9 20 1884 https://www.april16.vtlibraries.net/files/original/LettertoVirginiaTechcommunity,4-20-2007_2_0c43c21902.pdf null Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-21 Omeka Legacy File The metadata element set that, in addition to the Dublin Core element set, was included in the `files` table in previous versions of Omeka. These elements are common to all Omeka files. This set may be deprecated in future versions. Capture Date 2007-05-21 09:40:25 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Brent Jesiek Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Metropolitan State University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-21 Description An account of the resource April, 2007 Dear Virginia Tech community, Feeling that we truly are brothers and sisters to all of you, please know that our prayers are constantly with you as is our great sympathy. The very difficult time you are going through is hard for anyone to even imagine. Yet you are coping with a positive attitude and perseverance through it all that is an amazing example of strength to our nation and the world. Metropolitan State University here in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota wants you to know that we are conducting various sessions through our Counseling and Career Services office to give our students, faculty and staff opportunity to share their individual responses and reactions to what has happened on your campus. So as you are similarly meeting together, remember that we, though many miles away, are really meeting with you. With our heartfelt condolences, The students, staff and faculty of Metropolitan State University Language A language of the resource eng Title A name given to the resource Letter of Condolence from Metropolitan State University condolence letter metropolitan state university Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Brent Jesiek Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource steppen wolf Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-21 Description An account of the resource Tuesday, April 17, 2007 Listening to the Virginia Memorial, and all I hear is: "God-given", "God bless you", "community", "strength", "prayers", "family", "sanctuary", "violated', and of course, here come the leaders of the religious communities: "children of Adam and Eve", "singularity" (yes, unbelievable), "non-violence" (thank the buddhists), "faith", "darkness of Evil", "light", "seductive temptation" etc. The Memorial really turned into a sermon.But that's enough. I am here to try and compare the reactions, as seen in media from different continents, to the events of Virginia Tech. A reaction where it is easy to notice how, on different sides of the Earth, people are really interpreting (or trying to convince others to interpret) the story in radically different ways. Forgive me this, but you can see framing at work in crisis communications like you never see it at any other time. Here are the main points of view - soem of which are quite disturbing:"The Loner": now, since when mentally-ill people have become "loners"? However, this is how the 23-year-old responsible for yesterday's killings has been named by - well, basically most of the people who have been asked to talk about him, and subsequently by most media outlets?<blockquote>Larry Hincker, associate vice president for university relations at Virginia Tech, said: "He was a loner, and we're having difficulty finding information about him." (<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6563565.stm">BBC</a>/<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266582,00.html">Fox News</a>)</blockquote> I could not find this on the Korea Herald article though - I wonder why."The sick American hater": not stated with these words, but this is how I could refrase a sentence like this:The gunman suspected of carrying out the Virginia Tech massacre that left 33 people dead was identified Tuesday as an English major whose creative writing was so disturbing that he was referred to the school's counseling service. News reports also said that he may have been taking medication for depression, that he was becoming increasingly violent and erratic, and that he left a note in his dorm in which he railed against "rich kids," "debauchery" and "deceitful charlatans" on campus. (<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266582,00.html">Fox News</a>) Very different is the report on the BBC (which from the very beginning tried to omit information that could encourage racial hatred):US media reported that a "disturbing" note had been found in Cho Seung-hui's dormitory, and that he had been referred for counselling after producing "troubled" work in his creative writing class. (<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6563565.stm">BBC</a>) Let me say something: I have been watching the news, and all I saw was Caucasian students crying. All I could read were comments coming from Caucasian American-born (at least that is what I can deduce from the names) students. The dead killer seems to be the only "Asian oddball" (ironically speaking, of course) on campus - now no more. That is an illusion created by the media. You really have to search and look to find some facts on international student presence on the Virginia Tech campus:Only 7 percent of the more than 26,000 students at Virginia Tech are foreign, according to the school web site. But Chinese undergraduate and graduate students comprise nearly a third of that. (<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266509,00.html">Fox News</a>) Now, if you calculate, that means that about 1,820 students at Virginia Tech are in fact international students, and that about 607 are Chinese (therefore "Asian-looking"). Why have I not seen any interviews with these students? What are their reactions to a fellow international's debacle? Can they suggest what problems he might have had (such as a strong cultural shock associated with a pre-existent - or triggered - mental illness)? Why maybe he was "a loner"?I have plenty of experience with international students and their challenges, being one myself. Some peers, especially the ones of Asian descent, seem to be having more problems. In my university, there are about 10% of internationals, and maybe half of them, if not more, are Chinese. A quite smaller chunk are South Koreans. Our university, just like VTech, has some form of international student services - VTech is more advanced apparently, as they have an <a href="http://www.uusa.vt.edu/cranwell/programsclasses.shtml">International Centre</a>, which also offers advising services to international students. However, having worked with many of them, I can tell that often such services are inadequate, and "loneliness" (as well as heavy cultural shock) are not infrequent problems reported even (or maybe even more) by students who used such services.Moreover: what about the mentions of debauchery? I have seen it myself - and it ain't always pleasant. When I used to live on residence, I remember drunk (or drugged) people coming down from my roof at about 2 AM. They crushed on the path below, laughed, and went away. Loud parties, where booze and drugs are abundant, are a norm on residence. Should we limit them? No, but we need to help people who are not used to this kind of situation. And with the international student population growing on North American campuses growing, we might want to think about them."The forgotten issue in American media: gun control": to find this, you need to visit forums on non-U.S. media websites, and check articles on international news outlets to see how this is an important issue related to the V Tech massacre.