Tech president discusses slaying aftermath in letter to campus
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Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger has sent an open letter to the university community following a student slaying last month in which he addresses some "troubling" ethnically-charged commentary about the suspected killer.
The letter, in which Steger also urges students, faculty and administrators to keep in mind that college campuses are still some of the safest places in the nation, takes issue with those who have used accused killer Haiyang Zhu's Chinese background to somehow disparage the school's other Asian students.
"Regrettably, I also find it necessary to address some troubling commentary directed to the university leadership via e-mail, on blogs, or in letters-to-the-editor," Steger wrote in the e-mail that went out last night.
"Virginia Tech is an open and accepting community including many races, ethnicities, and cultures from around the world. We believe firmly that this diversity enriches the educational experience of all of our students. There is no evidence to suggest this death was in any way ethnically motivated. Moreover, it is important to note the international student community at Virginia Tech has an outstanding law-abiding history and reputation. Compared to their percent of the student body, our international students generally are extremely under-represented in terms of offenses brought to the university's judicial system."
Zhu, a 25-year-old graduate student, is charged with first-degree murder, accused of beheading fellow graduate student Xin Yang in a campus coffee shop. Yang, 22, was also from China.
-- Rex Bowman
Reader Reactions
Wow, a girl gets brutally murdered and it is somehow the football team’s fault. Curls and hjackson you sound like idiots. Get over yourself and see this for what it is: a grisly crime that has nothing to do with the football team or the vast majority of the Tech student body. If this had happened at the precious UVA, what would you be saying? And before you go calling me biased against UVA, I hold a masters degree from UVA and did not attend VT.
hjackson you’re so very right. I have no dog in this fight. But to read and discuss what goes on in Blacksburg is just unbelievable. The entire school is built around Beamer. He probably makes three times the president’s salary. Beamer and his boys are a true reflection of the campus. It’s become an acceptable way of life and noone has challenged it. Who cares if you’ve got a good team if they can’t speak/read and are on the wrong end of the law? Thanks but I’d prefer my kids look elsewhere for their college education.
Why can’t he address questions regarding the murderer’s record of mental and emotional instability? Could his privacy still be more important than the person he murdered? Could his privacy trump the fact that protecting his privacy kept him from harming not only someone else, but taking his own life? Why can’t privacy regulations be front and center? Questioning ridiculous privacy laws is not the same as violating someone’s privacy. Why couldn’t he question how they tie officials’ hands?
Yawn. Everytime this story is covered, these predictable and common “thug” posts pop up. I’m not sure if it’s just ignorance or this site’s webmasters posting this garbage to generate comments, but either way, it’s in poor taste and completely classless.
It’s the thug culture that Steger promotes at VT. Their football program is nothing more than a bunch of thugs, misfits and low academic achievers that Steger allows Frank Beamer to bring on the campus. That is a direct reflection of Steger’s management style. This sets the culture at VT. Not a positive reflection on it’s reputation.
Lie after lie after lie….Get rid of Steger from president’s position. He’s no good.
This has absolutely nothing to do with
the Asian/International community at VT. It has to do with the leadership or lack thereof.
The culture is basically that of a bunch of thugs. More people know Michael Vick’s name than the school’s
president.
This type of behavior is a way of life out there in the Hokie Nation.
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