Colleges discuss shooting

Lander, Erskine reflect on tragedy

April 18, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

As people across the nation paused to reflect upon and discuss Monday’s tragic events at Virginia Tech, presidents from a trio of local colleges weighed in on the impact the shootings have had on their campuses.
Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old Virginia Tech senior, went on a killing spree Monday at the Blacksburg, Va. university, killing 32 people and himself. It has been called the single worst act of gun violence in United States history.
Lander University President Daniel Ball said Tuesday that the massacre has raised questions on the Greenwood campus.
“It has definitely given us reason to pause and discuss how we can best protect our citizenry,” Ball said. “Campus security is our number one concern. As soon as I heard about what was happening at Virginia Tech, I thought about what I would have done as a university president.
“And, honestly, there is nothing you can do to absolutely prevent what happened.”
At Erskine College, president Randy Ruble gave his thought on the lasting effect of the situation at Virginia Tech.
“This impacts every educational institution in this country,” Ruble said. “We are certainly taking a look at our own security here at Erskine. That is a major priority for us, as we have always advertised ourselves as having a safe campus.”
Ruble said he addressed the Erskine student body Tuesday morning. He said he told them he has sent a letter to Virginia Tech president Charles Steger, expressing Erskine’s interest and concern for VT’s plight and letting Steger know Erskine students and faculty will keep Virginia Tech in their prayers. Ruble added that, during his address, there was a moment of silence for the victims of the massacre and their families.
At Lander, Ball sent out an e-mail to the entire student body Tuesday morning. The letter read as follows:
“The Virginia Tech University tragedy has affected every American. The sadness and grief caused by that senseless act will live with us forever.
“Please know Lander University is concerned about what occurred and wants our students, faculty and staff to know our vigilance is unwavering. We continue to review our emergency procedures and we partner with local authorities in keeping this campus safe, always.
“For those of you who need to visit about this tragedy, our Counseling Services are available.
“You can always help us keep our campus safe by being vigilant yourselves, by reporting unusual or suspicious behavior to a Resident Hall director, the campus police, your supervisor or anyone you feel would need to know.
“Your safety and well being are the most important treasures we have. Let me know if I can ever be of help.”
Ball said there are certain levels of freedom that are essential on college campuses.
“Sure we could put walls around the campus and make it a prison,” Ball said. “And then you lose your freedom. Something like the tragedy at Virginia Tech can and likely will happen again.
“You just have to take as many reasonable measures as possible to prevent it.”
Ruble agreed the random nature of the crime would make it tough to absolutely prevent.
“This could happen at any college in the Carolinas,” Ruble said. “I do think it reflects the society we live in, where violence seems more and more common. It really is a wake-up call for schools such as ours to review our security procedures.”
Much has been made in the national media about the two-hour gap between Sueng-Hui’s first round of killings — at a dormitory — and his second round in a classroom building. Some have questioned why Steger didn’t “lock down” the campus, perhaps avoiding the second round of shootings.
Ball said he is not sure that would have worked.
“I think they handled it the best way they could have given the situation, at least with what little information I have about the details,” Ball said. “They obviously thought the first killings were isolated. There are 26,000 students at that school. That’s the size of a town.
“With some students going from class to class, others commuting in, others in class and various visitors on campus, I don’t see any way they could have locked down and informed everyone of what was going on.”
At Presbyterian College in Clinton, the school’s president — Dr. John V Griffith — reminded his students and faculty Tuesday morning that the heart of their own pursuits lie closely with that of those touched by tragedy.
“I sent a communication to all of our students, faculty and staff this morning indicating first that we share the same and hopes and purposes as Virginia Tech,” Griffith said. “As educational institutions serving to provide the next generation’s leaders, we work very hard to set environments that are safe.
“When something like this happens, it hits at our core and makes us realize that things like this can happen at any place and at any time. It’s sobering.”
Griffith asked his campus to talk openly and freely about the incident.
“I encouraged them to touch base with their families and told them of our continued work to maintain their safety,” he said. “I also reminded them about the availability of counselors and the importance of talking about this. It would be peculiar for us not to have those here that do not know of someone (at Virginia Tech) at a time like this.
“We’re encouraging people to talk so that it doesn’t fester within the community. It’s only natural for people to wonder ‘what if something like that were to happen here?’ Being able to talk that through and knowing how your campus would respond is a healthy thing. Otherwise it just sits there.”
In a mass e-mail sent out to the student body, faculty and staff, Griffith said the school will review its own response procedures again — despite feeling the school does have proper security measures in place, along with a highly trained public safety department.
“We have an annual review of those procedures anyway and we do a sort of disaster response and go through simulations,” Griffith said. “Our public safety officers are commissioned police officers, so they are very well trained. This type of incident will have us review that particular type of situation and make sure our procedures are in place.”
For an educator, Monday’s events are simply unthinkable.
“I refer to our students as our lifeblood,” Griffith said. “That’s why were here. It’s just the worst nightmare imaginable.”