<img src="http://www.april16archive.org/archive/fullsize/_42811311_firearms_deaths3_203gr.gif"> The risk of being killed by a firearm in the US is higher than in any other Western nation. Of countries outside war zones, the risk is greatest in South Africa, according to a United Nations report. (<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6562529.stm">BBC</a>) "No society that feeds its children on tales of succesful violence can expect them not to believe that violence in the end is rewarded" Margaret Mead. A society that feels the need to arm itself with lethal weapons for protection from society, is no society at all. It's all about fear. Steve, Livingston, <a href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=6121&&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;&edition=2&ttl=20070417193257">Recommended by 49 people</a> Apparently, the rest of the world can see that, no matter the pain a mentally ill young person goes through (and which, given the killer's past action, must have been significant), access to automatic army-type weapons, deregulation of access to weapons, and the U.S. "gun culture" really are the main cause behind - classroom - shootings.Posted by steppen wolf at 11:43 AM--Original Source: <a href="http://skeptalchemist.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-massacre-in-media-sermons.html">http://skeptalchemist.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-massacre-in-media-sermons.html</a>Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada</a> Language A language of the resource eng Title A name given to the resource the virginia tech massacre in the media: sermons and loners blog commentary https://www.april16.vtlibraries.net/files/original/HokieHope2_14d24075cc.ppt null Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-10 Omeka Legacy File The metadata element set that, in addition to the Dublin Core element set, was included in the `files` table in previous versions of Omeka. These elements are common to all Omeka files. This set may be deprecated in future versions. Capture Date 2007-05-10 13:58:42 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Robert White Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Robert White Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-10 Description An account of the resource The Danaher Motion customer support center adorned in orange and maroon pose for a group picture in support of the Hokie Hope initiative. Language A language of the resource eng Title A name given to the resource Hokie Hope at DMAC Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kimberly Clemons Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kimberly Clemons Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-01 Description An account of the resource Tragedy enters our world so much when it is least expected How do we endure The heartache after the catastrophe has occurred We cling to our loved ones If we are the blessed ones to survive Yet we still are questioning And are seeking to understand why we are left and why not me Whether the catastrophe is far away in a big city Or close to home in a place we would never imagine The fact remains the world is changing The world is not as it once was and it never will be again We can sit and stare at news coverage seeing the events unfold Over and over again yet the dark cloud looms The solace and reality remain in our minds Our nation has yet again suffered setback that again we must prevail Let us not forget our freedom, Old Glory, the infamous red, white, & blue While we have been robbed, ripped and reminded of tragedy Let us yet again remember our renewed fight for America Kimberly B. Clemons April 17, 2007 Language A language of the resource eng Title A name given to the resource Tragedy Enters Our World april 16 tragedy virginia tech Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Arthur Vandelay Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Arthur Vandelay Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-05 Description An account of the resource Tuesday, April 17, 2007The Bill Muehlenberg Trophy: Debbie Schlussel and the Virginia Tech ShootingsJust when you think the wingnut Right can't possibly get more insane or logic-deprived than it already is, along comes <a href="http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2007/04/who_is_the_asia.html">Debbie Schlussel</a>, writing on the Virginia Tech university shootings.First, <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/04/contemptible_ghoul.php">she blamed the Muzzies</a> without a shred of evidence. Then, updating her blog entry after <a href="http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21571821-5001021,00.html">reports</a> emerged that the suspect was a Chinese national, she wrote:<blockquote>The shooter has now been identified as a <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/343354,vatech041607.article">Chinese national here on a student visa</a>. Lovely. Yet another reason to stop letting in so many foreign students.</blockquote>When the suspect was later more vaguely described as "Asian," Schlussel saw this as a golden opportunity to revive her "it-was-a-Muzzie-wot-done-it" thesis. (This will take your breath away)<blockquote>Why am I speculating that the "Asian" gunman is a Pakistani Muslim? Because law enforcement and the media strangely won't tell us more specifically who the gunman is. Why?</blockquote><blockquote>Even if it does not turn out that the shooter is Muslim, this is a demonstration to Muslim jihadists all over that it is extremely easy to shoot and kill multiple American college students.</blockquote>Got that? (Once you've stopped bashing yourself senseless against the keyboard.) Regardless of who is actually responsible for the massacre, it's yet another reason to hate Muslims. Holy dogshit! How are we expected to take that side of politics seriously when it keeps churning out half-wits like Schlussel?(Via Pharyngula)P.S. Compare Schlussel's Islamophobic dribbling to Scott Poynting's <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/rn/perspective/stories/2007/1898108.htm#transcript">thoughtful Perspective piece on Islamophobia and moral panic</a>.UPDATE: It turns out that <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200704/s1899863.htm">the gunman was a 23-year old Korean student</a>, acting alone. Not that it makes a lick of difference to Schlussel. Maybe he's a Korean Muslim. Or maybe the Muslim centre of his brain was overstimulated. In any case, he's a foreigner. Foreigner bad. Muslim bad. Rinse. Repeat.UPDATE II: <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2007/04/darwin_shot_the_vt_students.php">Guess who the creationists are blaming . . . </a>UPDATE III: <a href="http://pandagon.net/2007/04/17/tragedy-at-virginia-tech/">Guess who's planning to show up at the funerals of the slain students</a> (via <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/04/still_more_contemptible_ghouls.php">Pharyngula</a>)UPDATE IV: <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/04/dinesh_dsouza_is_a_contemptibl.php">Dinesh