2008 Woodie Awards
Editorial: Virginia Tech needs our prayers, support
Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: Viewpoints
- Page 1 of 1
At 7:15 a.m. Monday an unidentified man shot a girl in her dorm room at Virginia Tech. Later, a shooting rampage erupted in a nearby classroom building. As of press time, 33 were killed, including the shooter.
In the hours following, the world tuned in to news reports in disbelief. Some talking heads already started their blame game pointing fingers at the shooter's music taste or video games. Now is not the time for this kind of reaction.
As with any tragedy, the country is still reeling from the shock. President Bush gave a brief press conference in which he offered his condolences and support to the families and the students at the school. Here at The Daily Gamecock, we offer our support as well.
While these reports are shocking, it hits all too close to home and not just because Virginia Tech is only a few hours away. This could have been USC. It's a scary thought, but any college campus could be a target, and we pray that some idiots don't get any ideas. No one wants to go to the dining hall and be surrounded by police with guns, like some students reported.
In his speech, Bush got it right when he said school is meant to be a sanctuary for learning, not a place to be feared. One parent said Virginia Tech appeared to be a safe place to send his kids for college, but any parent hopes that every college campus will always be safe enough for education.
Students shouldn't be curled up in their dorm rooms unable to call home, and they shouldn't be scared to go to class. It's sad that it takes a tragedy to open our eyes, but we need to be conscious of our surroundings and realize this could have happened anywhere - even here at USC.
In the hours following, the world tuned in to news reports in disbelief. Some talking heads already started their blame game pointing fingers at the shooter's music taste or video games. Now is not the time for this kind of reaction.
As with any tragedy, the country is still reeling from the shock. President Bush gave a brief press conference in which he offered his condolences and support to the families and the students at the school. Here at The Daily Gamecock, we offer our support as well.
While these reports are shocking, it hits all too close to home and not just because Virginia Tech is only a few hours away. This could have been USC. It's a scary thought, but any college campus could be a target, and we pray that some idiots don't get any ideas. No one wants to go to the dining hall and be surrounded by police with guns, like some students reported.
In his speech, Bush got it right when he said school is meant to be a sanctuary for learning, not a place to be feared. One parent said Virginia Tech appeared to be a safe place to send his kids for college, but any parent hopes that every college campus will always be safe enough for education.
Students shouldn't be curled up in their dorm rooms unable to call home, and they shouldn't be scared to go to class. It's sad that it takes a tragedy to open our eyes, but we need to be conscious of our surroundings and realize this could have happened anywhere - even here at USC.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
David Blue
posted 4/17/07 @ 1:52 PM EST
In light of the recent events at VA Tech I hope the University of South Carolina including the students, faculty, campus police, and city police take time to review emergency procedures at USC. (Continued…)
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