VA Tech Shooting

[Cassi]

I find it interesting that the shooter was from South Korea - we were having a discussion about the shootings today in one of my lessons and somewhat debating if it was a gun culture in America which led to it...that changes things a bit. Shame I didn't know that at the time, would have made the discussion more interesting.

As for the event itself, I always find things like this difficult to comprehend. My heart really goes out to the families of those affected; I can't even imagine what it would be like to be involved in such a thing. The world really is a scary place sometimes.

[Ginger Harp Seal Pup]

It also stigmatises mental illness, which is another aspect of all this. He wasn't sane for doing what he did and he lost control, yes...but now, those affected with mental illness, such as my mom, myself and many others might be stigmatised because of this gunmans actions. It just isn't fair.

I didn't know they had attributed Cho's actions to any illness or disorder.

Not yet, no. But it's happened in the past. I can remember this guy who killed his parents. They had established he had a personality disorder and ended up putting him in a secure unit. Then, after tests, they found out that he wasn't ill at all. They just assumed that all people who kill and hurt others to be mentally ill and some people adopt the idea that all mentally ill people might kill someone. Truth is, we're all capable of that. It's not an illness...it's just human nature at its most extreme.

[.neko.]

I was so surprised when I saw students being interviewed on the news saying that they still feel their school is the safest place ever.

I also wanted to say that suggesting students only check their email once a day is silly. Some people leave their msn on 24/7 which means they are always being notified if they have mail, as well as there are lots of programs that automaticaly check and notify you if you have mail.

I'd also like to point out that half my class is addicted to facebook and they go on tons and tons of times a day.

There are so many ways to network information to a large number of people.

Oh and lets not forget that a campus that size probably has a radio station and a comprehensive student portal where information can be provided to students.


Now, I am not saying that the school should have made more of an effort to alert students, or that they shouldn't have, or that they didn't do a good enough job. I am just saying that its a little ridiculous to suggest it is impossible. I am sure there were good reasons for whatever decision they made.

Last edited by .neko. on Tue Apr 17, 2007 7:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Shifty]

Something I found really sad was the professor who died trying to protect his students. He was a holocaust survivor and he died on holocaust remembrance day.

[Pickles]

Something I found really sad was the professor who died trying to protect his students. He was a holocaust survivor and he died on holocaust remembrance day.

That part of the story brought tears to my eyes (again). I can't imagine how I'd feel if I were the boy who was the last one out the window, looking back at the prof right before he died. My heart goes out to those involved, and definitely my prayers for the survivors.

One thing that does make me feel a little better about this whole situation is the reaction of the rest of the world - how quickly everyone is coming together to mourn and pray and try their best to comfort the survivors and families. It does give me a little more faith in the human race to know that while there are so many people who commit such acts, the number of people who are willing to drop everything and run to help the survivors is still much, much greater.

[Mongrel]

I also wanted to say that suggesting students only check their email once a day is silly. Some people leave their msn on 24/7 which means they are always being notified if they have mail, as well as there are lots of programs that automaticaly check and notify you if you have mail.

Student email is the email address assigned to you by the school though. I know people who have never checked theirs, and quite frankly I've never gotten a useful piece of email in mine apart from a response to a message I'd sent my instructor. Collecting 26,000 email addresses from hotmail, yahoo, gmail, etc. would probably miss several hundred students, and it would be slower than sending through student email.
I can't remember where I read it(it's probably linked to somewhere in the Wikipedia entry) but they said they were already working on a system to send a text message to the students' cell phones in the event of an emergency. That wouldn't be a perfect solution, but it would probably be more helpful than an email to an address some people ignore completely.

[.neko.]

I also wanted to say that suggesting students only check their email once a day is silly. Some people leave their msn on 24/7 which means they are always being notified if they have mail, as well as there are lots of programs that automaticaly check and notify you if you have mail.

Student email is the email address assigned to you by the school though. I know people who have never checked theirs, and quite frankly I've never gotten a useful piece of email in mine apart from a response to a message I'd sent my instructor. Collecting 26,000 email addresses from hotmail, yahoo, gmail, etc. would probably miss several hundred students, and it would be slower than sending through student email.
I can't remember where I read it(it's probably linked to somewhere in the Wikipedia entry) but they said they were already working on a system to send a text message to the students' cell phones in the event of an emergency. That wouldn't be a perfect solution, but it would probably be more helpful than an email to an address some people ignore completely.

