Thanks to the COM352 students for contributing a bunch of new pages! I'll be moving these pages into the main area of the wiki soon.

From UMassWiki

Daniel Haydon EnglWrit 112 Section 71 May 2, 2007

Are School Campuses Safe?

"A gunman is loose on campus. Stay in buildings until further notice. Stay away from all windows." On Monday, April 16, 2007 Seung-Hui Cho opened fire on his fellow classmates at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. Beginning at 7:15 am, Cho kills thirty-one students and professors and injures an additional twenty-nine before taking his own life with a single shot to the temple at approximately 10:00 am. As the nation mourned the deadliest civilian mass murder in modern U.S. history, many questions are raised about the security and safety of our nation’s schools.

Seung-Hui Cho should not have been allowed to purchase the guns that he possessed. On December 13, 2005 Cho was detained for a psyciatric evaluation stemming from allegations from two female students that Cho was stalking and harassing them. As a result of the evaluation performed by psychiatrist Roy Crouse, Judge Paul Barnett concluded that Cho "presents an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness” (citation). Cho was committed to an out patient program for his illness. Because he was not involuntarily committed to an in patient program he was able to circumvent Virginia’s state law regarding gun ownership which states, “It shall be unlawful for any person involuntarily committed to purchase, possess, or transport a firearm during the period of such persons commitment” (ATF detailed summary of State Gun Laws 18.2-308.1:3). But, under federal law, anyone who “Has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution” (Definitions for the Categories of Persons Prohibited From Receiving Firearms (95R-051P) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms), would be prohibited from purchasing a firearm. Because of the slight variations in wording between the state and federal law, Cho’s mental instability did not show up on the federal background check that was performed before Cho was sold either of the guns. If the laws already in place had been followed, Cho would not have been able to purchase the weapons and the shooting could possibly have been adverted.

Unfortunately for all the families affected by the shooting, Cho was able to obtain two handguns and countless rounds of ammunition and he did perform the most horrific and deadly shooting in modern United States history. There were two major reasons that he was able to carry out his act without opposition. After the first shooting in which he killed two students, the campus authorities did not inform the students or shut down the campus because they believed it was an isolated incident. With 20/20 hindsight we can now see that this was the wrong decision but Virginia Tech did was it thought was best at the time. Second, and maybe more importantly, Cho was shooting at students that he knew would be unarmed because, like the University of Massachusetts along with the majority of schools in the nation, Virginia Tech has a clear policy that states, “Unauthorized possession, storage (in vehicles on campus as well as in the residence halls), or control of firearms and weapons on university property is prohibited” (Virginia Tech University Policies for Student Life). Cho knew that he would be able to shoot as much as he wanted without ever having to fear getting shot back at. Since 1992, 330 students have been shot to death in school (National School Safety Center report on School Associated Violent Deaths). Almost all of the shootings were stopped by the gunman, whether by committing suicide or leaving the scene, or by police who arrived to the scene after being informed and then responding as quickly as possible. There have been four cases where armed civilians who were already on the scene were able to retrieve their weapon and bring an end to the situation long before the shooter was finished or the police would have been able to respond. I will describe two of these events. On January 16, 2002, Peter Odighizuwa, a poorly performing student at the Appalachian School of Law arrived on campus with a semi-automatic handgun. He proceeded to enter a building and killed three people and injured an additional three. Two students, Tracy Bridges and Mikael Gross, heard the gunfire as it started and unknown to each other, ran to their respected vehicles and retrieved the handguns that they were licensed to carry. When Odighizuwa emerged from the building, Bridges and Gross convened on his location and demanded that he surrender. Their heroic actions brought an end to the deadly situation long before fast acting police would have been able to respond. In Pearl, Mississippi, Luke Woodham drove to Pearl Junior High School on October 1, 1997 with a loaded rifle after beating and stabbing his mother to death. He entered the school and quickly killed two female students and injured an additional seven. His plan was first to attack the junior high school and then drive to the high school to continue his killing spree. Luckily, assistant principal Joel Myrick had a license to carry a concealed weapon and upon hearing gunfire, ran to his car to retrieve his handgun. As Woodham began driving to the high school, Myrick intercepted him and pointed his weapon at Woodham. When suddenly faced with opposition, Woodham panicked and crashed his car and Myrick was able to subdue him. The shooting at the junior high school only lasted a few minutes and authorities did not have time to respond, but because of an armed civilian on the scene, the shooting was contained and ended quickly and with a minimal loss of life.

