Our Hearts are with NIU
Friday, February 15, 2008 by Kelly Sutton In a weird twist of fate just a week after LMU's emergency system failed, a shooting occurred yesterday at Northern Illinois University. Six people died, including the shooter.
A HackCollege reader from NIU Kellie wrote in a comment yesterday:
It's a weird time to be a student. Two major school shootings in less than a one year period. Tragedy is inevitable, but why does it have to happen at schools? Why does if have to be so senseless?
We've been covering the failure of emergency notification systems, but the New York Times reports that the NIU's system worked well and was used quickly: "At 3:20 p.m. [about 15 minutes after the shooting], he said, the university posted an alert on its Web site, through its e-mail system and through another campus alarm system: 'There has been a report of a possible gunman on campus. Get to a safe area and take precautions until given the all clear. Avoid the King Commons and all buildings in that vicinity.'" Within an hour after the shooting, school officials posted a message that there was no longer a threat. We're glad that at least everyone at NIU was kept informed.
Our hearts are again with NIU during this week and into the future. As Kellie said, we're all Huskies.
Reader Comments (6)
Why does it have to happen at schools, you ask? How about most schools being loudly advertised as "gun-free zones". Any gunman knows that they will face little resistance. My heart goes out to the students and faculty at NIU. Hopefully some day soon we'll remember that there's no substitute for a well armed citizenry that can protect itself.
You sir are just plain ignorant. How can you even say that and be serious? So you are saying if more students had guns this would not have happened? You can't be that stupid. That is what is wrong with America. This way of thinking. These type of incidents cannot be stopped. You can have all the security you want. You can put a gun into everyone elses hand like you want. And still these tragedies will still happen. Why you say? Because these people who do this do not care about their own lives. They are willing to die for no reason. They are no better than the terrorists who go into a crowded area and blow themselves up. Can you stop that? No. We need more gun control. In fact the only people who should be allowed to own a gun are police officers. Do people really need guns? Dave, how often do you see in the news someone using their gun in self defense? I cant remember the last time that happened. If we citizens were allowed to carry guns than people wouldn't need guns to protect themselves. This is the problem. There is way too many crazy people out there. And they ruin it for everyone. But I still can't believe you can say there is no substitute for a well armed citizenry. Cmon, you need to actually think about that. If a kid doesn't care about his own life. He is just going to walk in and just shoot as many people until finally someone shoots and kill him. There is no way to prevent this. I don't believe people have the right to bear arms. The constitution is very old and obviously out dated. I am sure that if they knew what was happening today they would not have included that amendment. These tragedies didn't happen as much as they do now. You cannot deny that this amendment has done more harm than good. What good has come from it. Nothing. Thousands of people are dying every day because of guns. People need to wake up and stand for a change. The politicians are too afraid to say something because they are afraid of losing votes. This world is fucked up and these incidents are just going to keep on happening. We need to do something about that. We need change.
Dave, you got to be joking right? How can you honestly sit there and make a comment like that? The reason 6 people are dead and a total of 22 seriously hurt was because a man walked in with a gun. The gun was the cause of their death. The man was legally allowed to obtain this gun. He was given the right to go into a classroom and shot up as many people as he could. Now you think the solution is handing out more guns?! You my friend are insane. This world is turning into a nightmare. We can't even feel safe at our own schools.. Please re-think your comment. Understand that guns are not the answer to this equation but reason these things are happening. If we put guns in everyones hands, then everyone will begin to turn on each other the minute something goes wrong. I thank you for your sympathies towards my school...but I don't appreciate your immature remarks.
[...] NIU Shooting [...]
People kill poeple, Dave has a point, this country was founded on the basic principles that citizens have the right to freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. If you dislike either of these founding principles, you can leave and go to China and really ENJOY YOUR FREEDOMS!!! Lets remember that this is a tragedy and to the students who lost their lives, rest in peace.
Hey Trey. I know it was a tragedy. I was there. I live on that campus. My school lost five people and 19 injured because some guy had the right to bare arms. To those students, my peers, my friends who died i'm sorry that our nation feels the need to have violent weapons in order to protect themselves and in turn use these weapons to kill innocent people. If guns didn't exist Columbine, Virgina Tech, and NIU wouldn't have happened.I agree with Steve...we need change..a change that can save lives and prevent these violent acts. Rest in Peace Huskies and may Angels lead you in.