Fox News VT Statement

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So, I was flippin' through the news a few moments ago and The O'Reilly Factor was on Fox News. The premisce of the story was whether VT should allow pop artist "Nas" to perform at a concert welcoming students back.

One thing he stated as fact got me thinking. I was wondering what everyone else's feedback was....

He said that due to the late notice of the first 2 early murders of the massacre, the other students were put in danger and insinuated that some of those students would have not been murdered if the campus had released warnings sooner than they did.

I am thinking that none of those students would have been saved had the campus released the information earlier because the initial 2 murders appeared, at least, initially, to be an isolated incident. Additionally, from articles I had read, the connection of the two incidents had not even been made until late that same day after an LEO from an agency had taken ballistics evidence from both scenes to Baltimore for confirmation.

Therefore, most, if not all, of the students would have proceeded with their days as planned.

Thoughts?

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If they had released a statement on the emergency channel on TVs in the Student Center perhaps stating, "Please excercise caution, a female student was shot in Blah Blah Dorm earlier this morning, we are asking for any information or witnesses on the suspect which has NOT yet been apprehended." or something like that, it would have raised others awareness. Whether or not that would have translated into less deaths is debateable, who knows. I'd like to think it would have been a better situation though.

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The O'Reilly Factor was on Fox News...He said that due to the late notice of the first 2 early murders of the massacre, the other students were put in danger and insinuated that some of those students would have not been murdered if the campus had released warnings sooner than they did.

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It is an Opinion - Just that. Carry by students & facultyCHP holders on a Virginia college campus should be allowed by statute and preemption, period. Non students can currently do so. The first shooting(s) at AJvs. the Norris Hall shootings, while tragic, are only connected by the some shooter. There are a lot of "what ifs" here. Sure, an earlier "campus wide" alert may have helped - a CHP holder may have helped, sturdy locks on the door may have helped, ad nauseum. Here is my 2 cents...

1. Interior locks on classroom doors, kind of OK - presents its own issues. Exterior doors were chained prior to the shooting, access to the inside of Norris was delayed.
2. "Early Warning" - OK - can be hard to manage and difficult to contact ALL those affected. Hey, if there is snow on the ground in B-Burg, folks are hoping for a closing, otherwise, they're coming to the campus, listening to music.
3. CHP holders (students, faculty & staff) OK - Where is the problem?
(Phil VanCleave had a good take on this - Campus ninnies thought that students partied too much - drugs and alcohol - those and guns don't mix. Apparently the drugs and alcohol were OK, just don't introduce guns!) This was originally written by By Zinie Chen Sampson - Associated Press
Here is a snip from Phil...
"Allowing concealed weapons brings the potential for accidental gun discharge or misuse of firearms at parties, including those where alcohol or drugs are used, and the possibility for guns to be used to settle students' disputes, the group said. [Note the implication that drugs and alcohol on campus are OK and accepted by the administration! However, the drugs and alcohol are what the school says would make students carrying handguns dangerous. So the answer is simple - get drugs and alcohol off the campus and let students carry! That would make college life much safer for many reasons, including a significant drop in alcohol/drug overdoses and DUI deaths. The truth is that permit holders do not drink excessively, if at all, nor do they take drugs, so the IACLEA's arguments are specious anyway. - PVC]"

Hope I didn't hijack this, vrwmiller. My apology, if I did...

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So how about if someone had reported the suspicion the campus had a couple of days sooner, when they found the doors chained. There is speculation now that Cho performed a dry run.

(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/10/AR2007081001023.html)

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Tess, put a space after an URL.

( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/10/AR2007081001023.html )

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AbNo wrote:

Tess, put a space after an URL.

(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/10/AR2007081001023.html)

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Sorry. I should have known that.

Thanks for the fix.

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Don't feel too bad.

I had to look at it a second and realize it, myself.