Overly Dramatic Useless Gestures

[Posted by reader_iam]

All those fine minds at Yale University, and when faced with the tragedy at VA Tech and how to respond to it--because, of course, they must do something, anything, to prove that they're considering the issues seriously and taking immediate steps to address them--they decide to restrict the use of weapons in theatre productions.

Students involved in this weekend’s production of “Red Noses” said they first learned of the new rules on Thursday morning, the same day the show was slated to open. They were subsequently forced to alter many of the scenes by swapping more realistic-looking stage swords for wooden ones, a change that many students said was neither a necessary nor a useful response to the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

According to students involved in the production, Trachtenberg has banned the use of some stage weapons in all of the University’s theatrical productions. While shows will be permitted to use obviously fake plastic weapons, students said, those that hoped to stage more realistic scenes of stage violence have had to make changes to their props.
...
“Red Noses” director Sarah Holdren ’08 said she first heard about the changes in a phone call from a friend as she arrived at the Off-Broadway Theater on Thursday morning. At the theater, technical director Jim Brewczynski told her about the new regulations. The pair then met with Trachtenberg, who initially wanted no stage weapons to be used in the show, [emphasis added] Holdren said, though she later agreed to permit the use of obviously fake weapons.
...
Berger also said he finds the ruling inconsistent because forms of stage violence that do not involve weapons — such as hangings — are still permitted.

Everyone feel safer now?

I'm not sure why Trachtenberg thinks infantalizing her university community and making Yale a laughingstock is supposed to combat violence and Make The World A Better Place. It's probably not worth asking her, since the incoherence of the decision and its implementation makes clear that she's one befuddled person. And the fact that she would seriously suggest that the production in question be staged without essential props--what, the actors were supposed to wave invisible weapons in the air, like 6-year-olds at play during recess?--brings her basic intelligence into question, and that of any other administrators involved.

Just what we need now: More hysterical thinking and overly theatrical responses, and from our supposedly elite Institutions Of Higher Learning.

What a joke.

Sigh.

VA Tech Shooter Had A History [Updated]

[Posted by reader_iam]

OK, now we're getting some information that's useful. (See also earlier post from today.) The Chicago Tribune reports that Cho Seung-Hui had shown signs of disturbance, according to an "investigative source" (a rather useless description, by the way).

Cho had shown recent signs of violent, aberrant behavior, according to an investigative source, including setting a fire in a dorm room and allegedly stalking some women.

A note believed to have been written by Cho was found in his dorm room that railed against "rich kids," "debauchery" and "deceitful charlatans" on campus.

Cho was an English major whose creative writing was so disturbing that he was referred to the school's counseling service, the Associated Press reported.

Professor Carolyn Rude, chairwoman of the university's English department, said she did not personally know the gunman. But she said she spoke with Lucinda Roy, the department's director of creative writing, who had Cho in one of her classes and described him as "troubled."

"There was some concern about him," Rude said. "Sometimes, in creative writing, people reveal things and you never know if it's creative or if they're describing things, if they're imagining things or just how real it might be. But we're all alert to not ignore things like this." [All emphasis added.]

Now, there's some food for thought.

Hat tip, Memeorandum.
****
Unrelated: It's being reported now, on cable, that some sort of bomb-threat note was found near the killer's body, and that this gives more credence to the idea that the bomb threats of last week are related.

Updated: The Smoking Gun has put up what it says is a copy of a play that Cho wrote last year. I link to this with caution, and some misgiving, because I wish I knew the provenance of this, how and how well this was confirmed to be the work of "the" Cho, and so forth. Proceed with caution.

Hindsight Seers (More On VA Tech)

[Posted by reader_iam]

[Note: I have put up yet another post: VA Tech Shooter Had A History, based on new information coming out.]

As most of you probably already know, the mass murderer at VA Tech was Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old senior English major at the university. (He has also been identified as a South Korean national, here as a "Resident Legal Alien." He came to the U.S. with his family when he was 8.)

