Posted by Cyndy Aleo-Carreira on April 17th, 2007 I know that I speak for everyone here at Profy when I say that our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims of yesterday's events at Virginia Tech. The horror of yesterday will live in the hearts and minds of the Virginia Tech community, the United States, and much of the world for some time to come, but what moved me the most was the way in which what would have been a local, and somewhat national, event even a few years ago moved worldwide due to a global online community. The first reports of what was happening on the VT campus came from students sending reports via their cell phones. Today, the grief of the VT community has moved online. On the University's own website on the tragedy, updates are presented in blog format, the Convocation held today was streamed live, and is available to students, faculty, and families as a podcast, as it contains information on resources available for counseling and information. On LiveJournal, a professor shares his grief online, giving us a mere glimpse of the person (and student) that Reema Samaha was. On Facebook, comments have been left on the pages of victims from friends as well as students at rival schools, and sorority sisters and fraternity brothers from other chapters. MySpace includes an "official" VT page called HokieNation which has been updated with a VT emblem with wings and a cartoon showing anthropomorphic characters of other universities gathered around the VT character with the caption "Today we are all Hokies." Many user icons of VT alums and students as well as people affiliated with the university, like radio stations that broadcast VT games have changed their avatars to a black ribbon with the VT emblem. And comments have been left on articles ranging from blogs to news sites. Twenty years ago, we'd have seen this as a tragedy, watched the footage on CNN, and that would have been the end of it. In the age of Web 2.0, anyone with enough inclination and five minutes of time can reach out to those most closely affected by events and let them know how many people are thinking of them. Over 650 comments have been left on the HokieNation MySpace page alone in the past two days. If Web 2.0 is remembered for nothing else, it will be remembered for giving us this ability to quickly connect with people. In this instance, it gives a personal insight into the lives of the victims that makes them much more than simply a name in a newcast. Additional information: People -- Original Source: http://www.profy.com/2007/04/17/virginia-tech-grieves-online/ Licensed under Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication.
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Monday, April 16, 2007 My heart and prayers go out to all of the families involved in the senseless shootings at Virginia Tech. My understanding is that 33 individuals lost their lives in the massacre. What a tragedy! There is noting I can do or say that will make things any easier for those involved. I'm sure that we will hear gun control advocates ranting and raving about this unfortunate event demanding stricter gun control laws, but the gun(s) didn't do the killing, an individual pulled the trigger. Most likely, a very troubled individual planned and carried out the killings without remorse. I have been keeping up with the reports all day and I have heard various takes on the situation. A lawyer was interviewed and suggested that the person that did the killing probably played games like "Grand Theft Auto." Personally, I don't see the validity of such games in the first place. I have a much easier time justifying gun ownership than I do allowing such games to be sold in mainstream America. What do they teach our children? My wife and I were discussing these type games and she said that she had 4th graders that were already playing them. I can't imagine allowing a 4th grader to play such a game. 4th graders are not mature enough to play them. I'm not mature enough to play them nor do I have the desire. And the really bad thing is that when she asked how they got these games, some said that their parents bought them. I don't understand this. I just think that these violent immoral games hurt our society and as a result individuals place little or no value on human life. How sad! Fantasy games even the violent ones are just that fantasy. They do not resemble any form of true reality. I can justify these fantasy games with magic and dragons. I even like playing some of them. But these fantasy games are a far cry from games like "Hit Man" or "Grand Theft Auto". I don't foresee anyone turning into a dragon and devouring a class of innocent students. But I also believe in the freedom that our nation was founded on. As such, where do we draw the line? I just don't have the answers and I'm heartbroken about the entire event. Ultimately, it doesn't matter if we are for gun control or banning violent video games. Neither will bring back the students that lost their lives today. It's just all too ugly! What an unfortunate day! Once again, my heart and my prayers go out to the families. God Bless Them All! William Bishop (Bill) Technorati Tags: school_violence, shooting, videogames, virginiatech, lostjohns posted by WBishop at 4/16/2007 07:21:00 PM -- Original Source: http://lostjohns.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-massacre.html Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.
