Shooting rampage at Va Tech..

How do you lock down a campus which is open?

Semantics. I would think one could assume it means classes are canceled, emergency vehicles block all roads entering or leaving, and everyone is to stay put, but I don't really see how questioning that term is pertinent. It's a term used by officials not a literal situation.

Point being, that's the quoted term which was used by law enforcement last August, not something I just threw out there.

Si02,
I disagree. First, if a student is murdered in an apartment complex, adjacent to campus, and rented by only students, you have the same scenerio. I must also disagree that parents send there kids to school for protection by the college. If you are relying upon campus police for protection, good luck. Say your prayers.

My point was that I think there is a point where it does perhaps make a difference. Lets say that people in more than one dorm room were killed, I could see shutting down classes until further investigation. We haven't been told of the facts of this case. Still don't know how many were killed in the dorm. I am simply saying that we quickly jump to conclusions witout having complete knowledge of the situation. I don't think that one murder is cause to shut down a college. Maybe the cops have information from witnesses that the killer in the dorm was killing his girlfriend or boyfriend for cheating on him. The point is, we don't know.

That wasn't my point. My point was that dorms are considered to be more protective and restrictive by nature then an apartment near campus, and parents typically know that and choose dorms often for that reason. For example at least two large universities in the SEC that I know of requires everyone to sign in and be monitored when they enter a dorm, especially the female dorm (or was that just for me). Does that mean that a person could not have been shot after checking in- definitely not. Is there an implied level of security (not neccesarily safety) in this scenario, I would say yes. I agree that you can't count on anyone for your children's SAFETY but there is a perception of security.

As for the number of people that have to be murdered in a university dorm before ONE day of classes is cancelled with no suspect in custody, I think one would be enough.

By the way, there were two people killed in one dorm room.

Just got an email that the son of one of the faculty members where I teach was one of the victims. My colleague and his wife had heard that their son was involved, got in the car to drive to Blacksburg, and received a phone call on the way up informing them that their son is dead. We're having a prayer vigil tomorrow evening.

Just got an email that the son of one of the faculty members where I teach was one of the victims. My colleague and his wife had heard that their son was involved, got in the car to drive to Blacksburg, and received a phone call on the way up informing them that their son is dead. We're having a prayer vigil tomorrow evening.

:shock: That is just terrible BR.

you all can argue all the points that you wish...but the fact remains that 32 kids are gone , don't lay blame on any one but a very screwed up kid. I feel for the families and loved ones that died. Stop arguing semantics and concentrate on the lives lost.....

It really is terrible. The entire campus community is so saddened by this bad news.

There was a bomb incident at Georgia Tech in 2005. I heard about it on the TV in my office. I totally flipped out and called Beach Jacket (who lives off campus), asked her where she was and if she knew about the incident (she didn't), and told her not to attend class or even go on campus until Tech figured out if it was terrorism or what. Not to worry. In true Beach Jacket form, she was shopping at Lenox.

Not making light of the situation at Va. Tech, but I thought you might be interested in seeing the link that discusses how Tech handled security after the bomb went off. http://www.gatech.edu/news-room/release.php?id=674

you all can argue all the points that you wish...but the fact remains that 32 kids are gone , don't lay blame on any one but a very screwed up kid. I feel for the families and loved ones that died. Stop arguing semantics and concentrate on the lives lost.....

I can assure you I was not arguing semantics, just the opposite as I stated and trying to stay on track.

There is no doubt this is a horrific day for all those involved and my thoughts and prayers are with every single one of them. Yes, the blame is solely on one messed up individual, but I am furious and dumbfounded the way this was handled by the police on the scene. Listening to the press conference tonight and the responses from reporters and students alike, one can see there is a general consensus many more lives could have been saved if the campus was alerted to 2 murdered students.

We should be mourning 2 victims and not 30!! additional ones had this been handled properly and responsibly. Yes, we should mourn and not lose sight of the lives lost, but for that very reason we should also inquire and not allow lessons to go unlearned.

BR, my heartfelt prayers are with your friends in these darkest hours.

you all can argue all the points that you wish...but the fact remains that 32 kids are gone , don't lay blame on any one but a very screwed up kid. I feel for the families and loved ones that died. Stop arguing semantics and concentrate on the lives lost.....

AIT and I have a large amount of friends that go to VT. We've been in touch with most of them today, and, blessedly, they're all okay. Shaken up and scared, but okay.

My heart absolutely aches, though, for the friends and families of those students and faculty members that are going to be receiving calls telling them that their loved one isn't coming home.

Have you heard about the shootings in the German class at VT? The instructor was my colleague's son. Found it on facebook. There was a list of who had classes in Norris at the time of the shooting.

Just verified on the Channel 11 news in Atlanta.

What a disaster. Prayers for those families who lost their loved ones so needlessly.

I find it hard to believe one person could inflict that much damage. This is going to be one weird story when all is known.

I am very sorry for all the families who lost someone yesterday. There is no reason why this had to happen. When a person is sad or just plain disgusted with whatever it is...why picking up a gun makes them think everything will be solved. Why don't they just shoot themselves. Why take so many innocent with them or should say him. I am so very sad for those remaining. It certainly is a very sad day at Virginia Tech. Thought I heard classes would be on today. Is this right?

I can assure you I was not arguing semantics, just the opposite as I stated and trying to stay on track.

There is no doubt this is a horrific day for all those involved and my thoughts and prayers are with every single one of them. Yes, the blame is solely on one messed up individual, but I am furious and dumbfounded the way this was handled by the police on the scene. Listening to the press conference tonight and the responses from reporters and students alike, one can see there is a general consensus many more lives could have been saved if the campus was alerted to 2 murdered students.