I must bear down at work today. But I do want to highlight this:

Sources tell ABC News that Cho killed two people in a dorm room, returned to his own dorm room where he re-armed and left a "disturbing note" before entering a classroom building on the other side of campus to continue his rampage.[emphasis added]
...
Police say they believe Cho killed two people in a dormitory, West Ambler Johnston Hall, shortly after 7:00 a.m. Monday. Then, two hours later, he opened fire in Norris Hall, a classroom building across campus.

Two-Hour Gap Between Shootings

Reporters continued to ask today why administrators did not cancel classes after the first shooting, and why it took more than two hours to inform the university community via e-mail about the first incident. The first e-mail notifying students of the dorm shooting was not sent by the school until 9:24 a.m — by which time the second shooting was already over.

I still think we don't have all the information to judge whether and how derelict the administrators were. I think we're jumping to conclusions about what, when and how much police knew (of course, they themselves may very well have been jumping to conclusions about the "domestic," isolated nature of the first shooting; it depends on what they were told: again, we don't know enough yet). We don't know if they were worried about panic and more trouble (by the way, I'm not generally all that sympathetic to that sort of rationale, but still, it's something to look at).

But there's been a lot of talk about the notification, what should have been done. At the very least, people are saying, e-mails should have been sent out so that people could decide for themselves whether to attend class. Or classes should have been cancelled imediately. Of course, no one's really specifying what the exact time should have been for the e-mails: 7:16? 7:30? 7:45? But let's say those e-mails (and other notifications) went out at any of those times. Let's say that a significant number of students decided not to attend class, but instead went back to bed in their dorms or just gathered in excited groups to discuss what the heck was going on.

Let's say that the killer had had it in his mind to continue shooting people in dorms (remember, it's only after the fact that we know he had a classroom building in mind). That e-mail, then, in effect, would have meant more people in dorms! What would we all be screaming about now?

Well, you say, all the dorms would have been locked down to nonresidents of them. First, having lived in dorms and been a student, I know you can lock them down just so much, and control students just so much. Second, the guy was a dorm resident! He's even reported to have gone back to his dorm room! Ensuring that he couldn't get out of dorm wouldn't necessarily do much to help his dorm-mates. How to foresee and control for that?

About that visit back his dorm room (and who knows where else he went). We don't know the time of that visit, yet. But let's say, while he was there, he checked his e-mail. As a student, he would have been sent the notification e-mail along with everyone else, right? What's to say he wouldn't have read that and thought, "well, instead of shooting up the engineering building, I'll guess I'll have to settle for a dorm--or any place where a bunch of students are gathered to talk about what the heck is going on!" How to foresee and control for that? (And remember, at the time, police were supposedly under the impression that the first shooter was someone who was NOT a student, but rather from off-campus.) In that case, among the shooters victims would be people who, without that e-mail, might have been in class! What would we all be screaming about then?

Or maybe he wouldn't have gone back out yesterday. But remember, his identity was established based on that terrible massacre at the classroom building. As of now, police still, apparently, are having trouble tying him to the first shooting except for the ballistics comparison. There wouldn't have been such a comparison to make, absent the Norris Hall shooting. What's to say the shooter wouldn't have just waited for another day (remember, this appears to have been planned ahead of time) and then gone ahead?

Is this all speculation, all after-the-fact blather? Well, OF COURSE it is. But exactly no more so than much of what I'm hearing, seeing and reading elsewhere. And there is precious little broader thinking that I can see, precious little effort to look at things from a "what was known at the time mindset.

Sure, the police may have screwed up horribly, and with horrific circumstances. Same thing for administrators. But we don't know yet. We don't know enough. And if we're going to start yelling "should have, should have!", then we should sit down and think about the possible implications of the actions we think should have taken place. All of the possible implications.

There's a bit more discussion about this in the comments section of my The 2nd VA Tech Press Conference [Update At Bottom] post.

A terrible, terrible thing happened yesterday. People were slaughtered, families are devastated, a community has been ripped apart. Evil triumphed, and we are all so saddened and appalled by the tragedy. Of course we want to assume that it could have been prevented. I know I do. But the hardest thing is to consider that this assumption might not be well-founded: that we are not in control, that the collective power and controls of an entire community or even society cannot necessarily stop the rampages of people like Cho Seung-Hui.