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A horrible tragedy. The bottom line is that sometimes awful things happen in life and there's not a satisfactory explanation as to why. Sometimes people fail to recognize this. There's a lot of idle chatter regarding whether or not Virginia Tech handled the situation properly. I'm reserving judgment until more facts come out (interesting concept, cable news). I will say it's a lot easier to fault decision in the hindsight of a disaster than it is to make them in real time with incomplete information. In the interest of saving many hours of TV airtime, I'll answer a few questions: --Yes, this could happen at X college. (Whatever your nearby school is.) --There are no security measures which will stop people intent on going on Kamikaze-style killing sprees. --No, we don't need metal detectors and other fortress-like security measures on college campuses. --No, right-wing radio, the fact that the shooter was an alien does not mean international students are about to lay waste to America. --This could have occurred regardless of what the Blacksburg gun laws are. --This could have occurred regardless of how many violent movies or video games were sold last year. [Not that those aren't legitimate issues, but speculative cause/effect chatter on these topics before you know anything about the suspect's background is silly.] A trivial matter in the grand scheme of things, but I thought this clip yesterday afternoon is insightful in how our news media works. Here Wolf Blitzer asks if President Bush will be attending today's ceremony at Virginia Tech: HENRY: No indication yet. Obviously, that's one event certainly the White House is weighing. Typically in situations like this, although there's never been anything quite like this on a college campus -- but whenever there's some sort of a disaster or tragedy, the president, and this president in particular, tries to stay away in the early days, let local and state official do what they need to do. And then within a few days he usually goes, after they've had a chance to grieve, but also deal wit situation on the ground -- Wolf. Huh? Where did reporter Ed Henry get that analysis from? Sounds to me like he merely repeated a talking point the White House floated as it decided whether or not Bush would attend. Anyway, it was obviously wrong. Apparently, Mr. Bush is going to get in the way of local officials doing what they need to do. Posted by on April 17, 2007 11:13 AM -- Original Source: http://www.brianarner.com/weblog/archives/002209.html Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5.
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Virginia Tech massacre an unbelievably sad event
Friday, April 20, 2007 - The China Post A total of 32 people were killed Monday in a Virginia Tech campus building in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history. The gunman, a student from South Korea, took down his victims in two attacks that were spread two hours apart. The tragic incident has sent shockwaves around the world. We wish to express our sympathy to the victims' families and hope they will get all the help they need to make it through this very difficult time. The other students at the university should also be assisted so they can overcome the shock and grief they are suffering. U.S. President George W. Bush has ordered flags flown at half staff across the nation. Speaking at a memorial service on the Virginia Tech campus, Bush said "it's impossible to make sense of such violence and suffering." "Those whose lives were taken did nothing to deserve their fate," the president said. "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." At first it was reported that the alleged killer was a student from China. Later, however, police found the gunman was a fourth-year student from South Korea, described in the media as a "loner." Authorities said he was a legal resident of the United States. The suspect committed suicide after the attacks. Police said there was no evidence of any accomplice at either of the two attacks, but are exploring the possibility. The shocking incident has prompted debate and discussion about the prevalence of gun ownership in the United States. An Indonesian mother, according to a news report, bemoaned the availability of guns in the United States after learning her son was among those killed in the massacre, while South Koreans expressed shame and shock that the gunman came from their country. "Why can people bring guns to campus?" the Indonesian mother said, recalling third-year doctoral student Partahi Lumbantoruan, who had such a promising future. The family had sold property and a car to finance his civil engineering studies. The lax gun-control legislation in the U.S. is something on which people in many parts of the world don't agree. Here in Taiwan, gun control legislation is tough and gun possession is generally confined to law-enforcement personnel. The local Gun Control Act even bans the production of toy guns that could be converted into life-threatening firearms, or those bearing similarities to real guns in appearance, material, structure and trigger device. The strict gun-control legislation here has without a doubt played an important role in preventing violent crime from rising rapidly. In the United States, there is a powerful gun lobby, and legislators fear that advocacating stricter gun control would result in a loss of votes. Another reason why guns are readily available is the common American belief that in a free country, citizens should be free to own guns. The slogan of the lobbyists is: "Guns don't kill people, people do." Well, that's like saying, "Bombs don't kill people, people do." If restrictions on gun possession in the United States were stricter, the Virginia Tech shooting rampage -- and many other campus shootings that have occurred in the past -- might not have occurred. Hopefully, this tragic event will lead to vigorous efforts in the U.S. to pass some sensible gun control legislation. -- Original Source: The China Post http://www.chinapost.com.tw/archive/detail.asp?cat=1&id=107654&d=2007420
Virginia Tech Massacre hits newstands...
