Ironically, that’s exactly what happened at Virginia Tech, with tragic results. Famed poet and Virginia Tech professor Nikki Giovanni became concerned in 2005 that one of her creative writing students, Seung-Hui Cho, was unstable. Sullen in class, Cho wrote poetry that was filled with disturbing images. Female students stopped going to class after complaining that Cho was photographing them.
Giovanni moved to exclude Cho from her course. She alerted her then-department head, Lucinda Roy, another famed writer, who informed university officials and campus police about Cho’s disturbing behavior. But Roy hit a legal roadblock. Officials said that they couldn’t do anything about Cho, according to state law, unless he was deemed to be a threat to himself or others.
After a second incident, the university demanded that Cho undergo a mental health examination, but he was released without action. Because Virginia law does not require mental health background checks on individuals buying firearms, Cho was legally able to buy the two automatic pistols and ammunition he used to murder 27 students and five professors before killing himself.
For now, some expect that issues such as laws covering mental health and gun control may be revised.
“The professors did recognize that something was wrong and did try to take action, but they were rebuffed,” says Zdanowicz.
--Peter Galuzska
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