As yes, I realize that. I only check mine every couple days. I was just pointing out that some people would be bound to notice the email and would likely inform their friends via MSN, etc and word would spread quickly.

I agree that it is a very inefficient system.

[shapu]

I can't remember where I read it(it's probably linked to somewhere in the Wikipedia entry) but they said they were already working on a system to send a text message to the students' cell phones in the event of an emergency. That wouldn't be a perfect solution, but it would probably be more helpful than an email to an address some people ignore completely.

That's a bad idea too...most people turn off their cell phones in class, or ignore the ringer.

[Mongrel]

That's a bad idea too...most people turn off their cell phones in class, or ignore the ringer.

If one person in the building checks their phone, they can alert everyone else in the building. You get a more instantaneous notification than with an email, because more people carry their phones with them. And I know instructors who would stop class to answer their phones. It may not be as effective as I imagine(I'm the type who keeps her phone on vibrate and either in her pocket or sitting on her desk), but I think it would be more effective than email notification.

Last edited by Mongrel on Wed Apr 18, 2007 5:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

[shapu]

I think it would be more effective than email notification.

I'll admit that point.

[Jenna!]

One of my really good friends was friends with Caitlin Hammaren, one of those who died. She was 19, and used to go to a school a few miles away from me. It's horrible how close to home this hits.

Also, another scary point, around 9:00 am, on Gaia, another forum I go to, this girl posted that her dorm was on lockdown, and she didn't know why. It just makes it all seem more real.

[FrankieG]

Yeah..its something that affects people everywhere. One of the people killed was someone that got 2 degrees while here at PSU.

[Harmonize]

I had read in the newspaper this morning that the killers teacher's and classmates found him to be a bit of a weirdo, and he often wrote morbid and creepy stories for his class. They also said he would refuse to talk, and was on antidepressants. He would stalk women on campus as well, which annoys me cause if someone was stalking me Id sure as hell want him removed from the university. It bugs me to know that people knew that he wasn't all there, and they didn't investigate into how mentally stable he was. I think maybe schools should start getting to know their students a little more personally so they can catch out a person who isn't really normal.

It breaks my heart to hear about the students who had lost their lives , one student only being a few months older then I am. It also breaks my heart to hear about the teachers who died trying to protect their students. It's just a terrible shame.

[Dragonfire]

One of his professors did recommend that he get counseling, but they don't know if he actually went to counseling.

[.neko.]

In case anyone is interested my school sent an email to every student to inform us about emergency procedures and security issues.

TO ALL CONESTOGA STUDENTS, FACULTY AND STAFF

The tragic events at Virginia Tech University this week have highlighted issues of safety in educational institutions everywhere.

Here at Conestoga we have received queries from members of the College community regarding our safety and security procedures and the measures we have in place to deal with emergencies. It is impossible to prevent all acts of senseless violence. However, we would like to review with you the steps we have taken to continually evaluate and enhance our capability to respond to emergencies.

1. Our Emergency Response Plan is under regular review, with the last updates being completed on Oct 17.2006.

2. Conestoga College has a state-of-the-art closed circuit television system, with 96 cameras covering the campus. This system is under constant updating, with the last completed just two weeks ago, with features for remote viewing, networking, and enhanced search and recording features, including remote viewing of the Guelph campus from our location.

The installation will commence next week for the Waterloo Campus, and the same features will exist.

3. A new guard staffing model was put in place, to better respond to the needs of Conestoga, to enhance performance, training, and service to the College community.

4. College security staff are highly qualified with many years of police and College experience to deal with any situations which may arise.

5. Policies and training issues are constantly under review.

6. New faculty orientation sessions are held twice yearly to address issues such as major incidents on campus.

This College will continue to review its procedures to ensure that they are clear, comprehensive and all-encompassing to meet the needs of our community. As well, we will research what improvements we are able to make and consider any recommendations that come out of the Virginia Tech inquiries. Updates or revisions to the policies or procedures will be communicated to you. In the meantime, the link to Conestoga’s Major Incident – Personal Safety information on the web site is: http://www.conestogac.on.ca/jsp/faculty ... aftycc.jsp All College employees are encouraged to review this as one way in which to be knowledgeable about actions to be taken in the case of emergencies.

John Tibbits
President

I didn't find it all that informative.