Major media outlets ranging from business publications to political magazines cover the Virginia Tech tragedy. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/inju/467183309/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike 2.0
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Sometimes I'm just amazed at the ignorance of people. I've come across many blog entries that are outright idiotic but usually chalk it up to 'that's where they're coming from' or 'everyone's entitled to their opinion'. However, some Erie bloggers recently have been spewing forth complete garbage that needs to be addressed. The gist is this: those students killed at Virginia Tech were partly to blame for their death by not fighting back. Underlying this is the premise that American's have been lulled into submission and taught not to self-defend. I reject this in all of its absurdity and callousness. I was absolutely furious this morning after reading these two Erie bloggers, Sassafrassin and Kodera, for their statements. To try and disguise their comments as intellectual or serious commentary would be disingenuous. Flat out, they are out of line and need to be called out on their statements and insinuations. Disregarding the fact that no one really knows what was going on in the minds of those who were murdered, but to turn around and somehow place the blame on them is reprehensible. It's disgusting. It's obscene. Although part of me realizes that what is going on here are people trying to understand and give meaning to what is completely senseless and without explanation, these kinds of statements reveal underlying problems of our society. Not only does it reveal a deeper violent tendency, but a lack of ability for compassion and understanding--both of which are essential to Peace in this world. To these two bloggers, who seem to be professedly conservative (and at least one has expressed he is Christian), Jesus Christ would be considered a liberal pansy for allowing himself to be executed and for making the statement, "If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also." Instead we're all expected to be like warriors in some Hollywood flick, living up to superficial ideals. You know, part of my response and anger to these two bloggers has to do with the fact that I'm confused and angry about what happened as well. But I hope that I have enough sense to step back and to see the humanity of it all but more importantly God in all of this. While working out at the gym, I was randomly watching the overhead television sets when a particular segment on Good Morning America caught my eye. A young woman who almost found herself killed and even lost a friend in the massacre said this: "I lost, I lost a friend. I lost one of the girls in my Bible study. And I know, I know, I know that she's already forgiven him. I know she was probably praying for him when he was in her classroom and when he was shooting people." I was shocked when I saw that she said this and also said herself that she wants to forgive as well. Instead of placing blame or expressing hatred, this young woman has a sense clarity and perspective that those of us could only hope to have. Also, if you watch the video of her accounting of what happened, I think you'll see how ridiculous these two bloggers suggestions are. We should be trying to do more good in this world, not talk about how if we would be in the situation of those students at Virginia Tech how we would beat our chest and smash someone's skull in. Violence begets violence and this kind of discourse only sustains the miserable status quo. Instead of trying to blame one another, we should be supporting each other through prayer and solace. Here's something you can do if you're feeling helpless after this tragic event: do something nice for a complete stranger this week if the opportunity arises--hold the door longer than you normally would, resist flipping off that driver who cut you off, or buy that homeless guy a cup of coffee or a sandwich. Your act doesn't have to raise to the level of heroic--just human. It's all that we can expect of each other. Posted by RichardZ.com on April 19, 2007 11:46 AM | Permalink -- Original Source: RichardZ.com http://richardz.com/blog_archive/2007/04/virginia_tech_massacrefinding_peace.php Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States.
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A banner hangs on a bridge at William and Mary. Orginia Source http://www.flickr.com/photos/tmcw/469535826/in/photostream/ Photo Courtesy of Tom MacWright
Permission: Tom MacWright http://www.flickr.com/photos/tmcw/
18 April, 2007 I was doing a bit of wandering in Second Life today, and came across a rather well-done memorial to the Virginia Tech tragedy in an area that's academically focused (it's staffed 50+ hours per week by volunteer reference librarians around the world... very cool). There is a wall featuring portraits of those lost, as well as a place for people to leave memorials/tributes. It's done with a good heart and worth checking out. It's another example of communities coming together virtually (lots of positive energy in Facebook, too). posted by phe at 18:29 -- Original Source: http://www.phework.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-memorial-in-second-life.html Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States.