D'Souza claims that atheists don't care about the shootings</a>. Why? Because Richard Dawkins "has not been invited to speak to the grieving Virginia Tech community." Shame on us atheists! Even <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/18/national/main2699800.shtml">Fred Phelps and his WBC mourning committee</a> have the decency to pay their respects to the victims. (Pharyngula)Originally posted at <a href="http://fivepublicopinions.blogspot.com/2007/04/bill-muehlenberg-trophy-debbie.html">Five Public Opinions</a> Language A language of the resource eng Title A name given to the resource Debbie Schlussel and the VT shootings Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Brent Jesiek Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Liz Vargo / The Record Herald Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-21 Description An account of the resource By Liz Vargo The Record Herald Published: Monday, May 21, 2007 10:08 AM CDT GREENCASTLE - When Greencastle-Antrim High School sophomore Kristin Reihart saw the massacre unfold at Virginia Tech in April, a chilling realization hit her - it could happen anywhere. "Virginia Tech was one of the colleges I considered going to," Kristin said. "If it happened two to three years in the future, I could be one of the students affected." So Kristin and three of her sophomore friends, Samantha Benson, Ashley Alleman and Tyler Sheeley, took it upon themselves to help. The four developed a plan for donations and presented it to high school administrators. During lunch periods last Friday, today and on Tuesday, the group will collect donations and sell T-shirts to raise money for the victims and relatives affected by the Virginia Tech massacre. "I can't imagine what they're going through," said Samantha. Making donations Any donations will go toward the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. Donations will fund grief counseling and communication with victims of the shootings and their families. Those who donate a minimum of $1 will receive a white, orange and maroon ribbon in memory of the lives lost at Virginia Tech. The students plan to make all the ribbons. The group also designed the T-shirts, which can be purchased for $10 apiece. The maroon shirt has orange lettering with the date of the shooting, April 16, 2007, and "Remember Virginia Tech" on the back. Shirts come in small through extra large. Kristin said it will take about a week to get the shirts made. Those who ordered T-shirts and received ribbons will wear them on the same day to honor Virginia Tech students and show support. Creating awareness Several local schools dealt with serious threats following the Virginia Tech shootings on April 16. Kristin and Samantha said it's scary to think about what could happen at home. "We're trying to bring awareness. We share in the pain of that community," Kristin said. "It's scary (when there's a threat) because kids don't know if it's really a threat or not," said Samantha. The students who threaten others or carry out terrifying events, like that at Virginia Tech, often feel they have no way out, Samantha said. Peer pressure and bullying make them look for another way to cope. Although G-AHS has not dealt with threats, students said they have seen bullying in the schools. "It's nothing major, but we want people to realize what happened and how people from that area feel," added Tyler. "We should feel for them." The students said other organizations raised money for victims, but they noticed nothing had been done at G-ASHS, so they started a fund-raiser themselves. "It's an amazing thing with the heart of these students," said assistant principal Ed Rife. "They pulled this together themselves. It's not for a class, it's all about making a difference." By showing their respect, Rife said the students created a way for the Greencastle "family" to help another family in need, he said. The project The fund-raising event took about three weeks to plan. Students met with the guidance counselor, then presented the idea to administrators. Samantha said many teachers commented they were proud the students organized the project on their own. No one used it as class or extra-curricular credit. T-shirts can be ordered at the high school office, 500 E. H St., or by calling 597-2186. To donate directly to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, call 1-800-533-1144. -- Original source: <a href="http://www.therecordherald.com/articles/2007/05/21/local_news/news03.txt">http://www.therecordherald.com/articles/2007/05/21/local_news/news03.txt</a> Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5</a> Language A language of the resource eng Title A name given to the resource G-AHS students reach out to survivors of the the massacre at Virginia Tech fundraiser gahs greencastle high school tshirts Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Brent Jesiek Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Meghan Griffin / GateHouse Media Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-21 Description An account of the resource By Meghan Griffin/salem@cnc.com GateHouse Media Wed Apr 25, 2007, 09:36 PM EDT SALEM - The vigil held at Salem State College on Monday began with the most important thing, the reason some 300 students and faculty had assembled: the 32-plus victims of the Virginia Tech shooting. Michael Mitchell, president of the Student Government Association, started the vigil by reading each of the victims' names. "We will keep them in our hearts forever," said Mitchell. The students and staff who congregated on the lawn of Salem State's Central Campus were there to show their compassion and support in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech University massacre. The hundreds who gathered at Salem State held candles, and they were all outfitted in custom made T-shirts displaying the Virginia Tech logo on the front and the phrase, "Today We Are All Hokies," on the back in honor of the university's mascot. Candles lined the walkway leading to Central Campus, and empathetic students stood in groups as they tried to make sense of the tragedy. The disaster unfolded April 16, at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va. The nation was shocked to hear that a student open fired and claimed the lives of 32 innocent victims, including 20-year-old Ross Alameddine of Saugus, before turning the gun on himself. Salem State's commemoration began at 7 p.m., one week after the massacre. Mitchell, who played a large role in organizing the event, extended thanks to all those who helped organize the vigil, and to the Residence Hall Association for producing the T-shirts. President Nancy Harrington, who will retire at the end of the school year, addressed the situation and called the mayhem at Virginia Tech, "immeasurable." It is important for students to remain united in order to stay strong, she told the crowd. The vigil brought forward the realization that a disaster could strike unexpectedly at any time, and that no one is fully protected. "We hope and we pray that this is a safe campus," Harrington said, noting that there is no guarantee that such a tragedy will not occur in this violent world. "There is no real way to prevent something like this," Mitchell added. A recurring theme of the evening was the need for students to recognize those they may be alienating. Cho