VT shooting stuns SPC campus

by Caroline Basile, sports editor

Students and faculty at campuses all across the nation are still reeling from the heartbreaking tragedy that occurred at Virginia Tech University.

“It’s indescribable, and it saddens and disgusts me,” said SPC student Jed McInroe. “I don’t know of any other words to describe it.”

Students at Virginia Tech are back in their classes, but they were given the option to take the remainder of their classes online or stop for the semester and earn credit for what they had already accomplished in the course until that date.

At South Plains College, faculty and students are still in shock and surprised that such a tragedy could occur at a college, which used to be considered a safe haven by many.

Two of SPC’s faculty and staff members attended Virginia Tech. Tony Riley, vice president of finance and administration, and Allison Black, assistant professor of art, both graduated from VT.

"It’s pretty much incomprehensible," Riley, a 1964 graduate, said. "I don’t understand how or why it happened, or how it happened to the extent it did. They say you can never go home again, and that’s true, but I can always go back to Virginia Tech. I feel like my home has been violated. It was very safe when I went there.”

“There are a lot of things that are coming up now about it,” Riley added. “People are questioning how he could buy those guns if he was involuntarily committed to an asylum. The only way this could’ve been prevented was if this guy wasn’t on campus to start with, and there are a lot of questions in the air still about his motives and things. It was a very bad set of circumstances.”

Riley explained that Cho was in Norris Hall for nine minutes and the police spent five minutes trying to figure out what they were going to do. That was too much time, according to Riley.

“I spent about 30 years in the military,” Riley added. “General Patton once said, ‘A good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan executed in two weeks.’ It’s a pretty bad situation, and I feel sad for the parents. I guess somehow the gunman [Cho] managed to slip through the cracks, and I don’t know how it happened, but it needs to stop.”

Black, a 1982 graduate of Virginia Tech, described the idyllic setting of Blacksburg, V.A.

“I was shocked and saddened to say the least by the shootings on the campus,” Black said. “The horror, the tragic loss of life; from the young, well-rounded students to the world-class faculty members left me without words. The descent of the media on the little town and expansive campus provided drenching coverage of the event that cable news called, "The Massacre at Virginia Tech"; it gave me an ache in the pit of my stomach. Seeing sights of the campus brought back memories of my own, both good and bad. I would find myself joining in the Hokie cheer and letting tears swell and fall as I said a silent prayer.”

Black added that she hopes this sudden tragedy will help all students and faculty everywhere loosen the ties on the hands of college and university professors and administrators to be able to help students who are troubled before they fall through the cracks and do harm to themselves and others.

“It is just really scary,” SPC sophomore Shae Reid said. “You never know if any one here could do something like that. It is just really sad for the families of the victims and the other students.”

On the morning of April 16, the terror began when Cho killed his first victims with two shots at West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall around 7:15 a.m. They were identified as 18-year-old Emily Hilscher and 22-year-old senior Ryan Clark, who was a resident assistant at the residence hall.

As a whole nation tries to recover from the shocking events that took 32 innocent lives, more details are emerging about gunman Hui Seung Cho’s motives for the massacre. Reactions across college and university campuses nationwide echo with sympathy and sentiments, but it also is leaving students wondering if they are just as susceptible to a similar crisis.

“Tragic, absolutely tragic,” Speech professor Julie Gerstenberger said. “It was an unfortunate dose of reality and of something that could happen absolutely anywhere, at a school, church, or a mall.”

Shortly after shooting the two at the residence hall, Cho made his way to Norris Hall, where he continued his carnage, killing 30 more people, both faculty and students, before turning the gun on himself and pulling the trigger.

“I think people need to realize that we aren’t safe anymore,” said English professor Dr. Sandra Stephenson. “They think that the campus is going to be safe, but nobody is safe anywhere; it’s just not a possibility anymore.”

In the aftermath of the tragedy, details were released that Cho had purchased the weapons, a Glock 19 9 mm and a Walther .22-caliber handgun, after a judge had declared him mentally incompetent, which should have prevented him from purchasing weapons.

“I really regret that people are trying to assign blame for this situation,” Stephenson added. “They need to realize that on a campus we have very limited ability to reach out and advise students, and the faculty did everything that they could because they tried to help him. Other students reached out to him, but he was the problem himself. I think we need to be aware of the grief of those families, which seems to be ignored in the newscasts, and there were so many young people who died whose families must be in pain right now.”

To some students, seeing violence at a college is just a flashback to Columbine and other school shootings.

“It isn’t surprising,” said Freshman Carina Holguin. “Professors tried to help him, and no one understood. There are a lot of crazy people. But no one listens anymore, and that is why things like this happen”

SPC student Angelica Rodriquez said that she was very shocked and that the attack was random, something you do not see everyday.

“It’s very sad, and I feel sorry for the campus and students,” Rodriquez said. “My prayers are with them and their families."

In the days after the massacre, several universities heightened security and became more aware of their surroundings and the people on their campuses, thinking there could be a copycat incident.

“I looked at it as an instructor and as a parent,” John Sparks, chairperson of the Communications Department, said of the tragedy. “It is very concerning to me that the places that we always thought were safe are no longer safe. School should be a place where students should go to exchange ideas without any fear, and I think it’s a real tragedy that fear has crept into the classroom.”