Author: Elena Fuell
32 students, faculty and staff were killed and more than 30 injured at Virginia Tech, Monday, April 16 in what the Washington Post considered “the deadliest shooting rampage in the nation’s history.” The shooter was identified Tuesday, April 17 as Cho Seung Hui, a 23 year-old English major from Centreville, VA. Carrying a 9mm semiautomatic and a .22-caliber handgun, Hui shot two students in West Amber Johnston Hall, a residence hall, and 30 students, faculty and staff members at Norris Hall, a science and engineering building, before taking his own life.
The tragedy has elicited shocked responses and condolences from across the nation. President Bush and both houses of Congress expressed their deepest condolences to the victims’ families, friends, peers and co-workers at Virginia Tech. President Susan Prager also expressed condolences on behalf of herself and the Occidental community in an email to Virginia Tech President Charles Steger.
“Yesterday’s events remind us all of the fragility of life, and of the need to reinforce a strong and positive spirit of support and collaboration on each of our campuses. In an unspeakably difficult situation, members of the Virginia Tech student body have evidenced courage, resilience and a strong love of their school as they cope with yesterday’s tragedy and its aftermath. Our thoughts are very much with all of you,” Prager said.
Several Oxy students are already in the process of organizing fund-raising efforts to support the survivors and victims’ families and friends at Virginia Tech. “The exact plans aren’t definite, but we will probably be doing something to raise funds to send to Virginia Tech, either to use for a memorial fund or possibly their counseling center,” Shoshana Rosen (senior) said. “I think it is important to reach out and help the faculty, students and their families in such a horrible time.” A preliminary planning meeting has been tenatively set for 7:30 p.m. in the Erdman lobby, Wednesday, April 18.
In light of the specific events at Virginia Tech, Campus Safety is evaluating and discussing their response strategy in the case of a similar crisis. “The tragedy caused us to again discuss how we would and could respond to a similar crisis,” Director of Campus Safety Holly Nieto said. “It certainly raises our awareness on many levels.”
In a campus-wide email Prager assured the community that the administration and Campus Safety always have the safety of students, faculty and staff in mind and are continually working to uphold and improve security measures. “I want to assure the campus community and the parents and families of our students, faculty and staff that we continue to focus on being as prepared as we can be for such an unthinkable circumstance,” Prager said. “Our campus-wide emergency management effort focuses on both prevention and response, continually assesses the campus’s readiness and depends on all of us being vigilant.”
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