Seung-Hui, the student killer who went on the rampage at Virginia Tech, was reportedly a loner and outcast. "People shouldn't feel alone in this world," said Salem State junior David Overton, who addressed the crowd when the organizers asked if anyone wanted to come up and say a few words. Dressed in all black, Overton told the Gazette the shooting had a personal effect on him. After the 1999 high school shooting in Columbine, he said, he was questioned by teachers and others at his school. Overton, a resident adviser at Salem State, said there should have been parts of the community to help Cho Seung-Hui, and that all schools need to be prepared for such an act before it is too late. A few people, like Overton, chose to share their personal thoughts with the crowd. Jay Carey, a Salem resident and employee at the college's Center for Adult Learning, received an overwhelming applause after reading a poem he wrote about the incident. "It's a shame," he read, "that we only pull together in the rain." Students wrapped up the vigil by shaping a huge Virginia Tech logo on the lawn. Photographers captured the moment with aerial shots taken from the roof. Salem State plans to send the photo, along with five signed banners and two signed wooden Virginia Tech logos, to the Blacksburg school to show support. Harrington was impressed with the turnout. She credited Mitchell for spearheading the event, which was entirely student organized. "The tragedy at Virginia Tech touched everybody," she told the Gazette. Mitchell said they had to act quickly to pull together the vigil. "The purpose," he said after speaking to the crowd, "is to give people a chance to reflect." -- Original source: <a href="http://www.townonline.com/salem/homepage/x109703597">http://www.townonline.com/salem/homepage/x109703597</a> Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5</a> Language A language of the resource eng Title A name given to the resource Hundreds attend Salem State vigil for Virginia Tech salem state college vigil https://www.april16.vtlibraries.net/files/original/g25825841dd7fdcf7e735140c2ef8a198079ef175a41725_333b9fce71.jpg null Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-21 Omeka Legacy File The metadata element set that, in addition to the Dublin Core element set, was included in the `files` table in previous versions of Omeka. These elements are common to all Omeka files. This set may be deprecated in future versions. Capture Date 2007-05-21 14:06:07 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Brent Jesiek Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nicole Goodhue Boyd Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-21 Description An account of the resource Salem State College students, staff and others at a vigil on Monday, May 23 for Virginia Tech lined up to form the VT logo. The photo will be sent to the university as a show of support, along with signed banners and wooden VT logo symbols. Original source: <a href="http://www.townonline.com/salem/homepage/x109703597">http://www.townonline.com/salem/homepage/x109703597</a> Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5</a> Language A language of the resource eng salem state college vigil https://www.april16.vtlibraries.net/files/original/tech5_6711d3ac01.jpg null Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-22 Omeka Legacy File The metadata element set that, in addition to the Dublin Core element set, was included in the `files` table in previous versions of Omeka. These elements are common to all Omeka files. This set may be deprecated in future versions. Capture Date 2007-05-22 11:56:24 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Stephen Gunter Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Stephen Gunter Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-22 Description An account of the resource Crime scene tape near Norris Hall that was blown away and then got snagged in a nearby tree. Language A language of the resource eng Norris tape tree Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Elizabeth Nowrouz Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Elizabeth Nowrouz Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-21 Description An account of the resource By: Elizabeth Nowrouz Posted: 4/19/07 It has been three days since April 16. Three days since maroon and orange became not just a team's colors, but a show of courage and defiance in the face of a national tragedy. While the students, faculty and families struggle to pick up the pieces, schools like UMW are making every effort to just show their support. It has been called the Columbine of college, and international news is still saturated with images of the victims, the shooter and a campus in mourning. Many students at the University of Mary Washington, located just 200 miles from the Blacksburg campus, had personal connections to Virginia Tech. When senior Susan Alexander found out about the shootings, she immediately began contacting her high school classmates at Tech. It was not until the next morning that she discovered a close family friend was one of the victims. "She was in her French class," Alexander said. Reema Samaha was a Virginia Tech freshman attending class in Norris Hall on Monday morning. The two families had known each other for years, Alexander said, and "we would all spend our summers together." Alexander returned to her hometown of Centreville to find it "transformed." "There are signs and banners everywhere, because two of the victims were from there, but so was the shooter," she said. Junior Nicole Halloran, who organized a vigil Monday night and has helped plan another for tonight, had many friends and classmates at the school. "We should show solidarity," Halloran said. "This is one of the best and only ways to do that. This could have happened anywhere." In the hours after the events unfolded, there was already a second vigil planned, this one by senior Jennifer Welsch and junior Jessica Thiel. Thiel did not have any close friends or relatives at Tech, but felt she needed to pay her respects. The girls' Facebook group asked students to meet at the fountain in Palmieri Plaza at 9 p.m. "What if someone walked into my class and started shooting," Thiel said as she passed out candles to the quickly forming crowd. "It's a Virginia school, I had to do something." Thiel addressed the crowd, many of them wearing Virginia Tech colors, and asked them to form a circle and join hands. She began to pray for "the students who woke up this morning and thought it was any other day, who walked into class, but didn't get to leave." Thiel had barely begin speaking when the group from Ball Circle arrived at the fountain, and the circle grew to accommodate them. When the prayer was finished, the students, who had numbered over 200, passed a bucket of orange Gatorate powder around, each person emptying a scoop into the fountain. As a chorus of "Lean On Me" spread through the crowd, the water slowly began to turn Hokie Orange. Senior Kyle Ott, who attended Monday's vigil, had actually been in Blacksburg when the shootings took place. "My girlfriend goes to Tech, so I drive down Saturday afternoon," Ott said. "She had a meeting at 10, and the campus went on lockdown while she was there." Ott was not on campus, but could not get near because of the police. "I was concerned about her and that she'd go outside," he said. "A