2008 Woodie Awards
Students weigh in on Virginia Tech massacre
Benjamin Pomerance
Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: News
Originally published: 4/19/07 at 4:16 PM EST
Last update: 4/19/07 at 6:09 PM EST
Creating a support group on Facebook.com, Temeles decided, was the best way to show PSUC cared. He checked on the Web site to see if he could find Virginia Tech support groups from PSUC. There weren't any.
Less than an hour later, there was one.
"I wanted Virginia Tech to know there was support here for them, and that our school's hopes and prayers are with them and the souls of the victims," Temeles said. "This group is a gesture to a campus full of people who have a deep, deep wound they are carrying now."
Many PSUC students say they are carrying their own wounds from Monday's shooting. For some, the pain was so great they refused to say one word about Virginia Tech. Others tried to express their emotions, then stopped when tears, not words, came out. Still others said they would like to talk, but at another time.
For junior J.P. Plank, however, the time to talk was now.
"It's scary to think someone can just walk into a campus with a loaded gun and start shooting teachers and students, but that's exactly what happened," Plank said. "What's even scarier is the fact that I'm not sure what you can do to stop something like that from happening again."
Plank said that stricter security measures at Virginia Tech and more attention to the "behavioral warning signs" apparently exhibited by shooter Cho Seung Hui might have prevented the shootings. Yet Plank also believes that college campuses should still be open and accessible during the day, even though he said this might leave them vulnerable to this kind of attack.
"You can't have a campus constantly in the state of lockdown," Plank said. "I guess the only thing you can really do is to be more aware of your surroundings at all times. Still, that doesn't solve many of the issues with a tragedy like this."
Freshman Drew Roublick said many of the issues surrounding the shooting should have an impact that is much closer to home.
"We all need to learn a lesson from this horrible tragedy," Roublick said. "It just shows that the University Police and other campus security organizations need to have solid plans for protecting people on campus if an attack like this started here. We've seen that these shootings could potentially occur anywhere-even in Plattsburgh."
Less than an hour later, there was one.
"I wanted Virginia Tech to know there was support here for them, and that our school's hopes and prayers are with them and the souls of the victims," Temeles said. "This group is a gesture to a campus full of people who have a deep, deep wound they are carrying now."
Many PSUC students say they are carrying their own wounds from Monday's shooting. For some, the pain was so great they refused to say one word about Virginia Tech. Others tried to express their emotions, then stopped when tears, not words, came out. Still others said they would like to talk, but at another time.
For junior J.P. Plank, however, the time to talk was now.
"It's scary to think someone can just walk into a campus with a loaded gun and start shooting teachers and students, but that's exactly what happened," Plank said. "What's even scarier is the fact that I'm not sure what you can do to stop something like that from happening again."
Plank said that stricter security measures at Virginia Tech and more attention to the "behavioral warning signs" apparently exhibited by shooter Cho Seung Hui might have prevented the shootings. Yet Plank also believes that college campuses should still be open and accessible during the day, even though he said this might leave them vulnerable to this kind of attack.
"You can't have a campus constantly in the state of lockdown," Plank said. "I guess the only thing you can really do is to be more aware of your surroundings at all times. Still, that doesn't solve many of the issues with a tragedy like this."
Freshman Drew Roublick said many of the issues surrounding the shooting should have an impact that is much closer to home.
"We all need to learn a lesson from this horrible tragedy," Roublick said. "It just shows that the University Police and other campus security organizations need to have solid plans for protecting people on campus if an attack like this started here. We've seen that these shootings could potentially occur anywhere-even in Plattsburgh."
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dianabuckland
posted 4/19/07 @ 8:21 PM EST
We have to see outside the square for answers to these disastrous violent psychotic behaviours - consider
and more http://www.mcs-global.org/ToxicPsychiatry. (Continued…)
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