The 2nd VA Tech Press Conference [Update At Bottom]

[Posted by reader_iam]

I'm planning on following this one also (while making dinner; that'll be interesting, though, if there's not much new, less so). Meanwhile, here are my previous posts on this topic today, in order of posting them: Campus Carnage [Updating...] The VA Tech Press Conference and About The VA Tech Shooter's Ethnicity.

While waiting, I want to note one semi-amusing thing: Greta Van Susteren's cautioning of a colleague-anchor that it's important not to jump to conclusions about whether "there is one or two shooters in the case, while underneath her face was a "news summary" [not the exact words:] that a gunman had shot two people, and then gone to another location and shot more. (Apparently, Van Susteren has gone on scene, or something.)

Anyway, back soon.

Here we go. Let's see if there's anything new.

***

Time:

7:15 p.m. Tech police get 911 call. They respond in minutes and find a male and a female fictim in a room. Other students told to stay in their rooms, the building was secured, and people were interviewed.

7:30 a.m.. Police following up information on potential relationship of shooters.

8:? a.m. A meeting was held with officials to see what response should be, including notification of campus

9 a.m. Team is briefed.

9:26 VA Tech community were notified (36,000 e-mails) and asked to support suspicious information, press release posted, automated calls sent out, some sort of satellite photo capability was deployed.

9:45 911 call regarding Norris Hall shootings. Officials were in meeting related to the earlier shooting.

Officers went to Norris and found doors barricaded. Once they got in, they found the gunman dead on (I think they said) the second floor. There was no engagment with them.

9:55 VA Tech notified campus via same means and others were also informed.
**

There's another question about why no immediate lockdown following first incident because "a murder is a murder." Chief describes the acreage of the campus (I think he said something like 2600 acres), says there's more than 100 buildings, and that there are about 25,000 people connected with the campus, including many who would have been on their way to the campus at the time.

***

Two weapons recovered; no confirmation of type.

***

The preliminary investigation of the first shooting indicated an isolated incident, and a person of interest was identified. This took time. This person has been found.

***

Ballistics evidence is being compared from the two shooting scenes.

***

Still no one in custody.

Police chief says he is not saying there's someone out there, and he's not saying there's not.

***

Evidence of domestic dispute stemmed from witness interviews at the dormitory conducted by the first officers on the scene.

***

Chief is still refusing to give physical description(s).

[Somewhere in here or just before, the chief says that to his knowledge, no one has talked to the person of interest.] NOTE THIS, ADDED LATER: I misheard this, I think: See the bolded "Wait," below.

Chief just said that the descriptions given of the shooter(s) at the scenes ARE NOT the same.

***

Staff members are among the deceased, but the chief doesn't have the exact number.

***

Shouted: "Is the person out on the loose or not?" Answer: "We don't think so."

***

Murder/suicide has been ruled out as a possibility in the first shooting.

***

Not precise quote: "Did you consider just telling everyone to to get off campus, there's been a murder?" Chief again explains the logistics of the number of the people on the campus--tens of thousands, including all types of students, staff, part-time staff, and visitors.

***

Why is the person of interest, "of interest"? Because he knew one of the victims at the dorm. He is not a student.

***

Cable channels keep switching away. I'm getting read to switch to a third one.

***

Someone asks about a student arrested when he was taking pictures of crime scene. He has been released.

Most of the questions now are nuts and bolts, or variations on a theme, hoping that more information can be pried from the officials (or maybe that something will be let slip). That's how this sort of thing goes; part of the job.

***

Wait, I think I missed something earlier: The person of interest HAS been interviewed; and I believe the chief just said that person was being interviewed at the time of the second shooting. Did I hear that aright?

***

Since incident last August (the campus was closed due to a bomb scare or threat, I believe), the university has been looking into ways to transmit information/warnings via text messaging or cell-phone message, in addition to other means. There's some talk about cell-phone saturation/capacity (tower capability?).

***

Notifications etc. of families is ongoing. There are some religious issues with regard to how some of the fatal victims are being handled.

All of the victims have NOT been identified at this point. This work is ongoing.

***

The chief confirms that guns are not allowed on campus, as expected.

***

How has the chief been affected personally? He's spent his entire career at VA Tech; he cares deeply about the students and community. "... I cannot express in words my [regret] .... " (I think he used a slightly different and stronger word than "regret," but I got distracted for a moment.)

