We in the United States live in an extremely public society. College campuses are some of our most open places, sprawling locales with dozens of buildings unlocked and easily accessible. As seen in the tragedy at Virginia Tech earlier in the week, this openness can be a liability.
In the case of Cho Seung-Hui, the gunman at Virginia Tech, his violent writings had attracted the attention of several faculty members within Virginia Tech's English department. The celebrated poet Nikki Giovanni kicked him out of her class because he was scaring and intimidating the other students. Lucinda Roy, the department chair, then taught Cho one-on-one and tried to get him to go to counseling for his anger. Roy contacted the police about him because she was worried that he may do something violent, but since his writing did not have any explicit threats, there was nothing police could do.
In 2005, Cho was accused of stalking a female student and was taken by police to a mental health center. A Virginia special justice declared him mentally ill and called him "an imminent danger to others." Clearly he had problems, and clearly people knew about them. But since Cho hadn't committed a crime, there was little anyone could do to stop him from going on this rampage.
Monday's tragedy has already reintroduced the issue of gun control in this country. The United States has been criticized around the world, from Great Britain to China, for what some see as our lax gun laws that allow someone like Cho to legally buy the weapons he used in the shootings. But a true debate on gun control is unlikely, even in the wake of these shootings. The gun lobby, led by the National Rifle Association, holds a lot of influence in Washington. They are extremely vocal in their opposition to tighter gun control, and most politicians are wary of the prospect of going up against them.
So then what can we do to make college campuses safer? Realistically, the best option available for universities is a thorough review and enhancement of their plans for emergency situations like Monday's shootings.
At Virginia Tech, more than two hours elapsed before students were notified about the first shooting. Even if campus police and administration decided the first shooting didn't warrant a lockdown, a notification should have still been sent immediately. Students would have been more vigilant, or they could have made an informed decision to stay away from class. Through better notification or a lockdown, lives could have been saved. Administrators should always err on the side of caution.
It's foolish to expect that our society will ever be completely free from attacks like those at Virginia Tech. But we can at least make sure we're prepared for the next time.
Benjamin Van der Horst is a College sophomore from Cincinnati. He is executive director of the nonpartisan political organization CSAmerica and the managing editor of the Emory Political Review.
This ran on 4/20/07.
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