In trying to come to terms with the tragedy at Virginia Tech where lone gunman Cho Seun Hui killed 31 people April 16, students in Sarah Altman’s crisis intervention class at Southwestern Community College discussed how to make their campus safer.

As students in Sarah Altman’s crisis intervention class at Southwestern Community College struggle to seek answers to the tragic killings at Virginia Tech, they discuss how reaching out- especially to those who seem isolated- is a way each of them can feel like they are making a positive difference. From left are (seated) John Cook, Kathy Owens, Marie Dykes; (standing) Tyson Stager, Amy Burton, Amanda Hess, Barbara Miller, Lisa Henson.

"Could something like that happen here? Sure,” said Amy Burton. “It can happen anywhere. I’m always wary wherever I go now.”

While students in the class talked about the possibility of adding metal detectors in buildings on campus, they pointed out how that would change the whole atmosphere of their small, friendly, hometown campus where instructors know students by name.

"I’m not saying who, but one of our classmates always carries a knife but he’s in outdoor leadership and he uses his knife for that so I sure don’t feel like he is a threat,” said Kathy Owens.

"Besides, all kind of things like keys and buckles set off metal detectors- not just weapons; we know that from going through detectors at an airport,” said Barbara Miller.

Building a fortress was not the direction the students wanted to see campuses take. But they did want to ensure safety.

"Having a security guard on campus helps but I would like to know what the security procedures are. Plus, I’d like to see more security cameras on campus,” said Amanda Hess. (Earlier that day SCC President Cecil Groves reported that additional electronic monitoring devices were planned on campus.)

"We are so boggled into computers now that I think technology has made us lose that human touch,” said Tyson Stager.

Isolation is a key here, according to Burton. “Cho Seun Hui was a loner. If an instructor has a student who doesn’t talk much I think they have the responsibility to draw them out.”

As students, they also need to make that effort, the class agreed.

"We don’t emphasize enough about being good to each other,” said John Cook. “We can each help somebody have a little happiness just by reaching out to them. Cho Seun Hui was a sad person, that probably came from his isolation. What if just one person had reached out to him? Don’t you think that one person could have made a difference?”

"I think with all those people on the Virginia Tech campus it looks to me like Cho Seun Hui could have reached out to somebody,” said Lisa Henson.

"This is a social issue,” added another student. “It’s up to us to reach out; we can’t always leave it up to somebody else.”

"You are right- it’s a social issue,” agreed Stager. “It’s the state of the world right now…there are just no standards to life like there used to be.”

For awhile students discussed how violent video and computer games fostered an atmosphere for loners and perpetuated the idea that violence, as in points per kill, was socially acceptable.

"Even Charlie McConnell, the speaker at our Academic Awards, advised us to get away from the computer and reach out to our friends,” said a student who attended the Tuesday night ceremony.

As well as reaching out, the concerned students also talked about heightening their awareness of others on campus.

"Cho Seun Hui gave several warning signs…those scary plays he submitted, the papers he wrote about death…you can’t let things like that go unnoticed,” said Hess. “There’s a responsibility there for instructors and students alike to report that activity to campus authorities.”

"There’s a mental health issue, too,” said another student. “If a person has been treated for mental illness, shouldn’t people on campus be aware of that?”

"What about background checks for students?” posed Stager, which opened up a lively response from classmates.

"I think that’s a good thing, a good safety measure,” said one student, “and I think we will see that’s the wave of the future.”

"Before Cho Seun Hui went to buy a gun, the courts had already said he was a threat, an imminent danger to others…if you show a willingness to injure I think any school you apply to needs to know that…it should be on your record,” said Cook.

As students debated limits of confidentiality, Altman pointed out that, “If you believe somebody poses a threat and could be harmful, you can break that confidentiality.”

"Yeah, but in America we want our rights and our freedoms,” said Ryan Brooks. “Do you want somebody all in your business? Where’s the balance?”

Part of the balance comes in learning to recognize a potential threat and having a class like crisis intervention really helps, students said.

The thing about a crisis, Altman emphasized, is that “something has to do done right now…there’s no waiting…so you have to have mechanisms in place and know procedures and where to go for help.

"And a big help for us here on this campus is that SCC was one of the first colleges in North Carolina to offer rapid deployment training for law enforcement personnel,” Altman said. “Most law enforcement agencies in the area - police, sheriff, highway patrol, forest service, national park service and wildlife offices - trained here at SCC and they learned the skills necessary to successfully respond to crisis incidents.”

"You know, our crisis intervention book wasn’t written until 1985,” said Hess. “There didn’t use to be courses like this; it shows you how our culture is changing. Now we have to be more aware of our surroundings and the people around us and we have to have procedures in place.”

"Like just yesterday, we had a person peeking in our classroom and it was awhile before somebody said anything about it,” said Owens. “Turns out it was a staff person here on campus but I thought about those news reports that said the Virginia Tech shooter had peeked in the door of several classrooms. Did anybody there say anything? We have to take on some responsibilities here…be aware, speak up.”

"Yes, and reach out, even if it is just a smile,” said Henson.

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