The news conference. The President is speaking along with the Chief of Police. He seems calm and in control. Students are instructed to contact their parents. So I got that wrong. Of course, you would expect that parents and students would be in immediate contact with each other. Students are communicating with each other via Facebook and on sports message boards. But parents do need to hear something official from the school, too.
Why? Because they need to know if the students are going to be taken care of, they need to know if dinner will be served as usual, they need to know what is going to happen next, they need to know if they should come and pick up their children. And they may just not get the infiormation they need from their hysterical freshman who has his or her roommate's blood on his shirt.
In no time at all the press asks about the two-hour gap. Why wasn't the school shut down? Why wasn't a swat team called? When did campus police step aside and let the town and state forces take over? Why weren't students notifed not to come to campus? How can campuses be better prepared? Do they have a communications plan? Did they use it? Will they change it?
Well, these ARE the core questions, after all. And the media is asking them of the police chief and Virginia Tech's president in rapid succession, repeating them because they are not satisfied with the answers. Indeed, the answers are problematic. The chief offers the expected 'can't comment' responses. But there is an inconsistency that the reporters pick up on that he later denies that is unfortunate.
One spokesperson, who I assume is in communications, says there is no communications plan. He seems tired and haggard. And he lets the press conference go on too long. Because the press is beginning to have a field day.
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