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April 17th, 2007

Virginia Tech: Why we must move on

At the time I am writing this, 33 people have turned up dead from the Virginia Tech shooting on April 16th, 2007. Hopefully that will be the final tally when the event has ended.

The shooter, whose identity is still undisclosed, shot himself after committing the atrocities we have witnessed. It has been determined that the spark to this killer’s rampage was a spat he had with his girlfriend. And like some generic drama movie, she was killed first, and the rest of shooter’s rampage began.

I did not hear about the tragedy until 10AM, after finally heading over to the Drudge Report. Needless to say, I was shocked and stricken with sadness that I just stared at the headline for next few minutes in silence.

A student that was driven over the edge. His emotions got the better of him. Probably more like his emotions completely consumed him.

So what do we do now?

Universities as a whole could shut down, increase police presence, or even go on lockdown for a few days; be it either through homage to the massacre or to make the campus feel safer.

Given, Virginia Tech will probably do just these things, as will most of the fellow universities in the area for a brief period of time. But what can America as a whole do with regards to the massacre? Take for example CSU: a university that is far from the incidents of today.

We havehad periods of silence and prayer for the victims and their families: I believe that this will be positive, and that we should do it again at the 1 year anniversary.

We could increase police presence. While this, in theory, would help stop the crime dead in its tracks, or at least reduce the occurrence of crimes on campus, it just could not work. Shooters can come in any disguise/attire/outfit/etc. that they please. Harris and Klebold were caucasian and blended in perfectly at Columbine. Charles Carl Roberts IV was a 32 year old truck driver when he appeared at the Amish schoolhouse. This VT shooter has been identified as asian.

You see where I’m getting at? Anybody could be the shooter. You can’t police everyone.

The only visual evidence that we could possibly arm ourselves with in defense against another school shooter is that he will wear a black jacket, as was the case with the VT shooter and Harris and Klebold. Even then, that would not guarantee a prevention of another attack.

There’s also the idea that’s being mulled around that universities are completely locked down for a few days, in case there are any other shooters that might find this as an opportune time to react. This, while an interesting idea, is downright impossible. Virginia Tech couldn’t do more than lock down a few buildings, and email/telephone students and faculty that a shooter was on the loose and to stay inside and away from windows. There’s not much more that they could have done for the university’s safety.

I doubt they could have had the whole university and students on full alert and complete lockdown, even if the national guard were there (of course, why would the national guard be there if nothing dangerous was expected?). Not to mention the heightened alert and fear complete lockdown would instill on students, making it impossible to actually get down to learning.

So what should America do?

Move on.

That’s right, move on. By showing that we have the ability to carry on with our normal lives after this terrible incident, the ability to show that we will not let this event get us down, I believe that it will have the greatest effect on getting America to heal and put this whole black eye behind us.

If we get too caught up in the past, with what has happened, we cannot move on.

I agree that we should do something to show our kindness and comfort to the victims of the massacre and their families. But if we end up doing too much, be it through lockdowns, university “police states” and going overboard on the “in memory of” moments of prayer and silence, we’ll just end up making what happened at Virginia Tech a spectacle; something I’m very certain of that the victim’s families would not want to happen. Much like the aftermath of Columbine.

So, don’t let this isolated incident weigh you, the students, down. Go about your normal lives.

By moving on, it will give any would-be student shooters less of a reason to go and shoot up their school: a spectacle will not be made of their activities. Show no fear, know that there is virtually no risk or chance of being involved in a school shooting. You have a much greater chance of dying in a car crash than in a shooting such as at Virginia Tech. Do you worry about dying in a car crash? No.

It is also a sad thing to see that the media is now constantly referring back to Columbine, refusing to let the events of 1999 go. Do not let the depression of a school shooting return to the public eye more than it has to. Yes, Columbine was terrible, but it was way in the past.

So here’s my request:

“Don’t ‘Columbine’ Virginia Tech.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 17th, 2007 at 12:56 am and is filed under Editable Constitution. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.