girl from her sorority was killed, but she was fine and I left at like noon." Though the responses have been mostly from students, many UMW faculty and staff had connections to the events as well. Jack Bales, the reference and humanities librarian, is the parent of a Virginia Tech student. His son Patrick is a sophomore there. Jack Bales spoke of his experience in an e-mail. "My son [called me and] asked me, 'Dad, have you heard the news,'" Bales said. "He told me about the first shooting." Bales' son lives in West Ambler Johnston Hall, the site of the first shooting. His dormitory, like the rest of the campus, was locked down after the second shooting. Families and friends struggled to get in touch with students at Tech all day. Cell phones stopped working early in the day, and so many of the victims' names did not come out until Monday night or Tuesday morning. Associate Vice President for Business and Finance Richard Pearce is a Virginia Tech alumnus and parent. His daughter Darcey, a senior at Virginia Tech, was out of the area on Monday, but Pearce himself was at Radford University, a 15-minute drive from Blacksburg. Pearce was at a function for accepted students at the university when he heard of the shootings. "Everyone there was just glued to the TVs that whole morning," he said "The crowd was just numb. Even in the dining hall, it was just quiet." Rick Hurley, vice president for administration and finance, who has assumed presidential duties, has been working with students and faculty to come up with an appropriate response to the events. His first action was to increase police presence on campus. "We weren't worried, but we wanted to send a message to the students," Hurley said. "We wanted to do what we could to give a higher level of comfort." Situations like this, Hurley said, always raise questions about local security. "We have a crisis management team that can come together at a moment's notice, as it did last week," he said, referring to the incidents with UMW President William Frawley. "We contact academic buildings and residence halls, and have the residence staff get in touch with as many people as possible," he said. "For a school as small as we are, we can do that. It's an old-fashioned system, but it works." Hurley has been working with students on campus to plan memorials to the victims. In addition to the state-wide vigil planned for tonight, Governor Kaine has declared Friday to be the national day of mourning. "We are hoping to set up a line of students from the bell tower to Goolrick," he said. "Everyone will hold hands and observe a moment of silence." "We all hear that we should not take our good fortune for granted," Bales said. "But until something like this happens, we all probably do." Language A language of the resource eng Title A name given to the resource UMW Mourns VT april 19 fredericksburg university of mary washington https://www.april16.vtlibraries.net/files/original/VT_solidarity_ff7ed68008.JPG null Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-22 Omeka Legacy File The metadata element set that, in addition to the Dublin Core element set, was included in the `files` table in previous versions of Omeka. These elements are common to all Omeka files. This set may be deprecated in future versions. Capture Date 2007-05-22 16:52:45 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Brent Jesiek Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Case Western Reserve University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-22 Description An account of the resource Case Western Reserve University's students, faculty and staff dressed in maroon and orange and organized into a Virginia Tech logo. Case's student government and others organized this "human logo" on Friday, April 20 in support of the victims and the entire university. Photo courtesy of Case Western Reserve University Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permissions Contact: Laura Massie (laura.massie@case.edu) april 20 case western reserve university logo https://www.april16.vtlibraries.net/files/original/VaTech_human_logo v2_86d759668d.jpg null Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-22 Omeka Legacy File The metadata element set that, in addition to the Dublin Core element set, was included in the `files` table in previous versions of Omeka. These elements are common to all Omeka files. This set may be deprecated in future versions. Capture Date 2007-05-22 12:38:05 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Brent Jesiek Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Case Western Reserve University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-22 Description An account of the resource Case Western Reserve University's students, faculty and staff dressed in maroon and orange and organized into a Virginia Tech logo. Case's student government and others organized this "human logo" on Friday, April 20 in support of the victims and the entire university. Photo courtesy of Case Western Reserve University Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permissions Contact: Laura Massie (laura.massie@case.edu) april 20 case western reserve university logo https://www.april16.vtlibraries.net/files/original/Castle Point II_2e2c5cadcb.jpg null Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-25 Omeka Legacy File The metadata element set that, in addition to the Dublin Core element set, was included in the `files` table in previous versions of Omeka. These elements are common to all Omeka files. This set may be deprecated in future versions. Capture Date 2007-05-25 11:51:51 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Chad Newswander Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource David Pfeffer Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-23 Description An account of the resource Briana Gilmartin helps a fellow student light a candle in remembrance of the dead at Virginia Tech. Original source: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bytenik/470855687/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/bytenik/470855687/</a> Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permission Contact: David Pfeffer (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bytenik/) Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Title A name given to the resource Virginia Tech Vigil on Castle Point II candlelight vigil castle point vigil https://www.april16.vtlibraries.net/files/original/Castle Point I_15b1405226.jpg null Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-25 Omeka Legacy File The metadata element set that, in addition to the Dublin Core element set, was included in the `files` table in previous versions of Omeka. These elements are common to all Omeka files. This set may be deprecated in future versions. Capture Date 2007-05-25 11:54:31 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Chad Newswander Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource David Pfeffer Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-23 Description An account of the resource The flag at Castle Point flows in the wind as students stand in memory of the dead at Virginia Tech. Original source: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bytenik/470838112/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/bytenik/470838112/</a> Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Permission