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TOPICS: safety, police, students for non-violence club, center for peace studies and violence prevention, crime, murder
As the university community reflects on the murders of two fellow students last month, some may review their perceptions of Virginia Tech's learning environment, and how to make it safer.
The double homicide of Heidi Childs and David Metzler occurred in the Caldwell Fields area of Montgomery County, about 15 miles from Tech. Even though the crime occurred off-campus, on-campus safety is frequently questioned as a result.
As with tragedies of the past, the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention has been intimately involved in promoting campus safety and preventative measures to avoid such crimes.
The center was established in the aftermath of the April 16, 2007 shootings. Former horticulture professor Jerzy Nowak, whose wife Jocelyne Couture-Nowak was among the victims in Norris Hall, was installed as its director.
"I still want to believe that these were random cases. I would not link it to the university climate," Nowak said.
John Welch and Melissa Lyden lead the center's student-led spin-off, the Students for Non-Violence Club.
"There's really been a black cloud over this town," Welch said. "All eyes are still on Virginia Tech, so anytime something bad is going to happen, it's going to be all over the place."
The Tech Police Department is all too aware of such perceptions, but officers are quick to voice approval for its security situation.
"To me, VT looks well positioned and prepared to deal with a wide range of issues related to community safety and well-being, whether it's issues of violence, suicide prevention, early intervention with people experiencing emotional difficulties," said Gene Deisinger, deputy chief of police at Tech.
Deisinger, came to Tech from Iowa State University in August, said there is intense pressure on the university to create a safe environment.
"It appears to me that there is a very high level of scrutiny by the media and maybe some members of the public that I don't think reflects all of what VT has been doing over the years," Deisinger said.
For the center, however, the ultimate goal is shifting beyond simply reacting to violence to building a capacity to prevent such crimes from occurring in the first place.
"My personal mission is to foster creation of a safe school environment, and I believe strongly that this is an obligation of any society," Nowak said. "People cannot learn when they are stressed and afraid, and that comes from kindergarten to the doctoral studies."
A student support network is a vital component. "It is very difficult to find the right person to pay attention and to hear you," Nowak said.
The center will hold several workshops this semester in an effort to engage students in this way.
"Violence prevention is not only preventing people from being exposed to violence, it's definitely focusing more on people who need help," Nowak said.
Nowak mentioned student orientations, especially those for international students, as vital for integrating the student community more tightly. He pointed to the January murder of 22 yearold graduate student Xin Yang as the inspiration for international student programs.
"(After) the homicide that occurred in the Graduate Life Center before," Nowak said, "we shifted our priorities and interests to the creation of this student support network, an environment of students taking a significant role in the development of campus safety and security."
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"I think it's a myth ... you cannot create a safe school environment if you carry a gun," Nowak said. "Look at the crime statistics." [Citation Needed]. Let's see those statistics Nowak. I've never seen any statistics that backup gun control. While you're getting those, please keep in mind that comparing figures from other countries is a useless endeavor and is also meaningless so you are obliged to present statistics from the US. Good luck.
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What's really sad is that the "Center for Peace" has come out and attacked legal gun ownership right out of the gate. I guess we know who they really are now. It's too bad because there are so many more things they could do to honor our 32 and bring peace.
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Looks like the NRA-sponsored 'students for violence' are here to chime in right of of the gate!
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In case you've been asleep, pro-gun groups have been around for.. oh 250-ish years, long before the NRA. The group on campus in a grassroots organization and has refuted the accusations of being funded or even tied to the NRA - try to keep up. I know it's easier to spread lies and make slanderous statements than to learn something. And I'm sure you're content to attack all gun owners especially the victims of domestic violence who seek to defend themselves.
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anon, first of all, as Jeff noted, SCCC is NOT affiliated IN ANY WAY with the NRA. Other groups have made this accusation and have been unable to provide substantive evidence - because none exists (and none ever HAS existed). Furthermore, in no way is SCCC a group which should ever be considered "students for violence"; SCCC wants nothing more than for there to be an end of violence. In this way, SCCC and Students for Non-Violence simply disagree on the method by which to accomplish this end; not on what the final goal is. If both groups could come to agreement on THIS point, then both groups could move forward in a polite debate.
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Are you folks going to show up every time anyone tries to talk about peace? Are you invading church services as well or do you just have a vendetta against this one group? I don't think the peace studies group has the power to take your guns away. You should probably be arguing with the board of visitors and state legislature.
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Anne, is taking away self-defense a means of "talking about peace"? I'm pretty sure that the 1-2 million people who use firearms every year to DEFEND their lives would have some issues with that. And make no mistake, if you haven't seen what the "Center for Peace" is doing this week, it is against self-defense and legal gun ownership. Are you in support of a defenseless citizenry?
