2008 Woodie Awards
Letters to the Editor
Issue date: 3/3/08 Section: Opinion
Preventing campus shootings
Might some university personnel policy changes be pursuant to the recent shooting at Northern Illinois University and pursuant to other suicides and murder-suicides at colleges and universities around the country over recent years? And do incentives also arise from the shooting and permanent disabling of Elizabeth Meejung Lee by Ki-Seong Kim, who then committed suicide? Should all types of university personnel receive information that might help them identify and respond appropriately to students and others who might be deteriorating psychologically?
After the NIU shootings, I sought to identify any American college or university where such a program might have been adopted, and was directed to the March 2008 Reader's Digest article, "Is Your College Student Safe at School?" Almost a year after the Virginia Tech shooting, colleges are getting smarter about campus risks.
In this article, we find that Cornell University is dealing with the problem - some quotes:
1. "At Cornell the ratio [of full-time counselors to students] is one to eight hundred."
2. "Any student can speak to a counselor the same day [he/she requests an appointment] by phone for 20 minutes."
3. "Staff from faculty to janitors are trained to spot and report signs of emotional illness."
4. "Since the program began three years ago, Cornell hasn't had a suicide. In the prior 15 years, there were two a year on average."
While Cornell's program may not directly or primarily address murder-suicides, presumably persons losing incentive to commit suicide would also lose the murder part. It is my opinion that despite the fact that Cornell's program is only three years old, it would do well to implement as similar program here, because it is sensible and successful, and also because it would be more risky not to implement it given that the long-term suicide rates of Cornell and this university appear to be similar.
Addressing widespread inaction on this problem, I think it is well to remove any delusion of safety. If a murder-suicide happens at any university, that is virtually the same as if it occurring at this university. After all, we are a national and an international university, and there is huge mobility of the good, the bad and the sick, both of people and of information.
Bill Norwood
Technician
Physics Department
Community gardens need coverage
I'm disappointed that The Diamondback has omitted two weeks of historical city council news: the city has approved the Berwyn Community Garden. In their push to secure land in the Berwyn area of College Park (known as the "mother neighborhood" by the city), students from the university and the non-student residents of College Park are cultivating a months-long idea to establish a community garden not too far from the university. It was partly inspired by the university's Engaged University office, which built the Master Peace Community Garden in Riverdale Heights by uniting the university, students, a middle school, local residents and more. But while council members expressed enthusiasm for this new community garden, the reporters only wrote about liquor licenses and the new Buffalo Wild Wings on the Feb. 20 and 27.
Some interest from Diamondback reporters (who I saw in attendance at both week's hearings) and a look into history would show the city's rich agricultural history (the university was founded as the Maryland Agricultural College and community gardens were known as Victory Gardens). The newspaper should start realizing their definition "development in College Park" only consists of bars, the Purple Line and Wawa, and not collaborative initiatives to reconcile the animosity that usually exists between the students and the city.
A Gazette reporter thought this was news. I guess The Diamondback didn't think students would agree.
Christian Melendez
Senior
Linguistics
Air Your Views
The Diamondback welcomes your comments. Address your letters or guest columns to the Opinion Desk at opinion@dbk.umd.edu. All letters and guest columns must be signed. Include your full name, year, major and day- and night-time phone numbers. Please limit letters to 300 words. Please limit guest columns to between 550 and 700 words.
Submission of a letter or guest column constitutes an exclusive, worldwide, transferable license to The Diamondback of the copyright in the material in any media. The Diamondback retains the right to edit submissions for content and length.
Letters can also be submitted online here.
Might some university personnel policy changes be pursuant to the recent shooting at Northern Illinois University and pursuant to other suicides and murder-suicides at colleges and universities around the country over recent years? And do incentives also arise from the shooting and permanent disabling of Elizabeth Meejung Lee by Ki-Seong Kim, who then committed suicide? Should all types of university personnel receive information that might help them identify and respond appropriately to students and others who might be deteriorating psychologically?
After the NIU shootings, I sought to identify any American college or university where such a program might have been adopted, and was directed to the March 2008 Reader's Digest article, "Is Your College Student Safe at School?" Almost a year after the Virginia Tech shooting, colleges are getting smarter about campus risks.
In this article, we find that Cornell University is dealing with the problem - some quotes:
1. "At Cornell the ratio [of full-time counselors to students] is one to eight hundred."
2. "Any student can speak to a counselor the same day [he/she requests an appointment] by phone for 20 minutes."
3. "Staff from faculty to janitors are trained to spot and report signs of emotional illness."
4. "Since the program began three years ago, Cornell hasn't had a suicide. In the prior 15 years, there were two a year on average."
While Cornell's program may not directly or primarily address murder-suicides, presumably persons losing incentive to commit suicide would also lose the murder part. It is my opinion that despite the fact that Cornell's program is only three years old, it would do well to implement as similar program here, because it is sensible and successful, and also because it would be more risky not to implement it given that the long-term suicide rates of Cornell and this university appear to be similar.
Addressing widespread inaction on this problem, I think it is well to remove any delusion of safety. If a murder-suicide happens at any university, that is virtually the same as if it occurring at this university. After all, we are a national and an international university, and there is huge mobility of the good, the bad and the sick, both of people and of information.
Bill Norwood
Technician
Physics Department
Community gardens need coverage
I'm disappointed that The Diamondback has omitted two weeks of historical city council news: the city has approved the Berwyn Community Garden. In their push to secure land in the Berwyn area of College Park (known as the "mother neighborhood" by the city), students from the university and the non-student residents of College Park are cultivating a months-long idea to establish a community garden not too far from the university. It was partly inspired by the university's Engaged University office, which built the Master Peace Community Garden in Riverdale Heights by uniting the university, students, a middle school, local residents and more. But while council members expressed enthusiasm for this new community garden, the reporters only wrote about liquor licenses and the new Buffalo Wild Wings on the Feb. 20 and 27.
Some interest from Diamondback reporters (who I saw in attendance at both week's hearings) and a look into history would show the city's rich agricultural history (the university was founded as the Maryland Agricultural College and community gardens were known as Victory Gardens). The newspaper should start realizing their definition "development in College Park" only consists of bars, the Purple Line and Wawa, and not collaborative initiatives to reconcile the animosity that usually exists between the students and the city.
A Gazette reporter thought this was news. I guess The Diamondback didn't think students would agree.
Christian Melendez
Senior
Linguistics
Air Your Views
The Diamondback welcomes your comments. Address your letters or guest columns to the Opinion Desk at opinion@dbk.umd.edu. All letters and guest columns must be signed. Include your full name, year, major and day- and night-time phone numbers. Please limit letters to 300 words. Please limit guest columns to between 550 and 700 words.
Submission of a letter or guest column constitutes an exclusive, worldwide, transferable license to The Diamondback of the copyright in the material in any media. The Diamondback retains the right to edit submissions for content and length.
Letters can also be submitted online here.
Submit a letter to the editor or post a comment below.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Anup Sebastian
posted 3/11/08 @ 4:52 PM EST
I agree with Mr. Norwood, we should do more to make sure no shooting or any massacre will ever happen here. I think we all need more awareness and education on what to spot or even help people with emotional and mental problems. (Continued…)
Krishna Bhamidipati
posted 4/11/08 @ 5:57 PM EST
Often s I think when we're faced with complex problems in society, many time we can have very lucid ideas about the ideal situation we should work towards, but very rarely have practical, concrete methods to achieve them. (Continued…)
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