Va. Tech Panels: More Security Needed
More is needed to help keep students safe on campus, according to reports by three internal Virginia Tech review committees that were released today.
The committees were appointed after a student gunman killed 32 students and faculty during a several-hour on-campus massacre on April 16, to help the university prevent future tragedies. Specifically, the reports call for a campuswide alert system, making university buildings more secure, and a greater focus at the student counseling center on dealing proactively with troubled students who may pose a threat to others, says the Washington Post.
Additional recommendations are expected soon from a separate review panel appointed by Virginia’s governor.
The tragedy has focused attention on the fact that more attention needs to be paid by high schools, and during the college admissions process, to the emotional needs of bright but troubled students such as the gunman, Cho Seung-hui, the Wall Street Journal (reg. req.) reported earlier this week. Although he was virtually silent in the classroom for years before he arrived at Virginia Tech and perceived as disturbed by many, there was no mechanism to alert Virginia Tech or this or identify whether he needed special services in college, the Journal reports.
“When the students move on to college, schools are rarely warned, students get help with special needs only if they seek it, and psychological problems can flare up, sometimes with devastating consequences,” the article states.
