2008 Woodie Awards
Another school shooting, another reminder
Issue date: 9/24/07 Section: Op-Ed
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The most recent school shootings, this time at Delaware State University in Dover, De., once again remind us to beg the WCU administration to inform students of what they should do and what the University is prepared to do, should an event of similar proportions take place here.
If nothing else, the two shootings that took place late last week, in the early morning hours of Friday, Sept. 21, should remind us that a school's size, location or cost have little to do with the very real possibility of violent crime occurring.
Just 3,657 students were enrolled at DSU in the Fall 2006 semester, according to the most recent enrollment figures listed on the school's Web site. Attending the school as an out-of-state student costs about $18,796. The school's enrollment and cost are almost completely converse to the enrollment and costs of Virginia Tech., which enrolls more than 25,000 students and costs about $26,000 to attend as an out-of-state student. Consequently, the enrollment and cost to attend WCU falls right in between.
The two incidents also appear to differ in motive. At VT, the shooter was apparently motivated by sheer anger and possibly depression. At DSU, police think that the shots were fired between rival groups of friends - one from New Jersey and one from Washington, D.C. So let us not forgot that violence can stem from virtually anything and come from virtually anybody, whether it is a rivalry between several students or a single deranged student.
The DSU shootings are thought to be non-random while, clearly, the VT shootings were random. Let us not forget that random or non-random, a finger on the trigger does not bode well for the students of this or any university.
Administrators at DSU, aware of the mistakes made during the VT massacre, ordered campus to be shut down immediately and directed students to not leave their residence halls. Notices were posted on campus buildings and the school's Web site; gates were lowered around campus as police searched for the gunman.
If nothing else, the two shootings that took place late last week, in the early morning hours of Friday, Sept. 21, should remind us that a school's size, location or cost have little to do with the very real possibility of violent crime occurring.
Just 3,657 students were enrolled at DSU in the Fall 2006 semester, according to the most recent enrollment figures listed on the school's Web site. Attending the school as an out-of-state student costs about $18,796. The school's enrollment and cost are almost completely converse to the enrollment and costs of Virginia Tech., which enrolls more than 25,000 students and costs about $26,000 to attend as an out-of-state student. Consequently, the enrollment and cost to attend WCU falls right in between.
The two incidents also appear to differ in motive. At VT, the shooter was apparently motivated by sheer anger and possibly depression. At DSU, police think that the shots were fired between rival groups of friends - one from New Jersey and one from Washington, D.C. So let us not forgot that violence can stem from virtually anything and come from virtually anybody, whether it is a rivalry between several students or a single deranged student.
The DSU shootings are thought to be non-random while, clearly, the VT shootings were random. Let us not forget that random or non-random, a finger on the trigger does not bode well for the students of this or any university.
Administrators at DSU, aware of the mistakes made during the VT massacre, ordered campus to be shut down immediately and directed students to not leave their residence halls. Notices were posted on campus buildings and the school's Web site; gates were lowered around campus as police searched for the gunman.
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