Thursday, April 26, 2007
The tragic school shooting at Virginia Tech united students in sadness and disbelief. At the same time, and somewhat paradoxically, it spurred a series of school bomb scares and students’ copy-cat threats nation-wide. It was as if certain kids, in lieu of uniting in sorrow, were thinking, “I guess this is what it takes to get attention.”
When the killer’s name was released, the descriptions of his personality were eerily familiar: much like Harris and Klebold before him, the kid was clearly disturbed, troubled and “not right.” On multiple occasions, teachers had contacted authorities to report concern about the intelligent yet quiet boy who was obsessed with violence.
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With so many questions unanswered, we must begin to take the warning signs more seriously. Cries of desperation such as recent copy-cat threats may very well be signals that a person is an active volcano nearing eruption.
Their active attempts to guide attention to the boy floundered, and perhaps no one who saw the signs of distress could have done anything more to alert authorities. Yet in the wake of yet another school shooting tragedy, and in response to the hollow threats that echoed across the country for days afterwards, we must begin to ask ourselves what we can do differently.
Inevitably, we will question America’s obsession with violence and individualistic culture. At the end of the day, however, little is known about the exact incidents that spur school shootings.
Our only prototype for the persons who do the deed is a distressed male.
With so many questions unanswered, we must begin to take the warning signs more seriously. Cries of desperation such as recent copy-cat threats may very well be signals that a person is an active volcano nearing eruption.
Students, teachers, parents and neighbors should work together to listen more attentively to the dissatisfied voices around and within us. A bout of depression rarely leads to an act as grievous as last week’s school shooting, but addressing psychological health is nonetheless important, if only because our state of being affects our daily actions and interactions as well as others’ emotional wellbeing. At a basic level, we can all do our part to address mental health issues by watching out for one another. In doing so, we should make it a daily practice to listen to others’ concerns and to offer our emotional support in others’ times of need. We should be aware of counseling services, such as CAPS at the University of Kansas, which can be contacting at 864-2277 and HQ Counseling Center downtown, which offers help around the clock and can be reached at 841-2345. Lastly, we should recognize our own moments of desperation in which we must swallow our pride and request help.
These acts of consideration are menial but important. By being attentive and compassionate we produce healthier, happier relationships with ourselves and with others. We may even prevent a walking time bomb from exploding.
— Alison Kieler for the editorial board
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