Bluefield Daily Telegraph
August 30, 2007 04:50 pm
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Scars from the April 16 massacre at Virginia Tech will be slow to heal. But a report released Thursday by a panel investigating the attack provides a starting point for Tech — and colleges across the nation — to begin recovery in the form of the prevention of future such tragedies.
The report did not pull any punches. It noted university officials could have possibly saved lives if they had issued a campus-wide warning earlier that a gunman was on the loose. Instead, it was more than two hours after Seung-Hui Cho killed two people in a dormitory before such an alert was sent out to students and staff.
During that time, Cho left the dorm, mailed a letter and then proceeded to Norris Hall where he chained the door and killed 31 more people, including himself.
Another key problem the panel found was the inability of Tech officials to “connect the dots” regarding Cho’s mental health status and potential for violence, which was flagged as early as his days in middle school. At that time, his teachers found signs of suicidal and homicidal thoughts in his writings following the Columbine High School tragedy of 1999. At this time he did receive some psychiatric counseling and was medicated for a short time.
While at Tech, Cho wrote a paper for a creative writing class about a young man who hates students at his school and plans to kill them and himself. The report concluded the university did not give Cho the support he needed, and placed the blame on a lack of resources, misinterpretation of privacy laws and passivity.
We agree with a statement issued by Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell in response to the report which noted “the Panel’s apt conclusion that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) are too complex and confusing.”
While we respect individuals’ right to privacy of medical records, we believe the potential for violence to others must trump such privacy laws.
And we are encouraged by McDonnell’s pledge to review the findings, ensure implementation of the recommendations and, where necessary, “work with the General Assembly and the United States Congress to make necessary legislative changes.”
We hope to hear similar pledges from leaders in all states in coming days.
Although some have called for the firing of university President Charles Steger, among others, we must concur with the sentiments expressed by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine. “I want to fix this problem so I can reduce the chance of anything like this ever happening again,” Kaine said. “If I thought firings would be the way to do that, then that would be what I would focus on.”
No amount of reports, finger pointing or laying of blame will bring back those who were tragically killed on the Virginia campus that horrific spring day.
But Tech, along with all other universities and colleges across the nation, must learn from this investigation and work quickly to implement measures to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again.
Government and legislative bodies must also do their part in analyzing this report, and passing necessary legislation if needed.
As we continue to mourn for the Virginia Tech victims, we must also honor their memories by striving to make sure each and every college campus in America provides a safe environment for students, faculty and staff members
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