Later in the WashPo blog that raises this issue, the explanation is that a student suggested this with no plan of how to implement it. Would it be one minute and if so when? Or several as in the NYC tributes each year (for each plane and then for when the towers fall). How would a large campus implement this? They also asked how (and if) other colleges do this. They reportedly asked this of the student that suggested this prior to the vote but he had no answers. They invited him back for reconsideration later. The student quoted makes the point about safe space, but others raised logistical questions. It would certainly be fairer to those students to read/share points made in the entire piece.