Correspondent: Closure Will Come When Truth Emerges
Closure Will Come When Truth Emerges
Editor, Times-Dispatch: It is now more than two years and some months since the massacre at Virginia Tech. Many observers still look for closure and are fatigued reading about this tragedy in the papers.
Some parents and friends still do not understand how a maniac could have been allowed to progress to mass murder, and they await better explanations of how this happened.
Even after a year-long examination by the governor's select panel, no blame could be established and no responsibility was assigned. The governor's summation was that people in positions to know were unable to connect the dots with the cumulative data in Cho's files, therefore there can be no blame.
But what is the point of collecting data if they are not used or synthesized? That's what universities do.
One writer stated that it was the students' fault for not embracing and transferring friendship to a man who either did not or could not interact socially. He was entitled to create his own space, therefore there can be no accountability.
There is now a chorus of writers who say it is time to just get over it and move on -- but those who lost their children, friends, and innocent faculty can never get over it and they continue to seek a clear explanation of why this happened.
Cho's academic and health records and writings were clear indicators of a troubled young man. Some of his teachers were alert to his psychopathology and notified superiors and not enough was done to follow up.
When we deny the reality in front of us we must bear the burden of the consequences of avoided truth. We have become like sycophants of the king who wore no clothes; only the lone voice of reason and truth can save us.
Yes, we can stop further discussion of the matter but closure will never come to the many nearest this tragedy.
Stanley Elmore.
Richmond.
Reader Reactions
Thank you Mr. Elmore for a well written and well reasoned letter on this subject. Very interesting point that it should be in the very nature of Universities to examine information/data and analyze its implications. The idea of responsibility in this case is too often viewed very narrowly and focuses on just the person that pulled the trigger, not on all the people that enabled him to get to that place at that time in his condition.
Universities HAVE to do more to protect students in their care. They need to take time to check into backgrounds of faculty members - avoiding those with drug addictions, a history of abuse, and questionable employment records. They also need to keep a watchful eye on students like Cho who have exhibited anti-social behavior. I know of instances where one local public college knowingly employs a self-described drug addict who has a history of being fired from previous positions and inappropriate relationships with students. Tax payer money should be spent more wisely and students (and employees too) must be protected.
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