2008 Woodie Awards
Virgina Tech shooting hits home at CSC
Terry Badman
Issue date: 4/25/07 Section: News
"You want the truth?" Castleton State College student Jason Swift asked.
"'Cause I don't think you could put the truth in the paper," Swift said, referring to his initial reaction to the shootings at the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va.
Castleton and other colleges and universities around the United State were greeted with a violent dose of reality on April 16, as the Virginia Tech shooting left a nation in mourning and searching for answers.
"The events at Virginia Tech have filled us with sadness and grief for our colleagues and their students at that institution," Castleton President David Wolk said in a statement issued on April 19.
The Virginia Tech campus was rocked to its knees that Monday, in what has been called one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. Seung-Hui Cho, a 23-year-old Virginia Tech senior majoring in English, took two handguns -- a Glock 19 and Walther P22 - and turned them against his fellow students just as the morning classes were ready to commence.
Cho began the shooting spree shortly after 7 a.m. in the West Ambler Johnston Hall dormitory, killing resident advisor Ryan Christopher Clark and leaving Emily Hilscher mortally wounded. Cho later traveled across campus and killed another 27 students and five faculty members in Norris Hall sometime between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. He later turned the guns on himself and committed suicide.
The impact of the shooting has been felt worldwide, leaving seemingly safe colleges wondering if their campuses could also fall victim to such an event.
Castleton student Megan Morton brought up such questions in a recent letter to The Spartan staff.
"The chances of such a tragedy at Castleton are slim we know, but it can in fact happen anywhere," Morton said. "Even to our own small college with a big heart."
Morton pointed out that it wasn't long ago that Vermont also experienced a similar event on a smaller scale.
In August of last year, an enraged 27-year-old Christopher Williams, armed with a gun, went into the elementary school in Essex, Vt. in search of his ex-girlfriend. Although Williams was unable to find her, by the end of the day, two people -- one of them a teacher at the school -- were killed while several were left wounded.
"'Cause I don't think you could put the truth in the paper," Swift said, referring to his initial reaction to the shootings at the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Va.
Castleton and other colleges and universities around the United State were greeted with a violent dose of reality on April 16, as the Virginia Tech shooting left a nation in mourning and searching for answers.
"The events at Virginia Tech have filled us with sadness and grief for our colleagues and their students at that institution," Castleton President David Wolk said in a statement issued on April 19.
The Virginia Tech campus was rocked to its knees that Monday, in what has been called one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. Seung-Hui Cho, a 23-year-old Virginia Tech senior majoring in English, took two handguns -- a Glock 19 and Walther P22 - and turned them against his fellow students just as the morning classes were ready to commence.
Cho began the shooting spree shortly after 7 a.m. in the West Ambler Johnston Hall dormitory, killing resident advisor Ryan Christopher Clark and leaving Emily Hilscher mortally wounded. Cho later traveled across campus and killed another 27 students and five faculty members in Norris Hall sometime between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. He later turned the guns on himself and committed suicide.
The impact of the shooting has been felt worldwide, leaving seemingly safe colleges wondering if their campuses could also fall victim to such an event.
Castleton student Megan Morton brought up such questions in a recent letter to The Spartan staff.
"The chances of such a tragedy at Castleton are slim we know, but it can in fact happen anywhere," Morton said. "Even to our own small college with a big heart."
Morton pointed out that it wasn't long ago that Vermont also experienced a similar event on a smaller scale.
In August of last year, an enraged 27-year-old Christopher Williams, armed with a gun, went into the elementary school in Essex, Vt. in search of his ex-girlfriend. Although Williams was unable to find her, by the end of the day, two people -- one of them a teacher at the school -- were killed while several were left wounded.
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