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Second Life Memorial to the slain at Virginia Tech. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mack46/491590859/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike 2.0
Mack Lundy http://www.flickr.com/photos/mack46/491590859/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike 2.0
Virginia Tech Memorial... (Text in english & Spanish)
Publicado por markapazos - Un punto de encuentro. In Memory of the lives that were lost in this senseless tragedy Our hearts go out to the fallen and the injured. Our prayers are with the family and friends of the victims. I want to share with You these words that a friend sent to me and who is professor of the Faculty of Engineering and that by things of life did not have to be present at that tragic moment. Yo quiero compartir con Ustedes esta palabras que me envio un amigo quien es profesor de la Facultad de Ingenieria y que por cosas de la vida, el no estuvo ese tragico momento. A quote out from one of our members "Lets us all pray that no blame be placed. Let us pray that something this tragic never happens again. Let us pray for the media to look beyond the story here and allow all who have been affected an opportunity to gain understanding and to heal. Let us pray for this to be something which will draw us all closer together as a country and closer to God. Let us all pray that there will be no retaliation by those who believe it is warranted against any culture, nationality religion or any other human being in this beautiful world created by our maker. "Let us pray" Written & submitted by: Kennysr61 We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness ... We are the Hokies ... Nikki Giovanni, University Distinguished Professor, poet, activist. En el marco de locura y baño de sangre originado por un estudiante surcoreano fuera de sí en la Universidad Virginia Tech, nos muestra que su ser y su corazón estaba en crisis y no tuvo esa mano amiga para enseñarle la verdad y mostrarle la cosas hermosas que tenemos alrededor. Vivimos en una época de falsos héroes, hombres arañas vestidos de negro, estrellas mediáticas cuyo único afán es el egocentrismo y culto a si mismos, y sin embargo en este mundo de contrastes que nos toca para vivir, un profesor sobreviviente de la máxima barbarie cometida contra el pueblo judío, se inmola, sin importarle la raza, religión status de clase de sus pupilos, el simplemente puso su cuerpo, como escudo contra el demente asesino, despechado por el amor de una mujer (que cosa más patética), del loco segado por los sentimientos que le originaba otro ser humano. Por todo esto sigo insistiendo en mi blog sobre todo aquello que se requiere a través de la reflexión para entrar a una conciencia segura que nos garantice bienestar personal, familiar y al entorno en el cual nos movemos, manteniendo esos principios fundamentales de vida. Se requiere conciencia y amor como el inicio de nuestros valores... Pero al hablar sobre el amor, sería conveniente considerar las siguientes premisas que debemos inculcarnos a nosotros mismos y a los demás seres queridos: No se puede dar lo que no se posee... Porque para dar amor hay que tener amor. No se puede enseñar lo que no se entiende... Porque para enseñar sobre el amor y de amor, sencillamente hay que comprender el amor. No se puede saber lo que no se estudia... Porque para estudiar el amor es necesario vivir en el amor. No se puede apreciar lo que no se reconoce... Porque para reconocer el amor es necesario estar receptivo al amor. No se puede dudar de aquello en lo que uno quiere confiar... Porque para confiar en el amor es necesario estar convencido del amor. No se puede admitir aquello ante lo que uno no se rinde... Porque para rendirse por amor es necesario ser vulnerable al amor. No se puede vivir de aquello a lo que uno no se dedica... Porque para dedicarse al amor es necesario crecer eternamente en el amor El amor es dudas es la experiencia mas sublime e importante en la vida y por supuesto es el estado que engrandece al ser humano. -- Fuente original: http://markapazos.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-memorial.html Licencia de uso: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5.
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I'm not sure the memorials will still be on the drill field when we get back from Missouri, so Mara and I went over to see them one last time afternoon in case the aren't there when we get back. Orginial Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/molliebug/489120906/in/photostream/ Photo courtesy of Mollie Adams
Permission: Mollie Adams http://www.flickr.com/people/molliebug/
Sign by Branch & Associates, Inc. on a building being constructed on Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus. Photo taken by Thomas Upton on April 24, 2007. Original Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/third/471697761/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic.
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Virginia Tech panel discusses prevention strategies
Experts in fields of security, law and mental health comprise panel; victims' families voice reactions Daniel Colbert, Cavalier Daily Senior Writer Thursday, April 19, while the nation was still coming to grips with the tragedy that had unfolded in Blacksburg three days earlier, Gov. Tim Kaine created an eight-member panel of experts in the fields of security, law and mental health to investigate fully what had gone wrong and what could be done to help prevent a similar incident in the future. Last Wednesday, the panel held what was to be its last public meeting -- it has since been announced that another will follow -- at the University. While the panel heard testimony on topics as wide-ranging as community mental health services and gun control laws, much of the discussion centered on the unique challenges faced in servicing and protecting a college population. Beyond "lockdown" As schools consider the most efficient and safe methods for responding to threats such as an active shooter on campus, lockdowns are a common solution. In fact, much