VT Massacre: Should the Virginia Tech leadership be fired?
There were two distinct shooting incidents separated by at least two hours. The administration refused to evacuate campus or otherwise implement effective security measures after the first shooting...
There were two distinct shooting incidents separated by at least two hours. The administration refused to evacuate campus or otherwise implement effective security measures after the first shooting in which two people were murdered in the freshman dorms. Students report they were not even aware of the first shooting until the second attack began....
Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said authorities believed the shooting at the dorm was a domestic dispute and mistakenly thought the gunman had fled the campus.
‘‘We had no reason to suspect any other incident was going to occur,’’ he said.
Should the Virginia Tech leadership (including the leaders of its campus police department) be fired for failing to implement emergency evacuation procedures after the first shooting incident on campus of 4-16-2007? (more)
Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said authorities believed the shooting at the dorm was a domestic dispute and mistakenly thought the gunman had fled the campus.
‘‘We had no reason to suspect any other incident was going to occur,’’ he said.
Should the Virginia Tech leadership (including the leaders of its campus police department) be fired for failing to implement emergency evacuation procedures after the first shooting incident on campus of 4-16-2007? (more)
Top Comment
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No, no one in the administration should be fired.
There was no way of knowing when the couple was shot that there would be more to follow. It could have just been an isolated incedent. Was no way to predict what was to follow. This campus has 26,000 people, 4 acres of land and numerous buildings. That would be like shutting down a small city. How long do you think that would have taken? Moving people out and about the campus could have caused more deaths as there would have been more people running around outside.
Comments
None of the above
You can only do the best you can do. Everyone of these incidents are differant. it makes it almost impossible to plan for every one that some one can think of. These folks did their best. Of course you will always find someone who thinks they could have done better. To bad they were not there that day.Yes, the entire administration should be fired.
I feel that once a shooting occurs on campus that's it school is closed for the day or two until authorities can get it togetherNo, no one in the administration should be fired.
Instead of looking for soemone to blame, why don't we look into WHY this happened. This kid had to be put threw some kind of hell to go threw with what he did. why don't we find a way to help pretect our future students by not letting ANYONE else go threw what he did. WHY isn't always a stupid ?tionNone of the above
It happens. If there was something set up that certain people were to follow and they didn't they should be written up and bare minimum if not fired!None of the above
very sad, but how could administration be held accountable? this is another sad live and learn.None of the above
It is of greatest concern to all of us when a disastor like this occurs. this effects not only people loved and taken from their friends and family. It seems to me their were several intellegent campus peers who didnt fully recognize the capability of this angered man of an alienated state that resulted in what some might deem as a psychotic break. Personally, the family should have known. the government who failed to communicate his instability thru databases that simply aren't connected is the downfall. You don't close a campus when it is perceived to be a domestic dispute. THey have learned from these mistakes. the families are ready to move on, my thoughts its is time not to look for blame but look to your senate and congress and express the need for better mental health care and follow up and databases that are connected to those extremely vital records only they have a right to see. This would also address brutality by police who far to often don't know who they are up against when their is a violent occurence happening.None of the above
AGAIN, THERE IS FAILURE OF COMMUNICATION ! THE NEED IS TO LEARN FROM THIS AND GET BETTER PLANS FOR THE FUTURE! WE LIVE IN A WORLD OF DANGER EVERY DAY! THINGS WON'T BE SAFE UNTIL WE WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE OUR SCHOOLS SAFE FOR OUR CHILDREN ! TO FIRE SOMEONE WON'T CHANGE ANYTHING! JUDIEUndecided
I'm not sure what the outcome would have been had the emergency evacuation procedures been implemented. I feel this question is as broad as it is wide. Assuming that the emergency evacuation plan was put in to effect, how many students could have been in harms way with the killer loose somewhere on campus. How many deaths would there have been had the dismissed students met up with the killer? In a situation like this, it appears to me that it amounts to a catch 22. One way or another this murderer would have continued on his course. It was just a matter of how many killings there could have been with hundreds students together at one time.No, no one in the administration should be fired.
they have no way of reading minds.how did they know it was gonna happen or that it would happen this way. once again some people think that all people have ESP.Undecided
The University President should make the final decision after the chief of Campus Police makes a recommendation. I believe the university should have been locked down. Just my opinion.No, no one in the administration should be fired.
