Comments on: When there’s no room for error

By: Not You

Not You — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 03:32:08 +0000

Also, just so you know, the gunman did leave campus. He went into town and posted a letter to NBC news. So they were actually right… Probably best you get off your high horse now.

By: Julie Steinberg

Julie Steinberg — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 01:26:32 +0000

Clearly, there are differences between the technical capabilities of shutting down the two campuses. What I do question, however, is the seeming lack of a crisis plan that could be put into effect, especially when VA Tech had shut down its entire campus last summer when there were reports of an escaped convict in the area.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-08-21-campus-search_x.htm

By: Realist

Realist — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 00:15:57 +0000

“At the very least, the administration should have evacuated the dorms or shut down campus.” Virginia Tech’s campus isn’t the kind you can just shut down with a snap. The entire span covers roughly 2,600 acres. To put that in perspective, the entirety of Penn’s campus barely makes it to 260 acres. Couple that with the fact that there are 26,000+ students at VTech, and you have no grounds on which to compare a lock-down there with a lock-down at Penn. Of course Penn could/would shut down immediately. Our campus is extremely self-contained. Not even VT students are being this critical of their administration.

By: Goose

Goose — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 19:29:34 +0000

How were they supposed to know? It’s a college administration, not a military regiment.

By: Not Impressed

Not Impressed — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 18:08:00 +0000

You do realize that although we now know he shot those two people at 7:15 that does not mean the administration was aware at the second it had happened. It’s reasonable it took some time for police to arrive and assess the situation, which explains the time between the incident and the e-mail that was sent out. Only hindsight allows you to criticize the administration now, but at the time it was entirely logical to assume the homicide was an isolated incident and not a precursor to the massacre that happened. This post is just unfair and unnecessary posturing.

By: penn 08

penn 08 — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 17:51:16 +0000

Actually, he shot dead 32 people. An additional 29, I think, were shot but survived, and several are still in the hospital.