Op-ed: Even at VT all issues not addressed

By Karl Spaulding

On April 16, 2007, 32 people were murdered by a fellow student at Virginia Tech. On Feb. 14, there was another college shooting with five people killed. In the week previous to that, several more shootings at colleges and high schools made the news.

Anyone who reads the Virginia Tech Review Panel report (available on the Internet through the Virginia governor's Web site) will find an extensive examination of various preventive measures, from better counseling services to campus-wide warning systems. Many schools, including Ohio State, have done a lot of work revamping their responses to campus emergencies. Most of this is good.

Because mass shooting events are still rare, the authorities correctly deduced that any improvements in campus security that would help deal with shootings should also be useful for other emergencies. They recognized there is no one answer to a particular emergency, including violence emergencies. Response plans should be multilayered and adaptable to circumstances.

There are problems with the VT report. It primarily uses an "organizational mindset" to search for solutions. Violent criminals do not share this mindset and academic administrators do not seem to understand the difference between what they dream up in meetings and what criminals actually do in the real world. Additionally, those who are outside the bureaucratic ecosystem offering different forms of information seldom make any impression. For example, I have written four columns in The Lantern mentioning various campus safety issues that need attention. I have not received a single response from our glorious leaders. Any suggestions or experiences I have do not interest them. Maybe it is because I do not wear a tie. Maybe it is because I do not hobnob with the rich and famous. Maybe I am just a troglodyte who looks funny.

The largest omission in the VT report occurred between the preventive measures and the need for a quick police response. What do you do when the shooter begins shooting? Administrators are apparently incapable of imagining themselves in a room in which people are being killed.

Click here for the entire op-ed in the (OSU) Lantern.