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No one has attacked legal gun ownership. The students are showing a movie that presents a single point of view -- it questions the idea that guns would always help in a crisis. This is not a debate on gun control, it's an event for those interested in nonviolence. This uproar about SNV (and the Center for Peace!) wanting to disarm law-abiding people against their will is much fuss about nothing. SNV wishes to explore an alternative to the mainstream point of view. Most people believe that guns solve problems. Why is SCCC afraid of another point of view when they are not even a minority? The 2nd Amendment is safe, and everyone knows that. Must everything be a fight?
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Perry, I think your view of the issue is rather superficial and ignores a lot of the realities of the situation. First, the special IS about attacking legal gun ownership and self-defense. If you were to take a few minutes and do a google search, you would find many critiques that make these points very salient. Also, an important point about the showing of this movie is that this is the first major activity hosted by SNV and the "Center for Peace" which shows that their stated mission and goals do not at all match their actions. They have also made outright lies about the goals of SCCC, which seems like they want to pick a fight. I don't think it appropriate to do so and then sit back and ask "must everything be a fight?" Do you?
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Thanks, Perry, you are absolutely right. Sure, some people are scared of the shocking realities of the special, including the myth that having a gun will protect you in a class shooting scenario, and that someone can make off with 10 firearms without having ID or background checked at a gun show in Virginia, but the film does not say "non guns for everyone." SCCC is trying to rally up all its supporters to come down from as far as Connecticut to crash this screening as a "anti-gun" event. Oh well, at least we might get an influx of travelers to support the local economy!
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Since Perry et al. are too lazy to look up anything on their own, I'll do the leg work for them: http://www.shoreshotpistolrange.com/2009/04/john-lott-abcs-shameful-2020-experiment.html http://gunowners.org/op041609ch.htm -- disprove those if you want to talk about it. It's clear that neither of you have ever stood up for something you believe in once in your lives, so I don't expect you to understand the realities behind all this.
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Actually, SCCC had plans to do their own recruitment activities this week, but they were overshadowed by this whole thing with CPSVP. And to the last anon, the internet reaches people all over the world, I don't know where you get this Connecticut bit.
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Perry, the problem is that the SNV is NOT simply showing a movie. They are showing a horribly biased "news report" and backing it up with a pro gun-control "panel"- this event is pure propaganda that isn't even germane to the goals of SNV (how does disarming the law abiding promote peace?). Anonymous, I don't see how the 20/20 report proved that concealed carry on campus would be ineffective. Their test consisted primarily of completely stacking the deck against the armed student. For a good rebuttal of the “report” look here:< http://www.examiner.com/x-2698-Charlotte-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m4d13-Myths-of-armed-selfdefense-If-I-only-hadthe-truth>. I agree with Jeff- it definitely appears that the SNV and CPS&NV is picking a fight with SCCC.
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ER's comment is perhaps my favorite of the lot. There is simply a difference in the two organizations' strategies for accomplishing the same mission: peace. I would perhaps alter this a little to say that SCCC members would likely tend toward skepticism that absolute peace can ever be reached, thus the belief in the need for seeking mechanisms to deal with the inevitable breaches of peace that will occur. The interesting thing about the 20/20 piece, in light of the mission of SNV, is that it says nothing of how we might coerce people to not shoot others out of malice in the first place, which would seem to me to align more with their goals than simply decrying guns. This leads me to believe, as others have stated, that this is a direct attack on bearing arms.
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i just want to say that this is probably the worst photo ive ever seen. tacky and classless
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I don't know where anyone is getting that SNV or CPSVP is promoting peace by supporting disarming law-abiding citizens. The film and panel examine the dangers of some very misguided laws, such as the gun show loophole. I'm all for WELL-trained, law-abiding citizens having their right to bear arms, but not anyone and everyone, especially on a campus. And with regard to firearms on campus, even for law-abiding students, a campus is no place for guns. It would be a matter of time before a law-abiding student left his carry in the wrong place at the wrong time, for any amount of time. Adding guns to the population only increases the risk of them getting into the wrong hands. That is irrefutable.
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how many in "s"ccc are even students? facebook group and posse looks more like bored, uneducated locals for students with concealed carry on campuses they have business on anyway? too long of an acronym I guess.
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All: Please find below an alarming thread on opencarry.com: "I won't be able to attend, but can one assume that non-students who do attend can OC?" While I thought that would be the case, an email to Ken [Stanton] with pretty much that exact question yielded this surprising (both in the level of vagueness as well as the anti-open 'carryness') answer: "While we talk about legality a lot, I'm not an attorney and can't make any recommendations on that. We definitely do not want any open carry, but if you consult your attorney and decide you wish to carry concealed, that's your decision." Dear Ken Stanton, No, it is not their decision. Shame on you for being so loose in your judgment. Anyone who attempts to bring any firearm to or near this event on campus will be jailed.
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the link to the thread mentioned below: http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=31750&forum_id=54&jump_to=534696
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Anonymous, please cite your source. Virginia has no law against carrying openly on public college campuses, or carrying concealed while in possession of a permit.
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