***

Still looking into connection with bomb threats ... .

***

Now CNN finally breaks away, to air a citizen (I believe) videotape so that we can hear the sound of repeated shooting on the campus this morning, and some yells and cries .... .

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, this is one of the more confusing "official" press conferences (related to a crime) I've witnessed, on TV or in person. Normally, I don't find them particularly hard to follow, but there are some marked areas in which this hasn't been so, today.

***Not part of the conference***

A student who was in Norris Hall at the time of the shooting--in fact, was in her German class and pretended she was dead--just went on camera and described the shooter. Tall, I think she said, young and Asian-looking--which I'll now say (see my previous post, linked above), because of this coverage, but we still need to know much more. What does that mean, exactly? And, of course--do I really need to say this--it doesn't make the shooter "a foreigner," all on its own.

Updated later, with some musings: I assume everyone who wants to is watching coverage by now, and I have to do other things. That said, just a few thoughts:

1) The initial shooting took place just a little over 14 hours ago. Fourteen hours. It may seem like an eternity, and an infinite of pain has resulted, but we're talking just over half of a day. Keep collecting information, and observations, and all of that: but also keep some perspective, about what we know, and what we don't know. How investigations really work, and what reasonable expectations are. How reporting (of the hard-news type, not to be confused with punditry and its cousins) works, and what reasonable expectations are. How running a campus works, and what reasonable expectations are.

2) Just a thought, but can I just note (as I've yet to see a cable news anchor note--which doesn't mean it hasn't been noted, just that I haven't seen it) that it's possible for both of the following to be true: No one is in custody AND no one's on the loose, and there's a possible explanation for that OTHER than death of the person in question.

3) Spare yourself and don't check in at Headline Prime at the other CNN (headline news), out of curiosity, a sense of wanting to compare coverage, or anything else. Consider it my gift to you.

4) I experienced a moment of amusement when I caught the start of Larry King's show (on real CNN), in which he said that today's tragic story meant that a one-on-one with Oprah Winfrey was being bumped. On the one hand, I do think that there are a significant number of people out there who, seeking relief, or out of sarcasm, or for whatever reason, let out an "awwwwww." On the other hand, I suppose this says something positive about CNN's priorities.

Then again, having watched the usuals all day on all of the channels, Oprah Winfrey might very well have been a breath of new air.

5) Amazing, some of the stuff that's already being brought up in connection with today's killings. Apart from the usual (guns [pro-con], video games, and etc.), I've heard links in conversations to Imus, to the shooting of the Amish girls in Callimachus' neck of the woods, and ... well, you get my drift.

Which brings me back to:

6) A reiteration from an early numbered point: It's been only a little more than 14 hours since the first shooting.

Note, later: I'm not sure how long this post, and possibly another, was down. While I do take down posts from time to time [in fact, I did just that within the past few days], it was absolutely not my intention to take down this one, or any other in the series, fwiw. Lots of updating today, to update and to crosslink, so I guess maybe it's understandable. Well, no, not really. It's just irritating.

About The VA Tech Shooter's Ethnicity

[Posted by reader_iam]

Those of you who may have been reading my much-updated initial post about the mass murders at VA may have noted that I have not alluded to reports about the alleged ethnicity of the shooter. Yes, I saw a couple of references here and there (but from non-official sources) to that quite early on on the cable news channels I was tracking, and yes, I know that now Fox News, which I was not following all that closely today, is making a big point of this.

But I think we need to be careful. I did not include the information in my updates in my earlier post because it had not been confirmed. Because in this country, we jump to conclusions. Because I can very easily come up with obvious examples of "bandwagoning."

The ethnicity of the shooter has still not been confirmed officially, and it was specifically not confirmed at the press conference, which I blogged.

What bothers me--apart from the lack of official confirmation--is how the shooter is being described in terms of ethnicity, and by that I mean how ethnicity is being used without reference to whether the shooter is an American or not, etc.. I've seen, too many times, as an observer and back in the day when I worked in journalism, this tendency to classify by and emphasize whatever ethnic or race descriptive terms is being posed as a way to separate "monsters" as "the other"--certainly not one of us!