of the panel's discussion of security procedures focused on the appropriateness and plausibility of a campus-wide lockdown; however, all of the law enforcement experts who testified at the meeting in Charlottesville suggested that responding to such an event is not so simple. "I think we have this impression that we hit a switch and everything is locked and everything is secure, and that is not the case," said Don Challis, chief of police at the College of William & Mary. Challis testified that a lockdown creates a "target-rich environment" in the academic buildings where students congregate. He instead recommended that colleges advise students to take refuge in their own rooms or other safe places. Challis emphasized that colleges need to make it clear in advance what would be expected of students in a crisis situation. "Hope is not a plan," Challis said. "We can't hope that when something happens these people hang on our words and do what we say." Avoiding a tragedy Perhaps the most vexing question surrounding the Virginia Tech tragedy regards the various warning signs of the danger that shooter Seung-Hui Cho posed to others. The panel spent much of the morning hearing ways for universities to more readily identify a troubled student. Central to the goal of pre-emptive action are Threat Assessment Teams. These teams, present at many schools though not formally at the University, are made of up administrators, deans and law enforcement officers that meet to identify and evaluate potential threats posed by students, according to Challis's testimony. Both Challis and Dr. James Madero, a professor at Alliant International University, testified that teams like these can be helpful in preventing school violence. "It needs to be a campus-wide group that includes ... people who have the most contact with students," Challis said. "If they see a flag, they can run that by others." The panel also heard testimony on the effectiveness of campus psychological services, primarily from Russell Federman, University director of counseling and psychological services. Federman pointed to the low suicide rate at the University-- three suicides in the last seven years, which is less than a third of the national average -- as evidence that CAPS is effective in dealing with high-risk individuals. Among the factors contributing to this success, he said, are frequent communication between the administration, faculty and CAPS to determine individuals who may pose threats and follow-up procedures for high-risk individuals who do not appear for counseling. "My hunch is that if Mr. Cho had been involuntarily hospitalized at U.Va. [as he was at Virginia Tech before the shootings occurred], CAPS staff would have become involved with him much earlier," Federman said. Not everyone was satisfied with Federman's reasoning, however. Holly Sherman, whose daughter Leslie was a victim of the shootings, told reporters she thought the procedures Federman described were "very similar" to those in place at Virginia Tech before the shootings. Although he said he was confident that academic deans would have contacted CAPS about a student exhibiting the strange behaviors attributed to Cho, Federman said in a later interview he also could not say with certainty that CAPS would have prevented the shooting. "We can't buy into the illusion that we can control the uncontrollable," Federman said. "The bottom line is if someone chooses to be violent, he or she can be without us being able to stop that." Issues of confidentiality One of the hotly debated issues of the day was the importance of students' rights, as adults, to privacy regarding their mental health records. Panelist Diane Strickland, Law School alumna and former dean of Student Legal Services, asked if CAPS had access to the mental health records of incoming first-year students while another panelist, Dr. Roger Depue, said he wondered if such information would prove to be helpful. Privacy concerns dictate that the University does not have such access, Federman answered, but that is not necessarily a problem for CAPS. Mandatory on-Grounds housing for first-year students ensures that mental health problems are observed quickly by Resident Staff or fellow students, Federman said. He added that even if mental health professionals had access to background information on a student, it would not always be necessary in deciding how to proceed with treatment. Several victims' parents expressed concern that privacy issues may hinder communication between administrators about students who present potential threats and may prevent mental health professionals from informing parents if their children seek psychological help. The experts testifying were divided over whether privacy laws make it difficult to share information among administrators. While Challis testified that privacy laws sometimes make it difficult to determine what information can be shared legally, other experts did not believe this to be the case. "I have been very alarmed by the perception that the law somehow impedes colleges and universities from doing what they think to be the right thing," University law Prof. Richard Bonnie said. Parental involvement does not always help mental health professionals treat students, Federman said, and it is rarely absolutely necessary. College represents a time of transition between dependency and autonomy for many students, and he said he believed, in most cases, automatically involving parents would undermine that transition. "That's quite different from a very acute situation where we're looking at issues of violence and danger to self and where we absolutely need the family involved to help us prevent a tragic outcome," Federman said. During the panel's meeting, Federman resisted a call from Tom Ridge, former secretary of homeland security, to develop standardized guidelines for informing parents when their children seek psychological help, but assured the panel that mental health professionals would breach privacy laws if a situation demanded it. Several of the victims' parents present were unsatisfied with the explanations. "I worry about a society that places individual rights in such a high regard that it jeopardizes public safety," said Catherine Read, step-mother of victim Mary Read. -- Original Source:http://www.cavalierdaily.com/CVArticle.asp?ID=30458&pid=1596>The Cavalier Daily - July 26, 2007
