And also an angry one. I am watching the news, reading blogs and I have some questions for those in charge.

1) Why was this young man not identified earlier as a danger to himself and others? If he was a student, which appears so far to be the case, it also seems likely that he was exhibiting some strange and extreme behaviors before this happened.
Why weren’t the RAs trained to identify and notify administrators of students with serious psychological problems? How often does this have to happen before psychological screening of young people becomes commonplace? How is it we are so concerned with SAT scores and grades with no concern for students’ mental and emotional health? Grief counselors are seen as critical to healing after a tragedy and are dispatched after emergencies. Yet why is access to counselors not seen as equally or more important to prevent tragic loss of life.
2) Who decided that it was sensible to allow classes to continue after the initial shooting with a killer at large, unapprehended, roaming the campus?
3) Are handguns allowed on campus? If so, why are handguns allowed on campus?
4) Why is it still harder, much much harder to get a driver’s license than it is to buy and use a gun? Who really thinks that’s still a good idea?
5) In the wake of 9/11, how is it that a public university with 26,000 students appears to have no real method in place of alerting its students, faculty and workers of a campuswide emergency?

The nation’s prayers are with the parents and families of those killed and injured at Virginia Tech. And also with the emergency responders and school administrators. But I also pray that we take this opportunity to look more closely at how we treat and protect those most vulnerable in our society. The young, the sick (physically and mentally) and the aged. Ultimately, it’s a question of our moral strength as a country. Can we move past prayer and tears to action. We owe nothing less to those who have lost their lives, who have lost loved ones and those who have had lives disrupted today.

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