It's been four and a half months since the
Virginia Tech shooting, and new details come to light about the
massacre every day. Today, a report that has investigated the
attack has found that Virginia Tech could have saved lives if it
had quickly warned the entire campus that two students had been
shot and that the killer was still on the loose.
The panel
found that the university only sent an e-mail two hours after the
attack which allowed the killer Cho Seuing-Hui to leave the
dormitory mail a letter, and enter another building where he
killed 31 of his victims.
The report also showed that
Virginia tech had not taken the proper steps to mentally care for
the gunman. Evidence points to Mr. Cho being mentally troubled as
early as 1999. University professors and administration missed
numerous signs that could have led for him to receive
help.
The Virginia Tech massacre is the most deadly
shooting in modern US History.
This reports strikes
especially close to Ithacaís schools, Cornell University and
Ithaca College, especially as both schools begin to implement new
safety and security polices. WVBR has been reporting that Cornell
University will be implementing an emergency alert system via text
message. However, little attention has been paid to each collegeís
mental health program.
Dr. Suki Montgomery, assistant direcor
of counseling at Ithaca College told WVBR that at Ithaca college
ìthe staff and faculty know each other. We have open
communication. If there are students at risk, we may already know
about it.î She also told WVBR that a if student in counseling
showed homicidal tendencies ìwe would assess if the severity of
the situation. There are certain situations in which
confidentiality can be breached.î
Cornell University has not
returned WVBRís phone calls.
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