Virginia Tech panel recommends security solutions for colleges
Issue Date:Friday September 7, 2007 Section: HeadLine News Section By Kellen Henry, Staff Writer Many students gathered for candlelight vigils and wore ribbons in support of Virginia Tech after the April 16 shooting. While most students did not fear for their lives on campus, they realized such a tragedy could just as easily occur in Morgantown. Last week, a panel appointed by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine reported findings on the shooting rampage by student Seung-Hui Cho that killed 32 people in Blacksburg, Va. The report presented more than 70 recommendations to advise law enforcement, school officials and medical personnel. They also intended to help other colleges choose proper security solutions for their own campuses. This week, West Virginia University officials announced a plan to send mass text messages in an emergency. The University will also provide better quality lighting in key pedestrian areas such as sidewalks between the Downtown Library Complex, the Mountainlair, the PRT and residence halls. The panels' report criticized Virginia Tech's emergency response plan because it lacked guidelines for a shooter scenario and did not allow police to play a major role in emergency decision making. "We don't see that as an issue here at WVU. As the first responders here, it makes sense for us to have an active role," said Chief Bob Roberts of the University Department of Public Safety. Administrators here began revising its policies in December 2005 to align it with the federal Department of Homeland Security's National Incident Management System. The University's new plan will be unveiled in October said Becky Lofstead, executive director of internal communications. It will include emergency training for students and staff and job action checklists. There is a Web site planned for relaying emergency information, Lofstead said. At Virginia Tech, police had no means of sending emergency alerts themselves and also failed to warn the administration that a gunman could still be loose on campus. The initial emergency e-mail and phone alerts to students and staff came too late and were too vague to be effective, the report found. "Warning the students, faculty and staff might have made a difference," the panel wrote. "So the earlier and clearer the warning, the more chance an individual had of surviving." With a large student body sprawling between two campuses, WVU sees the dire need to refine its emergency alert system. The Tech panel advised a multi-level alert, for instance alert sirens that signal students to check texts or e-mails for emergency updates. The Virginia Tech shootings also reinforced the importance of solid mental health care for students and faculty. The panel found that university and health officials did not coordinate information and intervene efficiently after concerns surfaced about the shooter. "No one knew all the information and no one connected all the dots," the report said. WVU's Carruth Center for Counseling already tries to communicate information while protecting privacy, said director Catherine Yura. A crisis committee joins counselors with resident life, police and student affairs representatives. "What we do is discuss situations that come up and try to understand if it is something to be concerned about," Yura said. kellen.henry@mail.wvu.edu -- Original Source: The Daily Athenaeum http://www.da.wvu.edu/show_article.php?&story_id=29759
Virginia Tech professor 'died saving students'
Ewen MacAskill in Blacksburg Tuesday April 17, 2007 Guardian Unlimited Alec Calhoun, an engineering student at Virginia Tech, described today an individual act of bravery by one of his professors that saved his life. Mr Calhoun, 20, had been in Room 204 in the college's Norris hall taking a class in solid mechanics. "We heard what sounded like an enormous hammer. We though it was construction. The scream told us it was something else." The killer, having murdered two people two hours earlier, had started a shooting spree in the classroom next door. "I thought pretty early on that I was going to die. I started knocking desks over [to make a barricade]. Others were pulling the windows down. It is lucky someone thought of the windows." The class was on the second floor and the first students to jump were hurt. "I was the eighth to jump. I hung onto the ledge. I saw the professor. I think he was trying to hold the door closed. "I was the last one out that was not wounded. The two behind me were shot. I jumped onto a bush and fell onto my back. It was about a minute between hearing the shots and jumping out of the window." He said his professor had been killed. After reaching safety, he immediately phoned his father, James, a teacher, to tell them he was safe. Special report United States of America World news guide North American media Media New York Times Washington Post CNN Government US government portal White House Senate House of Representatives Copyright Guardian News & Media Ltd 2007 -- Original Source:http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2059205,00.html
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Artist's Comments Reconstitution based on accounts of survivors of the Virginia Tech College shooting rampage, where 32 people were massacred by a gunman. (SECOND UPDATE - April 18) More accurate depiction based on photos taken by the own gunman. (UPDATE - April 18) Adding new items to image, according witnesses. 1 - Glock 9mm pistol in his right hand 2 - Glasses 3 - Jeans 4 - Maroon cap -- Original submitted to deviantart.com on April 17, 2007: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/53411839/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
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Virginia Tech Redux: Did the Old Media Lose it in Blacksburg?