Contact: David Pfeffer (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bytenik/) Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Title A name given to the resource Virginia Tech Vigil on Castle Point candlelight vigil castle point vigil Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Brent Jesiek Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Helena Cobban Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-23 Description An account of the resource Posted by Helena Cobban at April 16, 2007 04:33 PM Tragedy has <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6560685.stm">struck</a> the community at Virginia Tech, our state's "other" fine flagship university, which is located around 120 miles southwest of my hometown, Charlottesville. Apparently a single gunman went on a rampage there earlier today and killed at least 30 members of the university community-- most likely, most of them students. Obviously, this is a truly horrible blow for all members of the community there. Equally obviously, we know that communities throughout Iraq have been suffering blows as huge as this one-- or on occasions, even larger blows-- on a daily or almost daily basis throughout the past 3-4 years. Many communities in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from gun violence on this scale, too. And last week, Algeria, in North Africa, was the scene of two extremely lethal suicide bombings... Can we all unite in grief together, and in sad wonder at the senselessness of ultra-lethal weapons and the tragedy of their widespread availability and use in many different parts of the world? Can we unite in sad wonder at the depth of alienation and hopelessness that leads some people to engage in mass killings, even sometimes to the point of throwing their own lives into the project, as well? Can we unite with a commitment to support, help, and try to repair all those bereaved by these and other acts of violence? Can we unite around a strengthened commitment never ourselves to resort to violence, and to redouble our search for the nonviolent ways that always do exist to resolve any differences among us as humans? I have only been to Virginia Tech once. It was a magical half-day I spent there, in the summer of 2005. The Friends General Conference (FGC), which is the main body of 'liberal' north American Quakers, was holding its annual summer gathering in a small part of Tech's beautiful campus, which is built from flinty blue-grey stone in the incredibly beautiful foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I wasn't a participant in the gathering, but I made a special trip there one evening to spend a few hours with my dear friend Misty Gerner, who was then in a fairly advanced stage of her cancer. Misty, her husband, and I walked around the beautiful lawns a bit, and had dinner at a small nearby restaurant. Then Phil (the husband) left Misty and me alone a while. We walked and talked a whole lot more. She was wracked with bouts of pretty intense physical pain but her spirit was radiant. I prefer to remember Tech's campus as the place where I talked with Misty on that sunny evening about life, death, love, God, justice, peace, and the Middle East... She died last summer. Maybe a little part of her still hovers over the Tech campus. If so I hope she can help to comfort the many shocked and bereaved people there today. God forgive us all for having let the spirit of violence permeate our communities and animate our actions to this extent. -- Original Source: <a href="http://justworldnews.org/archives/002479.html">http://justworldnews.org/archives/002479.html</a> Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0</a> Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 Title A name given to the resource Tragedy at Virginia Tech blog commentary https://www.april16.vtlibraries.net/files/original/vtwall_b84182e2b3.jpg null Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-23 Omeka Legacy File The metadata element set that, in addition to the Dublin Core element set, was included in the `files` table in previous versions of Omeka. These elements are common to all Omeka files. This set may be deprecated in future versions. Capture Date 2007-05-23 14:40:29 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Brent Jesiek Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Case Western Reserve University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-23 Description An account of the resource April 19, 2007 On Friday, April 20, dozens of Case Western Reserve University students and other members of the campus community became honorary "Hokies" in spirit. They wore maroon and orange - the Virginia Tech school colors - in a show of solidarity and support. To remember and honor fellow students, faculty, staff and administrators who lost their lives or were injured at Virginia Tech earlier this week, several of Case Western Reserve's student organizations joined together to create a large "card" and a campus photo. All members of the university community were invited to sign the card, offering heartfelt prayers and words of healing and remembrance to their peers in Blacksburg, Va. In addition to the card, a photographer stood atop Kelvin Smith Library to take a photo of Case Western Reserve community members wearing maroon and orange - forming the letters VT - on Freiberger Field. Both the card and the photo will be sent to the Virginia Tech Student Union with hope that it will be displayed there. Students also redesigned - overnight - the university's large "graffiti" wall behind Thwing Center, the university's own student union. The wall now features a large VT and the words "You are in our thoughts," signed with a university logo. Organizations involved in creating these efforts included: Undergraduate Student Government, University Program Board, Class Officers Collective, Interfraternity Congress, Panhellenic Council, Residence Hall Association and Media Board. Posted by: Paula Baughn, April 19, 2007 02:31 PM -- Original Source: <a href="http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2007/04/19/vatechsupport">http://blog.case.edu/case-news/2007/04/19/vatechsupport</a> Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Laura Massie (laura.massie@case.edu) Title A name given to the resource Case students, community show support for Virginia Tech case western reserve university wall Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Brent Jesiek Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource William Bishop Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-23 Description An account of the resource 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: <a href="http://lostjohns.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-massacre.html">http://lostjohns.blogspot.com/2007/04/virginia-tech-massacre.html</a> Licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License</a>. Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License Title A name given to the resource Virginia Tech Massacre blog commentary Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Brent Jesiek Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Dan Brekke Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-23 Description An account of the resource Monday, April 16, 2007 I broke down and turned on CNN to check out coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting. I see there and elsewhere, without really knowing the details from this morning's mayhem, that the media are turning to the question of what it all means. With the help of sociologists, CNN bloviator in chief Lou Dobbs is going to scrutinize school shootings. It's an unspeakable tragedy, of course, and what will come to distinguish it will be the awful, heartbreaking details to be revealed over the hours and days to come. But really: does this tell us anything about any aspect of our society that we didn't know before this morning? Or before Columbine? Or the Killeen, Texas, massacre? Or Oliver James Huberty's slaughter of the innocents at the San Ysidro McDonald's. Go ahead and jump in -- you can all think of an incident that fits. I'm not sure what any of these killings says, by the way, beyond the obvious: how violent the society is, how efficient firearms are at doing what they're designed to do. But regardless of the meaning, to me, these have come part of the landscape we live in, a little like earthquakes in California. You know they're coming; you know they could be devastating; but you never know when it's going to happen. Of course, unlike earthquakes, in theory, at least, there's the hope we might be able to do something to stop random massacres. After every one, there's lots and lots of talk; Lou Dobbs and his sociologists. Then -- then we move on, till the next time. Posted by Dan Brekke at 03:15 PM -- Original Source: <a href="http://infospigot.typepad.com/infospigot_the_chronicles/2007/04/force_of_nature.html">http://infospigot.typepad.com/infospigot_the_chronicles/2007/04/force_of_nature.html</a> Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0</a> Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Title A name given to the resource Force of Nature blog commentary Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Brent Jesiek Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Andy Carvin Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-23 Description An account of the resource April 16, 2007 It's been a dizzying day taking in the horrible news from Virginia Tech, just a few hours west of DC, with at least 30 people on campus killed by a lone gunman. I spent a good part of the morning running back and forth between NPR's digital media department, the offices of Talk of the Nation, and the central hub space shared by NPR's news team during emergencies. Now that I've had a chance to sit on the train, head back home from work, and think about what happened today, I'm already angered by one bit of news I hadn't considered earlier in the day: that approximately two hours passed between the first shooting incident and the later massacre in the classrooms. During that time, it appears that almost no communications went out, apart from several mass email informing students of a shooting incident earlier in the day. The first email went out just before 9:30am, just after the final shootings began in the classrooms: <blockquote>Subject: Shooting on campus. "A shooting incident occurred at West Amber Johnston earlier this morning. Police are on the scene and are investigating. "The university community is urged to be cautious and are asked to contact Virginia Tech Police if you observe anything suspicious or with information on the case. Contact Virginia Tech Police at 231-6411 "Stay attuned to the http://www.vt.edu. We will post as soon as we have more information."</blockquote> This was followed by several other emails: <blockquote>Second email sent at 9:50 a.m.: Subject: PLease stay put "A gunman is loose on campus. Stay in buildings until further notice. Stay away from all windows" Third email sent at 10:17 a.m.: Subject: All Classes Canceled; Stay where you are "Virginia Tech has canceled all classes. Those on campus are asked to remain where there are, lock their doors and stay away from windows. Persons off campus are asked not to come to campus." Fourth email sent at 10:53 a.m.: Subject: Second Shooting Reported; Police have one gunman in custody "In addition to an earlier shooting today in West Ambler Johnston, there has been a multiple shooting with multiple victims in Norris Hall. "Police and EMS are on the scene. "Police have one shooter in custody and as part of routine police procedure, they continue to search for a second shooter. "All people in university buildings are required to stay inside until further notice. "All entrances to campus are closed."</blockquote> If the gunman was at large, why on earth wasn't the campus in lock-down mode sooner? Why didn't they have any other form of mass broadcast, apart from the campus-wide email? At minimum, the campus should have had an emergency PA system. I don't care if you want to use shootings or tornados or any other excuse for making the investment, but every campus in America should have a basic PA system for any potential civic emergency. And I know I've said this each time a disaster has happened over the last couple of years, but why the hell don't we have an emergency SMS broadcasting tool that can be used to send warnings to every cell phone in a given area or to a given group? Please don't take this as yet another pitch for people to use Twitter or Jaiku or Mozes, because frankly I don't care what tool people use, as long as it's reliable, easy to manage and secure - and Twitter doesn't exactly meet those needs yet. It's a start, but there's a long way to go. Back during the Boxing Day Tsunami, the Swedish government was able to get the local phone companies to send an SMS broadcast to every one of their subscribers whose phones had recently sent out a signal emanating from Southeast Asia. While they weren't able to do it in time to save lives, it made a major difference in tracking down who survived and who didn't. If they're able to figure out a way to do that, why can't we figure out a way to allow schools and municipalities here in the US to send out emergency SMS broadcasts? There's no way I can know for sure, of course, but I would surmise that almost every student and faculty member injured or killed today had a cell phone on them when they were attacked. Imagine the difference a single text message could have made. We can wait and see if some dot-com company can come up with a tool that could be jury-rigged for such purposes. Or we could get off our asses and make the necessary investments to develop an serious SMS broadcasting tool specifically designed for emergencies, both for warning the public and coordinating first responders. How many more disasters will it take before we do take the necessary action? -andy Posted by acarvin at April 16, 2007 6:33 PM -- Original source: <a href="http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2007/04/we_need_emergency_sms_broadcasting_tools.html">http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2007/04/we_need_emergency_sms_broadcasting_tools.html</a> Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0</a> Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Title A name given to the resource We Need Emergency SMS Broadcasting Tools NOW! blog commentary Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Nicholas Kiersey Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gerard Toal Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-07 Description An account of the resource This is a piece written by Gerard Toal, the NOVA-based Virginia