Could Seung-Hui Cho’s Killing Rampage Been Stopped by Virginia Tech School Administrators?
Could the killings at Virginia Tech been prevented if more teachers and students complained about Seung-Hui Cho’s bizarre behavior and his violent writings?
Lucinda Roy, a co-director of the school’s creative writing program, taught Cho in 2005. She was concerned about his behavior - he wore sunglasses to class and a cap pulled low over his eyes - and the violent themes in his writings. She also was worried for her safety because took cellphone pictures of her in class.
When she notified authorities about Cho, she was told there would be too many legal hurdles. Police told her they couldn’t act since the writing wasn’t explicit enough and he didn’t threaten a specific person. Maybe their hands were legally tired, but couldn’t campus administration have intervened somehow, for example asking for a psych evaluation because he was a threat to himself and others.
Another of Cho’s writing professors brought his work to Roy’s attention. In one play, a teen character accused his stepfather of molesting him. The same character killed his father. In another play, the teens talked about stalking and killing a math teacher who sexually molested them. You can read Cho’s plays on AOL’s News Bloggers.
The professors weren’t the only ones who were scared of Cho. One day only seven of 70 students attended their poetry class. Virginia Tech poet Nikki Giovanni asked the students why the others didn’t show up. She was told they were scared of Cho.
It makes you wonder what was going on when Cho grew up. Was he molested by a teacher, parent or step-parent? We’re sure to find out more details in the days ahead, but it makes me wonder if other teachers and administrators including those at his high school should have intervened and insisted that he get counseling. Lucinda Roy tried, but it wasn’t enough.
Even if Seung-Hui Cho got counseling, or was expelled from Virginia Tech, would it have helped and prevented this tragedy? I’m not so sure.
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Cho Seung-Hui, murder, Virginia Tech, killings, shooter, college shooting, violent plays
April 19th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
i think what that cho guy did was good, he killed many innocent people, but the teachers will be afraid to abuse the student in future. i read what he wrote, he said he is sacrificing himself for all the weak and helpless guys. and its true. first i thought he was a monster but after i read what he wrote i can see the benefit of what he did. you see in our world people only respect one thing — strength. if you are big and tall everyone respect you, if you are small everyone treats you like shit. cho showed that small guys can turn nasty if pushed too far, and that will make people afraid to pick on small guys, especially students. innocent people died, that’s unfortunate. but the same thing happens in a war, innocent die in order to correct some other evil. cho was kicked out of poetry and literature class for his writing, he was a shy guy so when he tried to hit on a couple girls in a somewhat clumsy way they ratted on him. girls don’t have the guts to say “i am not interested, but thank you for asking” to guys they find unattractive, instead they pretend they like them, flirt with them, than behind their back they rat on them and backstab them. and misandrist men are all to happy carrying out their dirty duties falsely accusing a guy of harassment. sex discriminates against the ugly. they don’t realize that ugly guys are people too who also deserve to have fun and be happy. taking a kinder and gentler attitude towards all humankind might serve these pampered women with low self-esteem well. its easy to ridicule men, to blame men, to ignore men. but it is not easy to be a man. especially an ugly short man like cho. society prepares the crime the criminal commits it.
feminists and men who support gender biased, sexist, anti-male laws including the school system, police, justice system, and government are responsible for emasculation of men, which is the cause of the social anxiety among young men like cho. feminists would rather nitpick and close down a corporation which is supporting thousands of women who feed their babies because some guy hang a victoria’s secret angel over the time clock. its time women got over themselves and men stopped impersonating sentimental buffoons catering to their vile whims.
as for the media, its common sense that by rewarding cho with what he was aiming for – publicity they are sending the message that whoever kills a lot of people will be rewarded with publicity. why stop there? announce a bloody reward for the families of dead serial killers so you can get your bloody ratings. what do you expect from a society which is so utterly lacking in integrity? you are worse than the cho dude, you may be snug and secure behind your desks, but you are encouraging murder.
April 20th, 2007 at 9:59 am
Geez, and I thought it was because CHO WAS MENTALLY ILL that he killed people who never did anything to him, not because he was short, small, shy, awkward with women, or because of feminism and women’s studies departments. If the latter was the case, there would be a lot more killers out there.
