Collegiate Times

RICHMOND - Gov. Tim Kaine addressed seven recommendations and findings dealing with Cho's medical history and the university's awareness of his mental state in yesterday's press conference for the review panel.

Among these, the most important issues arise from the "red flags" indicating that Cho was mentally unstable, and that the shootings could have been averted.

The Virginia Tech Review Panel was created on April 18 by President Charles Steger and Kaine to focus on what went right and what went wrong with the university's emergency preparedness in addition to the university's knowledge and action towards Cho's mental health.

"The tragedy and the immediate aftermath raised serious questions and required very straightforward answers," Kaine said.

Headed by Colonel Gerald Massengill, the panel consisted of seven other members including Governor Tom Ridge, Gordon Davies, Roger Depue, Dr. Aradhana Sood, Dr. Marcus Martin, Diane Strickland and Carol Ann Ellis. These eight panel members, as stated by Kaine, worked arduously over the summer to create a report over 100 pages and over 70 recommendations.

"The answers needed to come from people who possessed significant expertise and a wide variety of disciplines," he said.

Kaine stated that Cho had been advised not to attend a large university far from home because it would cause him to lose his support system that was assisting him with his fixation on the Columbine High School shootings and other acts of violence. In addition, Cho's mental records were not sent to Tech prior to his attendance.

All of the warning signals that should have promoted action, such as violent compositions in English classes and his attempted suicide threat, were not addressed by the campus administration.

"The dots were not connected," Kaine said.

Privacy laws from his past mental examinations were one element blocking most of these red flags from becoming more recognizable. Kaine suggested that one of the recommendations would be to alter privacy laws for certain individuals like Cho in order to promote public safety.

While Kaine applauded the campus and Blacksburg police for their professionalism, he stated that there were still flaws in the campus's notification system. He suggested that the police chief should be able to administer a campus notification without having to go through the bureaucratic panel for emergencies.

Kaine closed his statement praising the heroic performance of the Virginia Tech rescue squad.

"Those youngsters who volunteered for the EMT squad worked in an exemplary way in the midst of circumstances that will likely be the most difficult things they will ever see in their entire career of working in emergency response," Kaine said.

The Virginia Tech police force was also criticized and applauded. Depue mentioned that Police Chief Wendall Flincham made mistakes, but trained his entire force for an active shooter response plan that many universities do not have.

"What we have to do now is to challenge ourselves, to study this report carefully to make changes that will reduce the risk of future violence among the Virginia Tech campus and campuses across this nation," Kaine said. "If we act with that as our goal we will honor the lives and the sacrifices of those who have suffered."

Other findings include:

- The intense awareness within Cho's family and school system that he was troubled and in need of fairly intense services.

- When Tech administrators became aware of Cho's difficulties, there was no affective mechanism for compiling information and taking action at Virginia Tech.

- In the immediate aftermath of the first shootings the campus community should have been notified that a perpetrator was at large.

Related:
Virginia Tech Review Panel - Full Report
Virginia Tech Review Panel - Summary of Key Findings