http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/14/university.shooting/index.html Friend's little brother goes there...he is alright...got this from the brother: [16:38] : my friends girlfriend took fragment wounds to her hand and head [16:38] : the guy had a shotgun and pistol [16:45] : gunmans body is in the lecture hall I fear for my children.
Yes, it is terrible to see this. Continued breakdown of the family/society? Sympathies to all involved.
My question is how can anybody protect everybody? At a facility as large as a University, it is IMHO physically impossible to protect everyone because of the number of people, geographic dispersion, and lack of resources... any thoughts on how that can be rectified without having the ACLU on a soapbox because of invasion of privacy? Mike in Kuwait
Travis I couldn't agree any more with you. As for security measures, its hard to regulate a school with these kind of stats: http://www.niu.edu/about/fastfacts.shtml Privacy would have to be compromised. Antony
25,000 + students coming and going from a 775 acre site... simply impossible. At my high school there were on campus police with side arms, metal detectors at events, but at the college level it’s just too vast and spread out to "protect" effectively.
You can't. You are responsible for your own security and protection. Nobody else cares about your safety. Law enforcement is there to pick up the pieces, not to prevent you from becoming a victim. An armed society is a polite society.
Interesting. In western european society the opposite view is held, ie. that collectively the people, through government, take care of each other. It seems to work as there are few mass shootings despite our being 'unarmed'. I think people in europe tend to be less stressed than americans, maybe because europeans work less and have more family time.
What the hell is wrong with these people? It irks me more that they then choose to be a coward, and kill themselves.
Prayers go out to all affected and lost in this tragedy. Is this going to be the same old, "the kid was quiet, kept to himself, and seemed like a nice person..."? Or is it going to be someone who was deemed "popular"? I do agree with 328, but feel there's more to it than being stressed. PC is hurting our society for one. Everything nowadays has to be fair for all kids growing up. No one teaches that life isn't always fair. In the end it's a hypocritical philosphy that ruin's the "backbone" of man. No self confidence to say "thanks for the interview" and walk out with head held high knowing something betters around the corner. We have 23 yr old college graduates who have never been told now. Then they get denied from a job and cry to mom saying it's not fair. Aren't there parents going to interviews with their kids now? What sort of crap is that! Instead of invoking this "No Child Left Behind" CRAP in schools, counselors should be working with these kids to help turn them into being more comfortable with who they are and how to become more involved with what they enjoy. If you're not friends with the popular oh well, make friends with who you're comfortable with being around. I really wish our life wasn't as fast paced and had more time at home. But that's not how it is and we need to adjust our lives accordingly. Unfortunately in order to have a "decent life", at least first starting out, we have to work 6-7 days a week to survive. It's sad, it truly is. As they say, and it fits our govt well...Power corrupts absolutely, Absolute Power corrupts Completely....
Which is why I believe in some forms of censorship. Every shooting the media goes on a feeding frenzy. Everyone sees this. Some copy it. What actual good comes from my reading of these events ? My need to know ? I would rather some kid shot somewhere in this world be alive than satisfy "my need to know". The media cannot control or regulate themselves as they whore for the biggest story.
As an interview I would immediately throw the résumé in the trash if they showed up with their parent. As for working 6-7 days a week... its so true. I have three jobs and work "doubles" every day just to keep afloat. Thats just the way our society has become, its a shame but its true. I feel bad for those affected by this tragedy and wish them all the best, but I really hope they dont turn this into another one of those "we it was that devil worshiping music he listened too" "it was the schools administrations fault" yhada, yhada... NO it was the parents fault. Plane and simple.
That's another HUGE problem. The media focus' on all the negative and drag stories like this on for weeks and months. And as Bowers said about it somehow being twisted into the music made him do it. Which in reality is really funny and pathetic. It's just another ACLU excuse to throw blame elsewhere. It's never the individuals fault, it's music, movies, videos games. But yea, the parents probably have something do with how this person turned out.
Media spin is partly responsible...everyone wants a big story and could care less about the people involved, or the consequences.....
No diff than being anywhere in public. The Police can not be everywhere at every moment during each and every day.
I have an email from the objectivist club here at CU-Boulder trying to get me to petition the administration to allow carrying concealed weapons by students. I know I would be VERY uncomfortable in a lecture hall of 500+ kids knowing that there were a few with guns. I just don't trust any member of my generation to carry.
Why don't you trust them? Do you think that they will spontaneously fire? If someone had the intention of hurting another, they wouldn't be worried about whether or not it was legal to carry it on campus. The concealed carry restrictions only restrict those who obey them and are not interested in harming others.
The vast majority of the shooters end up killing themselves anyway, I don't understand why they need to involve other people.
There is an easier solution: make sure that anyone who has been prescribed "anti-psychotic" drugs can't purchase a weapon without a clearance from a mental health practitioner. I'm sure the Gun lobby can find a reason why this shouldn't be so, but every coherent person would probably agree that those with mental illness shouldn't have access to weapons of this sort. Letting students, who are under pressure, have concealed weapons would be a great way to ensure that our next graduating classes are a bit smaller. Art
The black and gray market is where these kids buy weapons. Its so sad that people feel to take their aggression out on other students. Its the fact that people cant accept responsibility. They blame others cause its so much easier. I guess to these sick people, killing is therapeutic? Antony
great story. Didn't happen that way here. Brought guns legally. Would have prevented this if he couldn't easily have gotten them. Art