Campus attacks difficult to stop

Sheriff recalls shooting incident at local school

April 18, 2007

By MIKE ROSIER
Index-Journal staff writer

Greenwood County has seen this villain before — face to face.
Nearly 20 years have passed since Sept. 26, 1988, when violence leaped repeatedly from the barrel of a loaded weapon at Oakland Elementary School, killing two young students there and wounding many others.
The unbelievable horror that unfolded Monday across the campus at Virginia Tech was one unparalleled in scope and scale.
The shooting marked the worst act of violence (mass shootings) in the nation’s history. The total number of deaths has eclipsed the bloody and highly publicized slayings at an Amish school in Pennsylvania last year and at Columbine High in Colorado on April 20, 1999 — combined.
The pictures of the Oakland incident in 1988, though taken nearly two decades ago — captured mostly in black-and-white images — are eerily similar to those that stream across headlines today.
The looks of stunned horror are very much unchanged.
“Greenwood was one of the first school shootings,” Greenwood County Sheriff Dan Wideman said Tuesday.
“We’ve had to go through that tragedy. I feel for those people in Virginia.
“For those that were injured it’s going to be a hard time to get over. Our thoughts and prayers go out those families and the students at Virginia Tech. Our thoughts also go out to the members of law enforcement up there.”
Determined attacks by lone gunmen with the sort of resolve displayed in Monday’s massacre are very difficult to defend against — especially when played out on a large, widespread college campus.
“If a person has it in their mind to do something like that it’s almost impossible to stop it,” Wideman said. “The best thing to do is plan what to do and how to respond. You can’t plan for everything, but you can have that action plan ready.
“There’s just no way to clamp down on a university like that. If someone wants to kill you and do that, it’s difficult to defend.”
Wideman added the job being undertaken by law enforcement agencies in Blacksburg, Va., is understandably a very tough one to handle for several reasons, including the number of fatalities, the setting being a huge university and the crush of media outlets that have streamed to the site.
Greenwood County’s top law enforcement officer says the police on site in Virginia will maintain priority throughout the investigative process — whether or not the flow of information satisfies a hungry public.
“The first thing is they have to figure out what happened, with everyone on top of them,” Wideman said. “They have to figure out what happened and respond to all the deaths and the notify all the families. They have a lot going on and telling the public what happened is not the first order of business in something like this.
“Making everyone safe is the first thing. I know with the media, and news channels on 24/7 they want (new information) right now, but sometimes it’s just not possible. I know that (law enforcement) did the best that they could do.
“This is just a terrible thing.”

Obituaries

Furman Brown Jr.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Furman Brown, Jr., 47, passed away Thursday, April 5, 2007, at Cleveland Clinic, after a brief illness. Born June 23, 1959 in Cleveland Ohio, he was the son of Furman Brown, Sr. and the late Geraldine Gibson Brown. He was the oldest of five children. Furman graduated from John F. Kennedy High School. He won numerous awards for his achievements in Track and Football throughout High School and was awarded a Track Scholarship to Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, where he majored in Business. While attending Baldwin Wallace College, Furman met and married his soul mate, Kim Renee Johnson. Furman’s ultimate dream was to become an entrepreneur. He fulfilled his dream through Real Estate Investment and Sports Merchandising. He loved to swim, travel, cook and eat exotic foods. He never met a stranger and had a handsome smile that could light up a room. His paternal grandmother, Essie Brown and one stepsister, Monica Levert Steward preceded him in death.
He is survived by his wife, Kim; his father, Furman, Sr.; his stepmother, Norene; maternal grandmother, Anna Mae King; four sisters, Catherine (Bernard) Jackson of Lithonia, Ga., Christine (Anthony) Hill of Cleveland, Ohio, Francine (Jamaal) Ansari of Cleveland, Ohio and Barbara Ann (Thomas) Edler of Silver Spring, Maryland; one stepbrother, Carelton Levert, one uncle, James Brown and one aunt, Barbara (Reuben) Tolden, all of Greenwood; his in-laws John and Priscilla Johnson of Cleveland Ohio; and a loving host of uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Services were April 12, 2007 at Beulah Missionary Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio. Courtesy of Robinson & Son Mortuary, Inc.