We should be mourning 2 victims and not 30!! additional ones had this been handled properly and responsibly. Yes, we should mourn and not lose sight of the lives lost, but for that very reason we should also inquire and not allow lessons to go unlearned.

BR, my heartfelt prayers are with your friends in these darkest hours.

well said. It is all so sad nd tragic! I am sure the indidviduals who were involved with handling the situation are horrified with what happened and how they failed in this situation. I hope that other institutions do indeed learn for what has happened and pay close attention to what happens on every areas of their campuses. Response and action are mandatory! As we do in our country...the school should have gone to code red (or orange at least) and been on high alert!

The RA killed in the first shooting in the dorm was from Atlanta. He was supposed to have graduated in May with a double major in English and biology.

I find it hard to believe one person could inflict that much damage. This is going to be one weird story when all is known.

yeah, I've been hearing all night on the radio that there is a strong possiblity that there is a 2nd shooter. :shock:

My prayers are with this community. As the mother of a college student and a reformed worry wart, I was so pleased to see this message from Steven's school. I must admit it helped me a bit, but also reminded me there is really only so much anyone can do to keep tragedies from happening.

To Members of the Mizzou Family:

It is with great sadness that I send and post this message today as we begin to mourn the terrible tragedy that has occurred at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, better known as Virginia Tech. Prior to joining Mizzou, I spent 11 years on the faculty there and can picture in my own mind the emotional devastation and incredible loss that has come to all those associated with that great land-grant university. This afternoon, we lowered the MU flags to half staff and sent a message of condolence and support to President Steger. I anticipate that we will work with our students, faculty and staff in the hours ahead to plan an appropriate campus memorial observance.



I want to send a very personal message to our students, the parents of our students, and the employees of this University. Before any other goals, we place your safety and well-being first. I want to assure you that MU has a campus emergency plan in place, an emergency web site http://mualert.missouri.edu <http://mualert.missouri.edu/> and an excellent campus police department that works closely with local, state and federal law enforcement authorities on an ongoing basis. Preventing and planning for emergencies has become a critical part of university management in the 21st century, and I promise you that it has our complete attention at all times.



Brady J. Deaton

Chancellor University of Missouri-Columbia

By ADAM GELLER, AP National Writer 7 minutes ago
full story


BLACKSBURG, Va. - The gunman suspected of carrying out the Virginia Tech massacre that left 33 people dead was identified Tuesday as a English major whose creative writing was so disturbing that he was referred to the school's counseling service....

I was so pleased to see this message from Steven's school.

We received a similar letter as parents of a Georgia Tech student. Our president also sent out a letter to our students' parents, as well as to the students, faculty, staff, and administration. I was surprised at how many students were upset about this, even if they didn't know the professor whose son was killed. I thought they'd be too cool to be upset, or in denial due to the feeling of invincibility that kids seem to have (as in, it couldn't happen to me). Beach Jacket was worried; I told her that there might be copycats in the next few days, especially on Friday because of the Columbine anniversary. So I advised her to stay alert and stay connected on Friday for any breaking news. We just bought her a Motorola Q, so she can browse the net or check her email wherever she is.

Student recalls day when roommate was killed at dorm
They were roommates and best friends and they were planning to meet in their dorm room Monday morning to go to chemistry class together. Emily Hilscher got there first and was killed. Heather Haugh arrived minutes later and became a key figure in the chaos unfolding on the Virginia Tech campus.

Even before she entered the building, Haugh said today, she was pulled aside by police desperate for clues. The information she gave was accurate, but it inadvertently led police to pursue Hilscher's boyfriend while the real shooter was setting up for another attack.

In an interview with The Times, Haugh said she knew of no connection between the killer and her roommate, or any reason why Cho Seung-Hui would have launched his deadly rampage on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston Hall.

"I've never seen him," she said. "I don't know his name. Emily didn't know him, as far as I know."

Haugh said that speculation that the killing spree was triggered by a domestic dispute likely stemmed from the fact that Hilscher's boyfriend was an avid gun user. She said that when she was first questioned by police, "they asked if her boyfriend had a gun or something."

She said she told the authorities that the boyfriend, Karl Thornhill, did have guns and that she and Hilscher had gone to a shooting range with him just a few weeks earlier. But she said she also told police that Hilscher and Thornhill got along well.

"The police asked if they had any problems, and they definitely don't," Haugh said. "He's just torn apart by all this. He's not a violent person at all."

Did you hear on The Today Show this AM that the officials are not letting the parents see the bodies of their children -- they will only let them see photos? Apparently they're still working on the investigation, and their are bodies still in the classroom building. This was verified to me by one of my colleagues who spoke on the phone to our colleague whose son was killed at VT.

How awful is that?

I caught part of the convocation of vt on npr yesterday.

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

http://www.vt.edu/tragedy/giovanni_transcript.php

I caught part of the convocation of vt on npr yesterday.

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

http://www.vt.edu/tragedy/giovanni_transcript.php

Nikki Giovanni was supremely uplifting. What a moment when the, We are the Hokies chant started slowly and almost quietly, then rose the roof as people came to their feet and through their tears, found their voices and smiles broke through. Like the sun shinning after the darkest of clouds had parted.

Nikki Giovanni was supremely uplifting. What a moment when the, We are the Hokies chant started slowly and almost quietly, then rose the roof as people came to their feet and through their tears, found their voices and smiles broke through. Like the sun shinning after the darkest of clouds had parted.

were you watching? I was listening in the car. wish I could have seen it. I was very moved by giovanni.

It was very moving to see.

were you watching? I was listening in the car. wish I could have seen it. I was very moved by giovanni.

I was watching and crying buckets! She made me jump up in the middle of my den and I didn't even know what a Hokie was! In that moment I wanted to be one though! It was very moving and inspiring Toots. She's one of the most self assured and determined ladies I've ever seen.