Virginia Tech sadly drops ball

By John O’Riordan
Collegian Staff
April 18, 2007

Words cannot describe the recent tragedy that rocked the foundation of Virginia Tech. Though the blame rests solely on the shoulders of Cho Seung-Hui, I cannot shake the sick feeling in my stomach that countless lives could have been saved had the Virginia Tech administration responded effectively to this crisis situation.

Although the two separate incidents have not been confirmed as related, one could easily draw the conclusion that the assailant who gunned down two people at 7:15 a.m. was guilty of the multiple murders that followed merely two hours later.

Virginia Tech police Chief Wendell Flinchum, responding to speculation as to why Virginia Tech did not shut down their campus immediately after the first incident said, "it was an isolated event to that building and the decision was made not to cancel classes at that time," according to CNN.com.

Flinchum and the rest of Virginia Tech’s administrations failure to act was, without question, absolutely inexcusable.

I refuse to be audacious enough to speak for our university, but I am confident that, under similar circumstances, our administration would have reacted differently. I firmly believe that, in order to protect the school community, that the La Salle administration would have done everything possible to keep people safe.

On record, La Salle President Br. Michael J. McGinniss said that “La Salle University will spare no effort in working to ensure that our campus is as safe as possible.”

I understand that Virginia Tech is a large school, but if cancelling classes saved the life of just one individual, it would have been the right call to make.

Even if the gunman was neutralized or apprehended after the first incident, classes should still have been cancelled out of respect to the fallen members of the school’s community.

I know that dwelling on the past is fruitless, and that pointing out flaws will not bring innocent lives back from the dead.

Be that as it may, a severe lack of good judgment and a completely unforgivable act of negligence may very well have claimed the lives of dozens and ruined the lives of countless more.

oriordanj1@lasalle.edu