They did the best they could with the information they had at the time. Trying to close campus would be like trying to close down a small city. Imagine the Bedlam that would have occured. I am very saddened by this loss to our country. In the same breath however we all have to realize, while we can make changes to our policies, there will always from time to time be those people that will pull these stunts. We cannot control people unfortunately, only ourselves. If anyone should be held accountable, it should be the government and the health care system for letting Cho slip thru the cracks. If he would have had the medical help he needed, this all could have been averted.Undecided
I believe it was very poor judgement not to alert the campus...but firing..I don't think that would help anything! Those poor people will live with that choice forever as it is. They certainly had no clue what an awful thing was happening on campus. I do hope policies will change everywhere after this horrific tragedy.The chief of the Campus Police Department should be fired.
When senseless things happen it is human nature to want to vent our anger at someone....anyone. If any violent crime is commited on campus the students should been warned and emergency procedures should be followed. Without further investigation, which takes time, there would be no way to be certain that it was ann isolated incident and that the shooter had fled the campus.The safety of the students should have been the #1 priority. The Chief of Campus police/administration dropped the ball. Someone has to be held accountable. I say...fire the chief and university president.No, no one in the administration should be fired.
Nothing could have or can be done to stop a crazy person from killing. No policy, person, or law can stop it.No, no one in the administration should be fired.
They did the best the could with what they knew. It's easy to get second-guessed after the fact.No, no one in the administration should be fired.
I wish the media and everyone else would quit using hindsight to make adecision on how someone reacts in the heat of the moment. What they do
is exactly what they preach against when they yell for the fireing of
Imus et al. We have become a society of armchair quarterbacks, but not
only in sports, we critize anyone and everyone and demand their head on
a chopping block no matter what the circumstances were and we always
use our own slant to bring to the table. For example we all blamed Bush
for the Katrina fiasco, but dont bring any blame to the state or local
people who could have evacuated the city 3 days earlier, with busses
that sat on the parking lot. We all called for Imus's head, but he's
been saying these things for years. We want Gonzolas for the 8
attornies, but ignore the requests of the senators and congresmen who
wanted them fired in the first place.
everything they could. It is very hard to find a needle in a haystack.
One person among 25,000 even if they knew he was out there what are the
options? Close campus, now you have a bunch of students on the quad
with a mad shooter and locked buildings, can you say free for all. Send
out emails, Who is going to check them for an eight or nine o'clock
class? They are rolling out of bed putting on their sweats and trying
not to be late. Radio? Now the whole town is on edge and looking for
... oh yeah, we dont have an eye witness they're dead. So we are going
to hold the university to blame when we wouldn't hold a policeman if it
happened in a small town. This is what I mean by armchair
quarterbacking.
Class can wait. Send the police out and students somewhere safe.
Undecided
I don't know enough about the facts of the events that day to say who should or should not be fired. I do know that it is not a good idea to create mass fear by evacuating. For all I know, the gunman coul dhave been waiting outside for students to evacuate and then open fire killing hudreds. I also believe that an investigation should be done to make sure that the administration took appropriate action. If they did not, they should be held accountable and fired if called for.No, no one in the administration should be fired.
How in the world would they know such a horrible thing would happen. I do believe someone needs to take a look at the bozos at the psych evaluation facility and consider their fate. Even our "fine" lawmakers should'nt be immune; remember they are the ones that make the laws that allow these scoundrels to run rampant.Undecided
I would like to say god bless them all. .. My heart goes out to all the families and everyone involved..None of the above
The Media needs to get off the campus...now ! They are re-hashing the re-runs of the re-runs of the events. Give the students and faculty of the campus some time to grieve for those who are now gone. I am disgusted at NBC. Sure they called the authorities when they received the package,..they called after they (NBC) had opened the package, possibly destroying any thing of evidenciary value. What if Cho had an accomplice and they mailed the package. I read where NBC had competent people who wore gloves before handling the package and its contents. I also noticed they made plenty of copies before turning it over. Then airing all that garbage so those poor folks at Virginia Tech are assaulted with video and audio rantings of a madman. The media just does not get it. Simply, if a madman wants to kill a person, or a lot of "persons", he or she can do it. Oh wait, it was the guns...yep the guns. Let me see, John Wayne Gacy...serial killer, did he use a gun....Ted Bundy, serial killer....nope, no gun....Jeffery Dahmer, serial killer (and cannibal) no gun...The Green River Killer....make your own list. Like I said, if someone wants to kill people badly enough...they will.None of the above
Why punish them? Based on information they had on hand the administrator and police chief believed everything was under control. However, they should have been more diligent in locking down the campus. They now know that things cannot be assumed.No, no one in the administration should be fired.
