<p>What do you think about the new news of another murder at Virginia Tech? I am looking into going to Virginia Tech and I am reconsidering now because I am asian and am wondering whether there is something that I do not know about that drives Asians crazy to go on these rampages. Just kinda worried about this. What do you all think?</p>
<p>Thanks for your opinion.</p>
<p>never been to virginia tech, but the decapitation story was pretty horrifying. i doubt its asians specifically though. but I would be worried to go there.</p>
<p>You can't draw any conclusions based on a couple of incidents, but based on my one visit there last fall, my guess is that feelings of isolation can manifest themselves if one does not seem to "fit in." The campus is in a rural area of Virginia, far from major cities, but the campus population itself is large, which can make one feel like a "stranger in a crowd" possibly without a support network. Just my pop-psych two cents.</p>
<p>The incident this week seems domestic in nature, very unlike the incident in 2007. The Chinese graduate student had only been at Virginia Tech since the fall, I believe. He had issues , I'm sure, before he ever set foot on the campus of Virginia Tech. They have support systems at Virginia Tech as they do at most universities ,for international students. It is unfortunate this individual did not take advantage of what the school had to offer, including mental health services. I would not let this incident keep you from considering Virginia Tech if it is a good fit otherwise. This is not unique to Virginia Tech. A student at Harvard(who happened to be from Ethiopia I believe) murdered her roommate and then killed herself years ago. It has not kept people from going to Harvard.</p>
<p>pierre0913,
I have a s that is a freshman at VT this fall. While this story was so very sad, like sevmom said, there are no universities that are immune to them. When it happened, I, like most VT parents, immediately thought why would such a horrific thing occur again at such a wonderful school? My husband kind of brought it into perspective when he said that Tech is really like a small town of 25,000 people. It can happen and unfortunately did very close in time to April 2007. </p>
<p>I can only speak for my son and his friends that are either at VT or have recently graduated from there. He and they absolutely love that school. He has never felt "isolated" and I am more and more impressed every time we visit with how friendly everyone is. He is a shy kid and not very outgoing. I worried that he wouldn't find his niche in such a large place, but he says that he is very happy and that to him Tech doesn't feel big at all (except for at dinner time in the dining halls). </p>
<p>Personally, I think there is a lot more to this story regarding the suspect and victim. And, I truly don't think the fact that they were Asians at VT was the cause for such a horrific act. It is, without a doubt, a senseless, tragic story and will once again call on the Hokie family to draw together for support. I wouldn't have my kid anywhere else, though.</p>
<p>After these two incidents, IMO, anyone who attends isn't working with a full deck of cards.</p>
<p>I am actually going to be attending VT in the fall. I got accepted ED and already sent in my deposit and room assignment stuff. That being said, I think that the incident really shouldn't have any effect on your decision. It was a very bizzare incident and could have easily happenend at any other college, VT does nothing to isolate you. The only advice I can give you if you want to go to Tech and you dont want to feel isolated is to find a group with similiar interests to you. Join a club or join a fratenity. It won't be hard not to fit in and make some friends. My cousin is a junior at VT, and before she ever went to VT, she was a very shy and not very outgoing girl. When we visited the campus in September, it was like she had totally changed. She was a very talktive and outgoing person. It's like VT and changed her whole persona. So if you don't want to go to VT, don't let the reason be that you think you are going to be isolated, or you are scared of another incident. Trust me, all the people I know that go to VT say even though its a big school, they still have plenty of friends and it doesn't feel overwhelming at all. I hope this helps, good luck in your decision.</p>
<p>Here are some stats about VT that I posted on another thread in the Parents' forum. Crimes on college campuses - Tech included - are far, far lower than in the general population, except for those that are magnified by the concentration of young adults who, by virtue of their stage in life, are more prone to experimentation with intoxicants and sexuality (esp. substance abuse arrests and sexual assault). As medium-sized "cities" with tens of thousands of citizens, universities have nowhere near the crime that similar-sized municipalities do.</p>
<p>Virginia Tech is 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 look at 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>For all the ills of society that keep infiltrating campuses, most college campuses are still considerably safer than their surrounding communities.</p>
<p>Well my concern isn't mainly with the fact that there are murders at Virginia Tech, of course every college campus (unfortunately) has to deal with this problem. I'm just interested in finding out whether the Asian community is looked down upon by the rest of the college community or is discriminated against in any way since it is weird to me that all of these incidents have involved asians going crazy</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this kind of publicity has an effect. I had convinced the son of a friend to go visit VT, and now he has crossed it off his list. I don't agree with that at all, but that is the reality.</p>