April 18th, 2007 As the words continue to flow along with the tears after the deaths at Virginia Tech, one important observation rises above the ruins: the incident represented a triumph for what the pundits term the New Media over the Old. The keys to this triumph lie in the strengths of the New Media: its immediacy, diversity, and ability to speak personally. The immediacy of the New Media put them far ahead of the Old Media even as the crisis unfolded. The on-campus emails that first informed many students that something terrible had happened became like pebbles dropped in a pond, rippling out into the ether. New Media such as Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and search engines became the preferred sources for people desperate to find out what happened. Probably the most dramatic illustration of this was the group of students who fled to the library and then frantically searched the Internet to find out what was happening. A decade ago they might have turned on the radio or television. Even the Old Media had to acknowledge the role the New Media played for the students at Virginia Tech. CBS ran a story "Students Turn To Web In Time Of Tragedy" whose sub head read, "How the Internet Helped Va. Tech Students Cope with Shooting Massacre." The Los Angeles Times reported about University of Southern California sophomore Charlotte Korchak who instead of using a cellphone to check on friends at Virginia Tech, immediately went to Facebook. "I was able to immediately find out who was OK," she said. "Without Facebook, I have no idea how I would have found that out." As for the news on campus, the Old Media struggled to catch up. National Public Radio even published a desperate-sounding plea on their web site for witnesses of the tragedy to please contact them so they could line up interviews. In short, in the first few hours after the shootings the Old Media became just like the rest of us, searching the web for information and answers. Later National Public Radio would gloat, its words a bit of an unnecessary distortion (i.e. many bloggers), on the misinformation posted on some blogs. Referring to a Wired post the NPR blog stated: Wired reports that many bloggers originally misidentified the shooter in yesterday's rampage at Virginia Tech, linking to "to the LiveJournal blog of a particular 23-year-old gun nut in Virginia." It turned out that this person was not connected to the shootings. However, the zealotry of some blogging wingnuts pales beside the old media's inability to even get the name of the institution correct. Most of them resorted to the shorthand Virginia Tech. It wasn't until a day after the shootings that the New York Times published the official name of the school-Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. As for misidentifying the killer, there were also many false reports in the Old Media, which at one time speculated the shootings at the two different buildings might not be related. Others in the Old Media recognized the role the New Media played in getting the story out. The Los Angeles Times admitted: Members of the most wired generation in history dealt with Monday's bloody rampage by connecting on blogs, Facebook and other websites. Their eyewitness descriptions, photos and video made the trauma unfolding in the rural Virginia town immediate and visceral to millions. The Hartford Courant also acknowledged: the most arresting coverage from Virginia Tech came from citizen journalists who went to work well before the media could grasp the massacre's full scope. The reliance of the Old Media on the New gave rise to a host of stories with the following disclaimer, "[this network, newspaper, radio station] is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites." Those in the Old Media who won out in the rush to tap into local sources were those like CNN who have consciously solicited the work of citizen journalists. The Hartford Courant pointed out student Jamal Albarghouti, whose cell phone camera pictures were among the first of the massacre: Was one of more than 100 so-called I-Reporters to submit Virginia Tech content to CNN. Once CNN realized what it had, it paid him an undisclosed amount of money for exclusivity, limiting other networks to no more than 10 seconds of the clip. Some students became weary of all the attention as the Old Media desperately searched for someone, anyone who could give them an interview. One Virginia Tech blogger (in keeping with his request to limit intrusions I will not link to his site here but a secondary source) wrote: As of the time I am writing this I have done a radio interview with BBC and talked with a reporter from the LA Times. CBC Newsworld, the Boston Herald, Current TV, and MTV have asked for interviews and further information. As I said I intend to share my experiences with everyone, but I want to reinstate that I am just an average student and I don't want to be made into something I am not. The Old Media have no one but themselves to blame for not having reporters near the scene. For more than two decades they have been furiously pursuing a policy that has concentrated radio and television stations and newspapers into fewer and fewer hands. The changes in media concentration first proposed by the FCC in 2003 essentially would have allowed a single company to control almost half of all broadcasting stations and, more important, two companies could control 90%. It also raised the caps on how many local stations could be controlled by a single company and widened the ability of companies to engage in cross-media ownership within a single market. What this has meant is the steady decline of local media and the Old Media. An online check of Blacksburg showed that essentially Virginia Tech itself was probably the main local media. City-data.com lists five radio stations actually in Blacksburg. One of them is owned by a national chain, Capstar TX Limited Partnerships and three are owned by what seem to be regional corporations. Only one appears to be locally owned - the FM station owned by Virginia Tech. This leaves the networks and newspapers without any local media they can instantly tap into. They have to rely on the Internet just like the rest of us. In essence the networks have no one to call. This phenomenon is happening all over the country as local media voices disappear forever. In The Strange Death of Liberal America I wrote: Control of local markets by national conglomerates gives local citizens little information about their own community. In a way, many towns become . . . [media] ghost towns with only tumbleweeds howling through them and their vibrant down towns boarded up. Along with the loss of local voices comes the loss of venerable institutions like the broadcasts of the local sports teams, local personalities dishing out tips on canning this yearï¿½s tomato crop, and that