Well, of course, the shooter is "not" one of us, in the sense that most people aren't mass murderers. But you know EXACTLY what I mean, if you stop and think about it.

And it's a touchy time (well--when is it not?--but again, you know what I mean) to be talking about race and ethnicity and nationality. I think it's important to show an extra measure of responsibility--and specificity. Until we know more about that shooter, who he is and his background, and this is confirmed officially, I'm not going to address this issue. And I don't think that certain quarters which are making a pointed big deal, in the way they're making a pointed big deal, are acting responsibly or mindfully.

Anyway, in case you were wondering, that explains that.

Update: I'll be following the 2nd press conference here.

The VA Tech Press Conference

[Posted by reader_iam]

Update: About the shooter's ethnicity. And I'll be following the 2nd press conference here.


My previous post on the Virginia Tech shooting had gotten a bit cumbersome with all of the updates, so I'm going to cover the press conference featuring the VA Tech University president here.

President Charles Steiger:

He has spoken with President Bush, and twice with the governor of Virginia, who has declared a state of emergency to enable access to additional resources.

" ... I'm really at a loss of words to explain or understand the carnage that has visited our campus ... "

It is now confirmed we have 31 deaths from Norris Hall, including gunman; 15 people are being treated for injuries.

Two confirmed deaths from the dormitory.

They are working to identify all of the victims and contacting next of kin. No names will be released until those tasks for done.

The gunman is unidentified--no identification on his body.

They are still investigating whether there is a connection between the first and second incidences. They have NOT decided that definitively.

**** Questions ****

[Answers from various people]

(Why not locked down after first shooting?)

--It had been determined it was an isolated incident.

--There was reason to think the shooter had left the campus. Information from witnesses and evidence at scene led officials to believe the shooter had more than likely left the campus.

--At this point, they don't know if the shooter at either incident is a student at the university or not. (Again, they have not determined if there is one or two shooters.)

(Security is being brought up) Vague-ish responses about open campus and challenges.

***

They are looking into whether there is any connection with bomb scares last week.

***

Two people were shot in the dorm room. Initial information provided to investigators seemed to indicate it was "domestic."

***

There was no shootout between officers and the shooter (at Norris Hall, in context). The officers entered the building (again, Norris Hall, in context) immediately upon arrival.

***

The dorm was shut down immediately after the shooting.

***

The shooter died inside Norris Hall.

The victims at Norris Hall were found in different locations.

Preliminary reports indicate that some doors were chained. [Later, "from inside" is specified.]

The speaker won't give information about shooter's age because they don't know who he is.

***

No one was arrested after either shooting.

***

Back to first shooting: They had information that led them to believe that the building was secure and the shooter had left the building. Other investigative agencies were contacted.

***

In response to a question as to whether they're actively seeking a suspect at the first shooting site: They are actively working the investigation to see if the two shootings are connected.

***

They can't confirm whether one of the victims at the first site was an RA.

***

Information is requested about process of contacting families. As victims are identified, the police are notified, families will be contacted and counseling will be available, and gatherings will be set up.

***

Lock-down policy is touched upon.

"With 11,000 people drivng into campus it's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get the information out [immediately]."

***

Question from a reporter: "How does Virginia Tech go forward? ... There's obviously going to be a 'new normal' here."

My comment: Really, what is the answer supposed to be? They're still in the thick of it.

***

There are teams of people interviewing people.

The police chief again cautions against assuming that the same shooter is responsible for both locations. He once again says he will provide no descriptive information of the shooter beyond gender.

***

They had sirens going out, they sent out e-mails, they utilized a telephone tree, and so forth. What sounds like a student questioner challenges that, or at least that it was done comprehensively and timely.

***

There will be increased security at the university tonight. Access has already been limited.

***

Academic buildings are open-access during the day and are locked at some point at night. Dorm buildings use swipe-access over night--probably go off around 7 a.m.

Norris Hall shootings started at approximately 9:40 a.m. (or that's when the call came in).

***

People keep asking for hindsight evalutions, a sort of debrief. It seems to me that it's too soon to do that well, or responsibly--but that's just me.