Charmaine Marine

Charmaine Marine, infant daughter of Yolanda Marine and Bradley Devlin, died Sunday, April 15, 2007, at Self Regional Medical Center. Graveside services are 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, 2007, at Milway Baptist Church Cemetery in Bradley. Robinson & Son Mortuary, Inc. is assisting the family.

George W. Nelson

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Mr. George W. Nelson of Memory Drive, beloved husband of Mrs. Henrietta T. Nelson, entered into rest at the University Hospital Friday, April 13, 2007. He was preceded in death by a son, Mr. Willie R. Nelson. In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Sandra (Robert) Bailey; one grandchild, Tammy Moore; three great-grandchildren, James Leon Quarles, Jonathan Quarles, Pfc. Timothy Quarles, Mosul, Iraq; two great-great-grandchildren; Jasmine A. Quarles, Jylan Quarles; and a host of other relatives and friends. Funeral services will be held Thursday, April 19, 2007, 2 p.m. at Mt. Herman Baptist Church, Bradley, Pastor Cedric Smith officiating. Interment will be in the church cemetery. The remains will lie in state at Parks Funeral Home on Wednesday from 2 p.m. until noon Thursday. Family and friends will assemble at 411-B Greene St.
The Historic Dent’s Undertaking Establishment serving the CSRA since the 1800’s.
Parks Funeral Home in charge of local arrangements.

Troy Michael Nelson

ATLANTA — Troy Michael Nelson, 41, of 717 Lee St., Apt. 105, died Monday, April 16, 2007, at Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta. Born in St. James, Louisiana, he was the son of Paul and Gloria Nelson. He was a Healthcare Assistant with a Home Healthcare Service. He was a member of Salem Bible Church in Atlanta and was a former member of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Cross Hill.
Survivors include his mother and father of St. James, Louisiana; his Foster Father, Bishop Emanuel Spearman of Hodges; five brothers, Paul Nelson of Gonzales, Louisiana, Rick S. Nelson of Reserve, Louisiana, Randy Nelson of Bollmont, Texas, Bruce Nelson of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Wayne Nelson of St. James, Louisiana; one sister, Angela N. Winchester of St. James, Louisiana; and one grandmother, Willie Bell Parker of Greenwood.
Services will be announced by Robinson & Son Mortuary, Inc. Online condolences may be sent to robson@nctv.com.

Opinion

Tragedy at Virginia Tech: Pointing fingers is easy?

April 18, 2007

Greenwood native Stacy Palmore, an assistant basketball coach at Virginia Tech was on a recruiting trip and was spared the trauma of the moment at a horrendous massacre. Thousands of others, however, weren’t that lucky. A mental numbness sets in for families, of course, but also for friends and classmates.
Unpredictable! That, in one word, should be the determining consideration while some people are looking for someone to blame for the tragic killings Monday at Virginia Tech.
It always seems that’s the first thing anyone looks for when this kind of tragedy occurs. To say something like this should never happen is easy after the fact. Who, though, in a free and open society would ever dream that someone - student or anyone else - would calmly walk through buildings on a college campus and shoot to death 32 persons before committing suicide?

HOW COULD ANY COLLEGE official - how could anyone - predict such a thing? It’s easy to point fingers unless you were involved, either as a victim or as an official trying to make any sense of heartrending circumstances.
Maybe some things could have been done differently. However, in the midst of the kind of chaos that results when a tragedy of this magnitude happens, it takes time to put the pieces together. In order to determine what actually happened, let alone deciding what course of action is needed, making decisions can’t and shouldn’t be done haphazardly.
In the middle of it all, it appears that college officials were methodical in sizing up the situation. Nevertheless, there has been criticism because they did not issue an alarm until later.
Being human, criticism is understandable. We always wonder why “something wasn’t done.”

IT WAS, TO BE SURE, TWO hours after an initial shooting killed two people that a gunman killed 30 others ..... apparently all students, plus two professors. Officials thought the first was a domestic situation and they had no inkling it might be something else. In fact, no one knows yet the whys and wherefores of the out-of-the-ordinary violence.
It’s sad and shocking that any of the killing occurred. The truth is, violence that occurs randomly, as this seemed to be, cannot be predicted by anyone. While it may be human nature to look for someone to blame, it doesn’t automatically mean that anyone should be blamed ..... except the killer. Until predicting the future becomes a routine human characteristic we’ll never be able to effect surefire protection against unforeseen violent behavior. Still, colleges can learn from this tragedy and make sure they have all possible safeguards in place. That, surely, can help prevent random acts of violence. It also gives authorities an established means to at least deal with the unpredictable.