Could massacre have been prevented?

by Kerry Richards

In the past week our nation has suffered a tragedy that is virtually incomparable to any past events. Virginia Tech suffered the loss of thirty-three of their students. Thirty-two innocent students and one crazed gunman. This event is the worst act of school violence in memory.

Could this event have been prevented? I believe it could have been. There were plenty of warning signs. This student was clearly mentally deranged. As seen from papers and skits he wrote and passed in. Teachers should have made a bigger deal of this then what was made. Yes, this work was reported, but more steps should have been taken. As seen from Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, this work does indicate things that may come. When these two boys handed in a video project revolving around murder in their high school, nothing was done to remove them from schools. The same occurred in this case. The administration in schools needs to become more sensitive to this kind of cry for help. It's a lesson schools should have learned by now.

This was a student who exhibited many warning signs of potential violence. He was reported as stalking two female students. He appeared suicidal, and was even committed at one point. However, this care was listed as outpatient and thus Seung-Hui Cho was allowed to buy firearms.

It appears as if so much could have been done to prevent this tragedy. After Columbine, it seems many actions were taken to increase school security. However, it wasn't enough to stop this incident. What will be done now? School has yet to resume from April vacation, but when it does what's in store could be a much greater increase in how closely students are watched. A massacre like this one should be preventable by now.