Tech Professor. It was published in the Irish Times 28/04/07. The Irish Times 28/04/2007 Author: Gerard Toal Title: Sensible gun laws only way to secure a safe future for US The majority of students of Virginia Tech are doing something ordinary yet also remarkable this week: they are studying hard for their final exams. Working through the horrific murders of 27 of their fellow students and 5 of their faculty at the hands of a disturbed class mate, Cho Seung-Hui, the Virginia Tech community is refusing to be defined by a violent rampage that has shocked the United States and caused sorrow across the world. Virginia Tech is an institution of higher learning, a place where young people can realize their potential and, as the university slogan puts it, 'invent the future.' The return of students in large numbers after such a terrible crime is re-affirming this to the world. The loss of so many young lives on April 16th has shaken us all. A flotilla of media decamped to our main university campus in Blacksburg and recorded our shock and our tears. It has also encountered, in conversations with our students and faculty, our capacity to rally and persevere. As a Virginia Tech faculty member for eighteen years, I was gratified by two aspects of our response. First, Virginia Tech faculty and students correctly challenged the widespread use of the multi-media images produced by Cho Seung-Hui himself which were integral to enacting his fantasy of heroic 're-masculinization' through brutal violence. The complicity of the media in producing murder as fascinating spectacle is widespread across the globe. Second, amidst our pain, there was also human empathy for Cho's family and for those beyond our campus who suffer from structural and direct violence every day. The death toll in Baghdad last week was horrific. The Iraq war continues to claim the lives of young American soldiers, some tragically former Virginia Tech students. The daily death toll from gun violence across the United States is also horrific. In 2004, the New York Times reported this last weekend, an average of about 81 people per day died from gunfire across the United States. Some were suicides, others 'accidents' and the rest classified as homicides. In Washington D.C. in 2005, according to public statistics, there were 195 murders, the lowest number in recent years yet still a grim total for a city of only 550,521 people. Look for a rise in the future if the staunchly conservative US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has its way. Last month, it struck down the District's restrictive handgun law opening the door to a broad roll-back of gun control laws across the United States, especially in its major cities (the decision is on appeal, and may come before the US Supreme Court). Marginalized by last Monday's horror at Virginia Tech was a large demonstration in Washington DC for congressional voting rights. Despite having a population almost as numerous as states like North Dakota (636,677), Alaska (663,661), South Dakota (775,933), and larger than Wyoming (509,294), this overwhelmingly African-American city has no Senators or Representatives with political voting power in the Congress seated within it. This matters significantly when it comes to gun control laws to promote public safety and freedom from random acts of madness. All of the states comparable to DC in population are power centers for those forces glamorizing guns and undermining existing gun control laws. National Rifle Association constructions of 'tradition' and 'rights' (words familiar to Irish ears) are blended with frontier mythology to sell guns, and lots of them, as necessary accessories of a supposedly 'free' lifestyle. Paranoid fantasies revolving around government conspiracies and invading outsiders are used to mobilize gun owners into political projects as single issue voters backing NRA-endorsed candidates. Gun laws are for sissies; real men pack heat. But there is no conspiracy, only the organized effort of the gun lobby, deeply entrenched in Congress, to thwart cities suing gun manufacturers for the devastation caused by their products, and to let the Clinton era assault weapons ban lapse. Under the Bush administration, a plethora of semi-automatic assault weapons are now available for sale to the general public. Last Friday, in the wake of the Virginia Tech rampage, the Democratic controlled House of Representatives passed a bill creating a new Congressional seat for Washington DC and, to attract Republican support, for Republican-leaning Utah also (most Republicans still voted against the measure). The measure was previously stalled by Republican efforts to attach a provision formally overturning the District's 31 year old ban on hand guns. The bill moves forward into the Senate where the over representation of rural states and the under representation of the interests of America's cities is most pronounced. It also faces a potential White House veto. Beyond this modest gesture, the Virginia Tech massacre has generated no serious political response. Politicians have run from the issue rather than face it, blaming university officials and campus security rather than their own complicity with making deadly semi-automatic weapons easily available. The Virginia Tech community reacted strongly against an initial media-driven desire to blame the university and its police force for the absence of a 'lockdown' of campus (as if an open campus should be like a prison). Petitions of support for the university president and police chief made it clear we were not accepting this easy 'blame-the-local-officials' strategy. Contrast this to how the Australian government reacted in 1996 to the massacre of 35 people in Port Arthur Tasmania by a deranged killer using a semi-automatic rifle. Within 12 days, the federal and state government agreed a ban on semi-automatic rifles and placed strict controls on other guns. The government also launched a large gun buy-back program. The result? Suicides and homicides have declined. In the decade before Port Arthur, there were 10 separate mass-shooting incidents; since, zero. The United States faces many difficult challenges today. Can the US state extract itself with dignity from Iraq and rebuild its international standing to more effectively thwart terrorism? Can it meet the challenge of global climate change after ignoring it for so long? Can the federal government create legislative solutions that provide adequate health care for all its citizens, as its population ages? And, while its leading politicians may not want to acknowledge it, the Virginia Tech killings renew the question: can the federal government establish meaningful control on handguns and assault weapons? These are profound challenges for the future. My hope and feeling is that some of those students studying hard at Virginia Tech, in the wake of a horrible tragedy, will be involved in inventing a better future for the United States of America, one where security is grounded in sensible gun laws and Virginia Tech is the name of an excellent university not a citation in a continuing list of murderous rampages. -- Archived with permission of the author. Language A language of the resource eng Title A name given to the resource Toal: Sensible gun laws only way to secure a safe future for US cho seunghui conspiracy theory gerard toal guncontrol virginia tech