Faculty members dig deeper into the Virginia Tech shootings

As images and stories of Monday's shooting at Virginia Tech saturated the news, one thought continued to burn into Plattsburgh State history professor Jeff Hornibrook's mind:

What if it was me?

The event was a tragedy, Hornibrook knew. The entire situation was too horrible for him to think about without feeling ill. Yet it was the stories of the professors who died at the hands of a suicidal gunman, the people who were standing at the front of the classrooms like human bull's-eyes when the shooter stormed through the doors, whose faces have haunted Hornibrook the most.

What if it was me?

One story in particular stood out for the PSUC Modern East Asian History specialist. It was the tale of a Virginia Tech professor who barricaded the classroom door with his own body, trying to protect his students while the gunman pounded away at the blocked door. The professor ultimately was killed. Now, Hornibrook finds himself trying to imagine life in that professor's shoes, desperate to know how he would react if a maniacal shooter threatened the lives of his students. Would he heroically block the door, risking his own life to save his pupils, or would he try to save his own skin and return home to his family?

What if it were me?

"It's hard for me to think in these terms," Hornibrook said. "I've never been forced to do so before. Now, I try to imagine what I would have decided in the ten seconds or less that this professor had to decide."

As a history professor, Hornibrook said he often studies violence. He spends hours reading about riots, torture, guerrilla warfare. In all of these cases, Hornibrook said, he can put himself in the shoes of the perpetrators of some of history's most vicious acts.

This case, Hornibrook said, is different.

"I can't do it," Hornibrook said. "I just can't put myself in the killer's shoes. This is a breed of violence beyond anything we've seen or studied before."

The Virginia Tech shootings have baffled many PSUC faculty members. For PSUC Honors Center Director David Mowry, Monday's killing of 32 Virginia Tech students and teachers attempts to undermine the fundamental principles of a college's existence.

"In a world too often marked by conflict and violence, universities and colleges should be sanctuaries of thought, reflection and peace," Mowry said. "These tragic events force us to look within ourselves, to deepen - not threaten - our commitment to these values."

Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Science Ken Adams wants to take PSUC's response a step further. The shootings should prompt the college's administration to re-examine campus security policies, procedures and "risk management", Adams said, urging students and faculty to be observant of behaviors that seem unusual or troubling.

Now's the time for an open discussion about mental health issues and their impact on PSUC's safety, Adams said.

He said he hopes these discussions would produce stronger safety measures and educate students and faculty about how to respond properly to threats.

Distinguished Teaching Professor of History Douglas Skopp said he does not believe stronger safety measures will eliminate the threat of attacks.

"This tragedy is a call to all of us to find compassion and seek understanding for those who are affected-the victims, the shooter, their families and loved ones," Skopp said. "It's not just that we could be them - we are them, and they are us."

Associate Professor of Adolescent Education Mark Beatham agreed. Hearing of the shooting brought back images of past school shootings, especially scenes of the Columbine High School massacre, for Beatham. Out of this violence comes a message, Beatham said, a message modern society needs to learn.

"Too often, behavior among college students goes to the lowest common denominator," Beatham said. "People who act in certain ways form cliques who shun anybody who does not act that way, hurting that person far more than they realize."

Often, Beatham said, the ostracized individual does not show any reaction to exclusion from the "popular crowd". That does not mean that the person isn't affected, Beatham said.

"Sometimes, these people do nothing; other times, their pain manifests itself through violence," Beatham said. "But all of these people, even those who don't go out and kill somebody, are hurting."

Student Support Services Specialist Bryan Kieser said, "Mother Theresa once said 'We belong to each other, we need to watch out for one another, to pay attention to each other's actions. We live in a society dominated by E-mail, cell phones and instant messaging, but we still seem unable to communicate."

Fear of lack of communication worried Political Science professor Martin Lubin after the shootings. Lubin said he was torn on the idea of addressing the issue in class, vacillating between the need for students to talk about such a tragic event and the need for classes to continue in a normal way. Finally, Lubin settled on a personal compromise: talking about the shootings only in a context related to his planned lectures.

"If I was teaching the Second Amendment (the right to bear arms), for example, I would certainly introduce the shootings as a topic of discussion," Lubin said. "But if this was a physics class, I believe class should have proceeded in a normal manner."

"Normal" is a word Hornibrook said he would like to hear more often. Although he is currently on sabbatical, Hornibrook knows he will eventually have to stand at the front of a classroom again, thoughts running through his mind:

What if it was me?

"What if it was me?" Hornibrook sighed. "I can't tell you how I would react if a shooter was outside my classroom door. I hope I never find out."