***

The police chief said there were a couple of people that jumped from windows. He didn't know whether there was faculty among the those killed.

A reporter asks for stories of students helping students, for some positive coverage. (This really came off as weird, btw.) The reply is that officials have been busy with investigations, identifications and etc., but that he's sure there probably were.

***

Someone asks at one point will the investigation be turned over from the campus police department to other agencies. The reply is that a number of agencies are providing resources (and that there are some representatives from them at the conference).

***

Another briefing scheduled for 7:30 (Eastern).

Added: I should note that Hot Air has a very comprehensive round up of events and coverage (broadcast and blogposts) today; I did not go over there earlier, but it would probably have saved me some time! I'm just one person, but they seem have had the resources to really pull it together.

Campus Carnage [Updating...]

[Posted by reader_iam]

NOTE: I'm jotting some notes from the news conference here.

LATER: See also About the shooter's ethnicity. Later yet: I'll be jotting some notes on the 2nd press conference here.

MSNBC hasn't updated its website yet, that I can see, but it is reporting that 22 people have been confirmed dead so far and 28 injured in a terrible series of shootings at a dormitory and a classroom building, at Virginia Tech. One shooter is among the dead, and perhaps he is the only one, but there is a concern because dormitory and classroom building are in opposite places on campus, and the onslaughts took place, it's being reported, a couple of hours apart. [As I finished this, MSNBC reported that there was just one shooter, and that he killed himself using one of the two 9mm handguns he had been wielding.]

Not surprisingly, the website of the school's independent student newspaper, The Collegiate Times, which MSNBC says has been constantly covering the story, is not currently available (the server is "not responding"). But this CNN story reports the paper's editor as saying the scene at the dormitory was "mass chaos." It also reports another student as saying that at least a couple of students jumped from a top floor window, but it's not clear which one.

And now, MSNBC is describing, chillingly, a line of 20 ambulances lined up, silently waiting to transport victims.

This may be the worse shooting on a university campus ever. (The one that springs to mind--there! coincidentally a TV reporter just mentioned it!--was the Texas Tower Sniper, back in the '60s.

Update1: Wikipedia lists the number of Whitman's victims as 31 wounded, and 15 to 17 dead, depending on how you count them. (Two of the definitely included were family members he'd killed the night before his rampage at the University of Texas.)

Update2: ABC is reporting that the death toll is now at (at least) 29. CNN also has the figure up on the TV screen, but not yet on its website.

Update3: CNN just reported on air that, according to the AP, the death toll is now at 31 and that the number of people wounded is at 29.

Update4: Instapundit makes an apt comment in response to an e-mail he'd received saying that Virginia Tech is a "gun-free" zone: "Well, for those who follow the law. Now, I certainly wouldn't advocate the arming wholesale of students, in particular, on college campuses, for a variety of good and in some cases obvious reasons. But it does seem to me that it might have been darn handy, today, to have a couple of well-trained, non-disturbed gun carriers at Norris Hall.

Unrelated to that #1: That two-hour gap bothers the hell out of me. How about you?

Unrelated to that #2: Editor & Publisher notes the coverage of the tragedy by that campus newspaper to which I referred in my original post. (You can now get there, since they have gone to a back-up server.) The paper has been updating the story "blog-style," as E&P describes, and also has put together a formal story.

Update5: The National Post notes the dozens of tribute pages already created, and the hundreds of condolences expressed, on Facebook.

Update6: Here's a post by an alumnus of Virginia Tech. He includes a map of the campus and a picture of the archway at Norris Hall, through which he used to walk regularly. (Hat tip, Memeorandum.

Unrelated #1: The reported chaining of doors at Norris Hall by the shooter is yet another chilling detail that makes that time-gap between the shooting at the dorm and the mass shooting at the engineering hall even more bothersome.

Update7: The Roanoke Times is regularly updating its coverage, which contains a variety of information, details, color reporting and so forth that's not just the same as everywhere else. Reportage from more local news sources tends to work that way.

Added after my press conference post (see top for link): Added: I should note that Hot Air has a very comprehensive round up of events and coverage (broadcast and blogposts) today; I did not go over there earlier, but it would probably have saved me some time! I'm just one person, but they seem have had the resources to really pull it together.