Everyone looks for someone to blame. The campus could have around 20,000 people on it at any given time. There is one crazy and awful man to blame for these deaths and one man only!Undecided
They had no reason to suspect the first incident would occur, so in the safety of others, there should be no questons asked, evacuate. The safety of all those people was in the hands of the administration decisions. When in doubt, protect.No, no one in the administration should be fired.
False information led to false judgments.I would pound on the investigating personnel, but 2 hours is not a long period of time to investigate without enough resources.
No, no one in the administration should be fired.
I'm from southwest Virginia I live about 50 miles from the Tech campus when the story very first broke on WSLS news channel 10 that morning around 8:30 or 9:00 it was being reported as a shooting with 1 person dead and that the killer was either at large or had killed himself at the scene there was confusion at first, and think about it nobody expected the killer to go mail a package discribing what he was going to do and why and then go kill 30 more people At first the police thought they had a murder suicide or a domestic incident involving a love triangle while the were investigating the murder scene at Ambler Johnson Hall the shooter went and mailed a package and then walked into Norris Hall and started shooting they were at Norris hall within minutes of the attack. The police and administration all thought the first incidents however tragic was a contained incident until the shootings in Norris Hall began.Undecided
I think that firing them at this point would be wrong because there needs to be a more thorough investigation of there actions in regards to this situation to prove wither or not the second shooting was a result of their negligence and something that they could have actually prevented or not.... but in the mean time I think that putting them on some sort of suspension leave until a complete evaluation and investigation of there actions is complete would be appropreate.... and then if they find them to be negligent and prove that if they had acted differently this would not have happened then termination of the responsible parties would be appropriate.No, no one in the administration should be fired.
I don't think we should make anyone other than the shooter responsible for the actions that were taken place. I do think the people in charge should have shut down the whole college when the first shooting took place. Send people home or make them stay in thier locked classrooms until the shooter was found. I do not think that the people in charge intentionally let this incident happen. They feel bad enough as it is....leave them alone. I say these things coming from an outsider who did not lose a family member and I see things from a different light and I am not as emotionally involved like the people who lost family members.No, no one in the administration should be fired.
i loved sanjaya i hope he comes back next yearYes, the entire administration should be fired.
No one can ever tell what might happen, but after a shooting, no one should have just assumed nothing else was going to happen. It gave Seung-hui the opportunity to see that, "hey, they think I fled, I can go on another killing spree." And with the events that are going on in just this year, all the other school shootings, the Amish school shootings and every other one, no one should have just assumed it was all over. One thing always leads to another, and it was twisted that they couldn't even think of something to get the other students out of the building. Of course it is extremely difficult to get a message like that to everyone those thousand+ students, but it wasn't a good idea to just assume everything was alright after that. It's like the saying goes, " better safe than sorry," it would have been better to be precautious and not need to be, than to not be cautious at all and something happen.Yes, the entire administration should be fired.
Not only that but all his high school teachers should be fired too. They should have seen this coming. Fire his parents too!All the local news reporters should be fired too. If they would have reported the first two shooting quicker maybe the students would have had time to hide.
The governor should be fired too (oh, he is elected we can't do that). Well then fire all the cafeteria workers where he ate for the last 3 meals.
chopping block instead of just doing what needs to be done to help with
the aftermath.
No, no one in the administration should be fired.
I live in Lynchburg, VA about an hour and a half from Tech...plenty of my high school friends are currently attending this university. I feel like hindsight is 20/20...granted, once a situation has happened, we all could think of better ways we SHOULD have handled it, but I believe with all my heart that the administrators are in the position they are in because they have the students and facultys best interest at heart. I know they did what they felt was best.None of the above
I wish that the media and alot of people would leave the administration, the VT president, and the police alone. There were 2 incidents that happened that Monday morning. LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...No, no one in the administration should be fired.
There was no way of knowing when the couple was shot that there would be more to follow. It could have just been an isolated incedent. Was no way to predict what was to follow. This campus has 26,000 people, 4 acres of land and numerous buildings. That would be like shutting down a small city. How long do you think that would have taken? Moving people out and about the campus could have caused more deaths as there would have been more people running around outside.