April 20th, 2007 at 11:46 am
We may want to stick our heads in the sand because the images and what they represent offend our sensibilities. I understand that many are in excruciating pain from the loss of loved ones and cannot bear the thought of looking at the person who inflicted this heartache. On the surface this appears to be a clear case of a mentally disturbed individual venting his rage on innocent lives and therefore, our habit is to dismiss it in our minds as an abnormality, a deviation from the norm, but in actuality this is indicative of a very complex phenomenon exemplifying the direction we are going in as a country and ultimately, a species. Our modern culture has seen an over abundance of violent TV shows & movies, violent lyrics in music, cruel and angry reality shows, portrayal of mean-ness as the ultimate form of entertainment. There is a preoccupation with body image, physical appearance, money and so on… look at us, we worship the likes of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan whose lives are a series of partying, drugs and sex…. Our children are excessively exposed to these themes, images and messages at a very young age. Psychology 101: Children live what they learn. When the predominance of the information children receive from society is of this nature, it then becomes their sense of reality. They believe that these are the things that constitute our experience and existence as human beings…. where is the over abundance of images depicting love, compassion, kindness? We are creating a generation of superficial, plastic, selfish people where the great search in life is about excess and trying to appease an inexhaustible craving for physical pleasure. Our greatest error is thinking that each thing is separate unto itself. For every action there is a reaction and everything is connected, so we are sadly misguided in thinking that what we portray in the name of entertainment does not have a tremendous impact on our children’s psyche and present the foundation of their beliefs….. There is no one thing that causes an individual to reach breaking point, instead it is the culmination of everything he has ever experienced in his life and the impressions left upon his psyche, lest we forget all those children who endure physical, sexual, mental and emotional abuse. These experiences are assimilated and ultimately create a toxic fusion of energies and emotions. Children today are feeling more alienated and dis-jointed than ever, as parents are caught up in the “fight for survival” spending more time and energy at work ultimately leaving less and less time for raising their children in a balanced and harmonious manner. Whilst in the mind of the parent what they are doing is in the best interest of the child as they can provide more material things…. the truth is, a child would much rather a sincere hug and the attention of a parent than the latest barby doll or video game…. Do you not think that the 4-6 hours they spend playing bloody video games or watching television shows that depict screaming, cruel and out of control people are laying the foundation of their belief system? Needless to say, the horse is already out the gate and it will take awareness from the majority to recognize it is heading in the wrong direction. I pray that we wake up before many more are unnecessarily slaughtered by these mostly affected minds who in the midst of their darkness, are screaming for us to heed the call….
April 20th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
The worse school massacre was in 1927 in Bath, Michigan when school board member Andrew Kehoe killed 45 people and injured 58. He was upset over a property tax that was levied to fund the construction of the school. He blamed the tax for financial hardships which led to foreclosure of his farm, and wanted to get back at the parents who voted for the tax.
So on the morning of May 18, Kehoe first killed his wife and then set his farm buildings on fire. As fire fighters arrived at his home, Kehoe set off the explosion at the school.
Another case: In 1961, Charles Joseph Whitman ascended the tower at the University of Texas at Austin and shot at passersbys in the city and on the campus below. (He had killed his mother and his wife the night before.) Whitman killed 15 people and wounded 31 others before he was killed by Austin police.
An autopsy showed Whitman had a brain tumor, which may have caused his actions though no one really knows for sure.
No video games, no Lindsay Lohan, and in 1929 no TV. Stop blaming outside sources like working parents, the media, Hollywood, etc. Instead, let’s find out why our mentally ill aren’t getting the treatment they need.
April 20th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
You mentioned a few murderers and naming specific incidents as the trigger for their tirade… no one incident leads a person to horrific actions like these, instead it is a lifetime build-up of experiences that cause them to foster thoughts and ultimately deeds of this nature. you said, no Paris, Lindsay or Hollywood influence our children? Then why are eating disorders on such a dramatic rise among our young girls. We need to start connecting the dots… We are creating a society where our children are having more negative influences than positive…. it is eroding their sense of well being. You may not want to believe it but as a teacher, I see the students become meaner and meaner to each other every year… It is said, a nation without vision shall perish…
Let’s hope there are still some visionaries out there.
April 20th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
I agree with Kam. Everyone deserve repsect and not to be treated any less. No one deserves to bullied, pushed on, spit, etc. If you feel you should be able to push people around because of the way look or because they are poorer than you, then the result can be deadly. Especially now days. People should try being more friendly but at least respect the person next to you and treat him/her as a human bieng. This thing about back lash and being upset with Koreans, just forget about it. It serves no justice. There has been innocent people killed in the USA since I could remember, especially over “skin” color. Virginia Tech suffered from a trajedy. It’s unfortunate and yes they were innocent but time still pass. They are all in better places now. Treat people fairly, it makes no sence to be disrespectful or just leaving people out in the cold. That’s my opinion.
December 21st, 2007 at 11:15 am
killing teachers is fun you should try it sum time mwahahabhahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!