I am sure this will get put up on the forum and a flame war will result, so here it is: the summery of the panel conclusions on the Va Tech shootings (more precisely how the media is spinning the conclusions???) with a link to the actual report. I said media spin, because for example, the list below says the panel recommends
???Ban guns on all campus grounds and buildings.???
What the report actually says is:
VI-5 The Virginia General Assembly should adopt legislation in the 2008 session clearly establishing the right of every institution of higher education in the Commonwealth to regulate the possession of firearms on campus if it so desires. The panel recommends that guns be banned on campus grounds and in buildings unless mandated by law.
BTW, guns were banned on campus already, yet amazingly, it didn???t prevent the shootings. Perhaps a double secret ban will work?! An extra extra Gun Free Zone perhaps?
Anyway, if you want to know what the panel actually said vs what the media is reporting they said, follow the link at the end of the article..
Associated Press - August 30, 2007 5:15 AM ET
Key findings and recommendations by the state panel that reviewed the Va. Tech shootings:
FINDINGS:
Tech administrators failed to notify students and staff of a dangerous situation in a timely way; the first message sent by the university to students and faculty could have been sent at least an hour earlier and been more detailed.
Virginia Tech's emergency response plan did not anticipate a mass shooting and police were not in the emergency decision-making hierarchy.
The university's protocols for sending emergency warning messages was "cumbersome, untimely and problematic" and police didn't have the ability to send such a warning on their own.
It would have been extremely difficult to lockdown the campus because there weren't enough law enforcement officers to do so and there were no electronic controls on doors or most buildings.
Gunman Seung-Hui Cho's early schooling helped him with his problems. Both his family and local schools saw he needed therapy for extreme social anxiety, acculturation and communication. His school, therapist and psychiatrist coordinated well with one another. Those positive influences ended when Cho graduated from high school.
At Tech, information and concerns about Cho were not shared among faculty, the administration and police; instead they were largely compartmentalized.
State and federal academic and health privacy laws are poorly understood.
University and Blacksburg police "did an outstanding job" responding quickly to Norris Hall thanks to frequent joint training.
Emergency medical response overall "was excellent, and the lives of many were saved."
The process of notifying victims' family members and support for them were "ineffective and often insensitive."
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Provide instant campus-wide alerts with explicit information at the onset of an emergency, and have numerous ways of getting the message out.
Include plans for closing the campus or canceling classes in every college's emergency operations plan.
Require faculty and residence hall staff to report "aberrant, dangerous or threatening" student behavior to the dean, and report persistent alarming behavior to an on-campus counseling center and the student's parents.
Require background checks for all firearms sales, including those at gun shows, bazaars where registered dealers, collectors and enthusiasts sell and trade weapons.
Everyone judged mentally defective by a court must be entered into a nationwide database of people who can't buy firearms.
Ban guns on all campus grounds and buildings.
Hold yearly regional disaster drills that involve universities, the Regional Hospital Coordinating Center, state and local police and the medical examiner's office.
Train police on college campuses to deal with active shooters, as Virginia Tech's police were.
Give magistrates power to issue temporary detention orders based on evaluations conducted by doctors trained to perform emergency psychiatric examinations; lengthen detention times to allow for more thorough evaluations.
Because of widespread misunderstanding of privacy laws among law enforcement officials, the state attorney general should provide police guidance and training on the issue.
Congress should create an exception in the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act for on-campus counseling clinics to share information in the case of potentially dangerous patients such as Cho.
Train police officers on how to notify next of kin of deaths in large disasters or attacks.
Form college campus threat assessment teams that include police, students and faculty representatives, attorneys and mental health professionals who can identify risks such as Cho and warn others about them.
Source: Report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel.
Online:
Official Site of the Governor of Virginia
???Ban guns on all campus grounds and buildings.???
What the report actually says is:
VI-5 The Virginia General Assembly should adopt legislation in the 2008 session clearly establishing the right of every institution of higher education in the Commonwealth to regulate the possession of firearms on campus if it so desires. The panel recommends that guns be banned on campus grounds and in buildings unless mandated by law.
BTW, guns were banned on campus already, yet amazingly, it didn???t prevent the shootings. Perhaps a double secret ban will work?! An extra extra Gun Free Zone perhaps?
Anyway, if you want to know what the panel actually said vs what the media is reporting they said, follow the link at the end of the article..
Associated Press - August 30, 2007 5:15 AM ET
Key findings and recommendations by the state panel that reviewed the Va. Tech shootings:
FINDINGS:
Tech administrators failed to notify students and staff of a dangerous situation in a timely way; the first message sent by the university to students and faculty could have been sent at least an hour earlier and been more detailed.
Virginia Tech's emergency response plan did not anticipate a mass shooting and police were not in the emergency decision-making hierarchy.
The university's protocols for sending emergency warning messages was "cumbersome, untimely and problematic" and police didn't have the ability to send such a warning on their own.
It would have been extremely difficult to lockdown the campus because there weren't enough law enforcement officers to do so and there were no electronic controls on doors or most buildings.
Gunman Seung-Hui Cho's early schooling helped him with his problems. Both his family and local schools saw he needed therapy for extreme social anxiety, acculturation and communication. His school, therapist and psychiatrist coordinated well with one another. Those positive influences ended when Cho graduated from high school.
At Tech, information and concerns about Cho were not shared among faculty, the administration and police; instead they were largely compartmentalized.
State and federal academic and health privacy laws are poorly understood.
University and Blacksburg police "did an outstanding job" responding quickly to Norris Hall thanks to frequent joint training.
Emergency medical response overall "was excellent, and the lives of many were saved."
The process of notifying victims' family members and support for them were "ineffective and often insensitive."
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Provide instant campus-wide alerts with explicit information at the onset of an emergency, and have numerous ways of getting the message out.
Include plans for closing the campus or canceling classes in every college's emergency operations plan.
Require faculty and residence hall staff to report "aberrant, dangerous or threatening" student behavior to the dean, and report persistent alarming behavior to an on-campus counseling center and the student's parents.
Require background checks for all firearms sales, including those at gun shows, bazaars where registered dealers, collectors and enthusiasts sell and trade weapons.
Everyone judged mentally defective by a court must be entered into a nationwide database of people who can't buy firearms.
Ban guns on all campus grounds and buildings.
Hold yearly regional disaster drills that involve universities, the Regional Hospital Coordinating Center, state and local police and the medical examiner's office.
Train police on college campuses to deal with active shooters, as Virginia Tech's police were.
Give magistrates power to issue temporary detention orders based on evaluations conducted by doctors trained to perform emergency psychiatric examinations; lengthen detention times to allow for more thorough evaluations.
Because of widespread misunderstanding of privacy laws among law enforcement officials, the state attorney general should provide police guidance and training on the issue.
Congress should create an exception in the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act for on-campus counseling clinics to share information in the case of potentially dangerous patients such as Cho.
Train police officers on how to notify next of kin of deaths in large disasters or attacks.
Form college campus threat assessment teams that include police, students and faculty representatives, attorneys and mental health professionals who can identify risks such as Cho and warn others about them.
Source: Report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel.
Online:
Official Site of the Governor of Virginia