Both of these shootings along with the two other similar incidents I mentioned earlier demonstrate two points. First, because of the policies of schools and universities that prohibit the possession of weapons, a shooter can proceed without any fear of resistance. Second, armed civilians can respond and contain a deadly situation much faster than police because unlike police who need to be notified and then must reach the scene before being effective, civilians are already on scene and are able to react much quicker.

It is a tragedy that Seung-Hui Cho was able to walk through Virginia Tech and kill thirty-two innocent people. What makes the situation more tragic is that the shooting could have been stopped much sooner if properly trained students who were licensed to carry concealed weapons had been allowed to bring their firearms on campus. I would like to end this by quoting a letter written by Bradford B. Wiles, a graduate student at Virginia Tech who was on campus on April 16.

"On Aug. 21 at about 9:20 a.m., my graduate-level class was evacuated from the Squires Student Center. We were interrupted in class and not informed of anything other than the following words: "You need to get out of the building."

Upon exiting the classroom, we were met at the doors leading outside by two armor-clad policemen with fully automatic weapons, plus their side arms. Once outside, there were several more officers with either fully automatic rifles and pump shotguns, and policemen running down the street, pistols drawn.

It was at this time that I realized that I had no viable means of protecting myself.

Please realize that I am licensed to carry a concealed handgun in the commonwealth of Virginia, and do so on a regular basis. However, because I am a Virginia Tech student, I am prohibited from carrying at school because of Virginia Tech's student policy, which makes possession of a handgun an expellable offense, but not a prosecutable crime.

I had entrusted my safety, and the safety of others to the police. In light of this, there are a few things I wish to point out.

First, I never want to have my safety fully in the hands of anyone else, including the police. Second, I considered bringing my gun with me to campus, but did not due to the obvious risk of losing my graduate career, which is ridiculous because had I been shot and killed, there would have been no graduate career for me anyway.

Third, and most important, I am trained and able to carry a concealed handgun almost anywhere in Virginia and other states that have reciprocity with Virginia, but cannot carry where I spend more time than anywhere else because, somehow, I become a threat to others when I cross from the town of Blacksburg onto Virginia Tech's campus.

Of all of the emotions and thoughts that were running through my head that morning, the most overwhelming one was of helplessness.

That feeling of helplessness has been difficult to reconcile because I knew I would have been safer with a proper means to defend myself.

I would also like to point out that when I mentioned to a professor that I would feel safer with my gun, this is what she said to me, "I would feel safer if you had your gun."

The policy that forbids students who are legally licensed to carry in Virginia needs to be changed.

I am qualified and capable of carrying a concealed handgun and urge you to work with me to allow my most basic right of self-defense, and eliminate my entrusting my safety and the safety of my classmates to the government.

This incident makes it clear that it is time that Virginia Tech and the commonwealth of Virginia let me take responsibility for my safety" (Unarmed and Vulnerable, The Roanoke Times).

Works Cited

"Court Found Cho "Mentally Ill"" Smoking Gun. 29 Apr. 2007. 29 Apr. 2007 <http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0419071cho1.html>.

Stephens, Ronald D. School Associated Violent Deaths. National School Safety Center. In-House Report, 2007. 1-46. 2 May 2007 <http://www.schoolsafety.us/>.

United States of America. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Department of Treasury. Efinitions for the Categories of Persons Prohibited From Receiving Firearms. 26 Aug. 1997. 2 May 2007.

Virginia. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Department of Treasury. Title 15.2 Counties, Cities, and Towns Chapter 9. General Powers of Local Governments. 1 Jan. 2001. 2 May 2007.

Virginia Tech. Judicial Affairs. Student Programs. Tech University Policies for Student Life. 2006. 2 May 2007.

Wiles, Bradford B. "Unarmed and Vunerable." The Roanoke Times 31 Aug. 2007. 2 May 2007 <http://www.roanoke.com/>.