored the bill allowing judges to carry concealed w…
creator: Alexander Trowbridge
date: 2007-07-16
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Kevin Schwartz <kschwartz@unc.edu>
language: eng

Shooting points to need for less restrictive gun laws
description: By: Danny Mistarz Posted: 4/24/07 After the tragic events that took place at Virginia Tech April 16, the anti-Second Amendment crowd has once again reared its ugly head. The usual claims of guns causing violence and the necessity to ban personal ownership have come out. But what if one person, a student, a professor, the RA in the dorm, had been carrying a gun? Would dozens of lives have been spared? The state of Virginia's legislature had a bill proposed last year, HB 1572, proposing that handguns be permitted on college campuses for those persons with proper permits and certification. The bill was shot down in subcommittee, never making it to the house floor. At the time, it was celebrated by a VT spokesman as a stride toward continued public safety. Was the wrong decision was made? Guns are used 2.5 million times in self-defense annually, saving approximately 2,575 lives for each life lost annually according to the Second Amendment Foundation; could HB 1572 gave saved thirty-one lives on the morning of April 16, or even just one? Let's assume that guns were permitted on campus at Virginia Tech, and that one student or one professor in the engineering building was carrying that day. This coward would never have been able to level a gun on hundreds of his classmates had he known there was the possibility of having to defend himself. What if a student on the hall of the dormitory had a gun, just in the room for protection? Certainly the first two gunshots, would have been heard and within a minute of the start of a rampage, 31 lives could have been saved. All it would take is one person, carrying one gun. No gun law could stop people who want to get guns from getting them any better than our current drug laws work. Perhaps the gun laws that need arguing against are the gun laws that limit us, not the laws that protect us. Danny Mistarz Pratt '09 -- Original Source: Duke Chronicle - April 24, 2007
creator: Danny Mistarz
publisher: Duke Chronicle
date: 2007-06-24
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: David Graham <david.graham@duke.edu>
language: eng