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Political Cartoons
Virginia Tech Massacre
By Cartoon: MIke Keefe, The Denver Post
Project: Cynthia Kirkeby, ClassBrain
Apr 17, 2007, 22:24 PST



Virginia Tech Massacre

Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings.

April 16th brought the horrific news that 32 lives had been taken by a gunman that went on a rampage at Virginia Tech. The loss of life was unprecedented. Cho Seung-Hui, the 23 year old South Korean student who was the sole perpetrator of the deadliest shooting event in the history of the US, took his own life at the end of the rampage.

This tragedy took place in two separate incidents over the course of more than two hours. Students on campus were oblivious of the first deaths. They were still carrying on as usual, when the gunman chained off the front doors and began firing in Norris Hall. Some students jumped out of classroom windows to avoid the shooter. Their injuries were less severe than those unfortunate enough to have remained in the classrooms.

Most campuses seem to be woefully ill prepared to handle a violent event on their campuses despite the escalation of shootings in recent years. It's time for administrators to realize that the trend towards violence on our campuses is increasing and special preparations must be made to keep the students safe.


Questions to Ponder

  • Why were students on campus only alerted by email that there was an incident occuring on campus?

  • Why didn't the Virginia Tech leadership committee shut down the campus until more could be learned about the first shooting incident?

  • Should all K-12 schools and colleges have a formal plan they can put into effect in the case of a violent attack?

  • Is there some way that emergency messages could be broadcast to everyone's cell phone in a specific area in the form of emergency text messages, similar to what takes place with the Emergency Broadcast System?

  • Are gun purchasing regulations strict enough?


Learning Links

Massacre At Virginia Tech
A Special Report
Source: MSNBC

Victims of the Virginia Tech shooting
Source: Freep.com

Timeline: How the Virginia Tech Shootings Unfolded
Source: NPR

Safe Schools: A New Approach to Create a Non-Violent Campus
StateSafe: Preventing Crime & Violence in California
Source: California Attorney General's Crime and Violence Prevention Center

Practical Information on Crisis Planning Brochure
If you do not have a crisis plan in place, it is time to develop one.
Source: US Department of Education



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