<p>Oh no -- not again.</p>
<p>This was in the news last night. Totally different situation than the events of April 2007. Graduate student killed another student . He knew the victim according to reports.Email alerts went out right away. I do feel very sorry that the students have to deal with something this awful again. And of course , very sorry for the victim and her family.</p>
<p>Sorry for any misunderstanding -- my point is, hasn't this school had enough?</p>
<p>Yes,CBBBlinker-I agree, Virginia Tech has had more than enough tragedy in the last couple of years.</p>
<p>What a shame!</p>
<p>It's really horrible and very sad. But it also suggests that maybe VT and other schools need to at least try to be more careful about the mental state of the students they accept.</p>
<p>It might be fitting to repost this here:</p>
<p>Mr./Mrs. Berriz, I hope that your son is doing so much better now. I am so sorry that Robbie and your family had to go through something just so awful.</p>
<p>Virginia is generally a very unsafe place to go to school. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>i am very scare to send my D to college next year!! too much violence everywhere.. they absolutely need to check better who they enroll! the college process is very selective, i don't understand how mentally disturbed students can be admitted, when very polite nice and smart (completely normal) ones are rejected?</p>
<p>I am sorry, but I would not roll my eyes because this could be any one of our children. Yes, I understand that violent crime can happen anywhere.</p>
<p>
[quote]
But it also suggests that maybe VT and other schools need to at least try to be more careful about the mental state of the students they accept.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Oh please - what do you want, a mental evaluation just to get on campus?? Guys, violent crime can and does happen anywhere, including college campuses (which are open to the public). This is only being highlighted because of where it happened. And this was an isolated incident between two people who knew each other. That doesn't make it any less unfortunate, but I'm just saying - comments like this are ridiculous.</p>
<p>Agree with Icarus-this is being highlighted because of the tragic events at Virginia Tech in April 2007. Google Harvard murder or M.I.T. murder-colleges that many CC folks love. This kind of thing can , unfortunately, happen anywhere- including in your own neighborhood.</p>
<p>mini, there's a time for attempts at humor, heaven knows, on these boards. </p>
<p>My opinion, as the mom of a D who graduated from Virginia Tech in May 2007 and a S who's headed there in the fall, is that this definitely is not one of them.</p>
<p>Tiredofsnow, Can't even imagine how this was for your daughter and for you as a parent . My son was at UVa then and he and lots of the kids there were very upset. Lots of the UVa kids have friends at Virginia Tech. We knew kids at Virginia Tech from my son's high school were there, a couple we knew were definitely in engineering. Still remember the pain in hearing the victim count going up. My younger son has applied to Virginia Tech and we will know in April if he will be there or not in the fall. I will be very proud if he is accepted and is able to become a Hokie.</p>
<p>I should have said "the entire United States". The number of rapes, sexual assaults, assaults, batteries, property destruction incidents, and burglaries committed by students against other students on U.S. campuses is astounding, and makes them among the most unsafe neighborhoods in the country.</p>
<p>Thanks, sevmom. My H and I went to UVa, so I was getting updates from there as well, and I know that the VT community greatly appreciated the support they got from Charlottesville.</p>
<p>When we were there in May of 2007 for graduation, all of the memorials were still up on the drillfield and around town. It was incredibly moving, as was the spirit of the university which was so evident at graduation. No one should ever have to go through anything like that. I still can't think of that horrific day without tearing up.</p>
<p>Good luck to your S. Mine applied ED and we are thrilled that they accepted him. Maybe they'll be classmates in the fall!</p>
<p>^^^ "The number of rapes, sexual assaults, assaults, batteries, property destruction incidents, and burglaries committed by students against other students on U.S. campuses is astounding, and makes them among the most unsafe neighborhoods in the country."</p>
<p>Mini - You're one of the long-time authorities on CC, but I have no idea where you're getting this information! Crimes on college campuses are far, far lower than in the general population. They horrify us more because we like to think of college campuses are idyllic places apart from the ills of the larger society, but universities are medium-sized "cities" with tens of thousands of citizens. They have nowhere near the crime that similar-sized municipalities do.</p>
<p>Let's consider Virginia Tech since that's the campus that initiated this thread. It's a "city" of 30,000 - 35,000 students, plus faculty and staff. Their crime statistics for 2007 are skewed by the tragic shooting spree, so I'll take their next most-recent statistics, for the 2005-06 academic year:</p>
<p>Murders 0
Negligent Manslaughter 0
Forcible Sex Offenses 8
Non Forcible Sex Offenses 0
Robberies 0
Aggravated Assaults 0
Burglaries 41
Motor Vehicle Thefts 2
Arson 1
Hate Crimes 0
Illegal Weapons Possession 4</p>
<p>According to the FBI, in 2005 the national averages per 33,000 population were:</p>
<p>Homicides 1.9
Violent crimes 156
Property crimes 1,143</p>
<p>Substance abuse arrests are high on college campuses, but they have concentrated masses of 18-20 year-olds who are the ones typically arrested in this country for underage alcohol. Those types of offenses which are often fueled by alcohol (e.g. sexual assault and vandalism) are a particular threat due to the underage drinking. But if you look at campus-based crime, the vast majority of it can be avoided by simply being indoors after 1:00 a.m. For all the ills of society that keep infiltrating campuses, most college campuses are still considerably safer than their surrounding communities.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I should have said "the entire United States". The number of rapes, sexual assaults, assaults, batteries, property destruction incidents, and burglaries committed by students against other students on U.S. campuses is astounding, and makes them among the most unsafe neighborhoods in the country.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The above statement is nothing more than intentionally inaccurate, self serving, "Look at me!" fear mongering.</p>
<p>This is beyond sad. TOS I know it hits you and yours particularly. I am sending you my warmest and most comforting prayers and thoughts.</p>
<p>To those who say admissions standards need to weed out those prone to violence earlier in the game, you should know that mental illness very often hits in late adolescence. Mentally ill youth between 17 and 24 are often experiencing their first psychotic breaks and have no prior history which would alert a University admissions team to their instability and their liklihood of violence at some point in the future "Those students" have often not been "Those Students" prior to admission and attendence and may very well have been the "quiet studious kid who kept to him/herself and never caused any trouble."</p>
<p>It is all so terribly tragic and as much as we would like to be able predict and control for it, I'm afraid being more careful about who is admitted would not fully achieve that end.</p>