lifeblood of many rural communities, the recitation of the current commodity prices. In a sense, conglomerates such as Clear Channel not only make people anonymous, they also make their communities anonymous. The New Media have helped to fill this gap, rushing into the vacuum created by the loss of local voices. As the Washington Post noted, Blacksburg, lead by Virginia Tech, is home to the Blacksburg Electronic Village, a pioneering project launched in the mid-'90s that sought to link everyone in an online community. A Reader's Digest headline in 1996 called Blacksburg "The Most Wired Town in America." For Blacksburg, replacing the Old Media with the New was a move that, as we have seen, paid off during the massacre. It is difficult to speculate what the consequences of the shootings would have been without the New Media, but clearly on the Virginia Tech campus alone, the New Media performed a variety of crucial functions in linking fellow Hokies. If we then move to the level of the friends and family of those at Virginia Tech, without the New Media they might have suffered a great deal more agony. An online Post link observed, Friends and family embrace the New Media to get the message out. It was in the second and third areas - the personal and the diverse - that the New Media really excelled. The Internet allowed those at Virginia Tech and those with close ties to it to quickly link to one another and form an online community of grief. For the rest of us the Internet performed a similar function as blogs, chatrooms, online audio and video allowed us to link with each other and to those at Virginia Tech. Now that the Old Media finally have their satellite trucks in place and have flown down their big name reporters to Blacksburg, they again appear in control. Once again their pious pronouncements and portentous analysis fill the airwaves. They desperately want to tell us how to think and feel about this tragedy. They seem almost eager to fill in the missing whys. The Old Media still have not learned an old lesson, one as old as the Kennedy Assassination, that event that was their first national moment, the first time they had us all glued to the glowing screens. Then they kept their voices soft and restrained and let the pictures tell the story. Now the Old Media broadcast events like the Virginia Tech shootings as if they were sports contests complete with the play-by-play person talking too much by telling us what we are seeing along with the resident experts pontificating about what it all means. And of course they manage to sign up a few "witnesses" who soon become THE voices of the tragedy-and, of course, each network tries to get exclusive contracts with them, trampling over the poor students in their zeal to find the most articulate, photogenic and dramatic. Then they ask the inevitable question, whether for the NCAA Final Four winner or a student at Virginia Tech is: "How do you feel?" In contrast in the New Media, as the cliche goes, everyone can be themselves. Instead of pat answers and telegenic witnesses you find reality. We all know reality can be chaotic, it can be messy and it can be downright obnoxious. It has no pat answers, no resident experts and no one cares what you look like or sound like or even if you are articulate. In the New Media there is the feeling that anyone close to such a tragedy who sounds articulate is suspect. The power of the New Media lies in its diversity. But what makes it powerful also has its dark side. You will find no shortage of rantings in various blogs that put even Fox News to shame. In fact right now unseemly discussions are raging all across the blogsphere like a tsunami of BS over who is to blame for this, whether we should or should not have gun control and the cryptic note the killer left behind. But to have diversity we must be willing to accept the garbage along with the wisdom, even if sometimes it seems the smell of the garbage is enough to make you puke. if you are willing to hold your nose and look hard enough you will also find analysis that both moves you and provides you with more information and more unusual slants than you will ever find in the Old Media. Clearly part of the attention and volume of comments the shootings have precipitated lies not merely with their horrific nature, but with the sense that many have that the massacre signaled something major had shifted in America. The seismic shock, the huge spike in online activity registered by blogs such as this one, signifies that a new world is being born, one in which the New Media have become the preferred means of communication and information. That the New Media are less reliable and more chaotic than the old has some people worried, especially in the Old Media. In many ways the situation with media mirrors the murders at Virginia Tech, for just as the shootings now have made all of us a bit less certain about our safety, so have the New Media made us a bit less certain about our information. We have entered one of those uncertain and exciting times where an old world is dying and a new one is being born. It may take a generation or two before the situation sorts itself out just as it did with previous media changes. As we weather these changes we need to remember that above all, the New Media is about connections and diversity, two things the Old Media lost sight of a long time ago. So, in the days ahead I hope those of you who found this post will wander on to others. Above all, I hope you will make new connections, find interesting voices, and perhaps even bump into some uncomfortable ideas. For unlike the Old Media, the New Media is organic, almost a living thing, because it changes and evolves even as I write this. Posted by liberalamerican -- Original Source: http://thestrangedeathofliberalamerica.com/2007/04/18/virginia-tech-redux-did-the-old-media-lose-it-in-blacksburg/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported.
Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported
In honor of Virgina Tech University, Niagara Falls lit both the American Falls and Canadian Horseshoe Falls on 4-22-07 with their school colors of orange and burgandy, in remembrance of those who lost their lives. This was a joint effort on both the American and Canadian side of the Falls. This is the American Falls, taken from the Canadian side facing the USA. Our hearts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives.
Artist's Comments I am a Virginia Tech student. I was affected by the tragedy in ways that I hope no one else experiences. In honor of the victims and as a way to express myself, I created this remembrance image in 3D Studio Max and Photoshop. Thank you. Image by Nick Bowman. Licensed under Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License -- Original Source: http://inuxmedia.deviantart.com/art/A-Virginia-Tech-Remembrance-83019165