Virginia Tech
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre.
On the surface, it was a tragedy in which Cho Seung-Hui murdered 32 people before killing himself. But it affected more people than just those affiliated with Virginia Tech. It affected all of us.
What the massacre did was make all colleges and universities rethink the way they handle security.
The massacre is what prompted Oakland University to cancel classes Monday because of threatening graffiti posted in a campus building.
It is what made CMU spend $22,000 a year on a notification system that would send out emergency messages to cell phones and land lines. It forced hundreds of other universities to install a similar system on their campus.
It motivated CMU English professors to suggest that Topinabee junior Dennis Lennox may be a Virginia Tech-like shooter.
The atmosphere on college campuses today is much different from it was the day before the shootings.
Fortunately, CMU has put a lot of thought into what it would do in case of an emergency.
In addition to the notification system, CMU's Crisis Core group, made up of top university officials, meets regularly to help protect campus. The group installed phones in each classroom and has agreements with local law enforcement agencies to respond immediately to emergencies.
Of course, preventing someone from walking on campus with a gun and shooting people is nearly impossible. The grave question to ask is not if, but when. Hopefully nothing will happen here - but you never can be sure.
For the time being, we need to just hope and pray we can remain safe.
