Virginia Tech Nightmare

There is so much news today but rarely does higher ed news demand comment from the President of the United States. CNN hasn't broken its coverage for some time now. There is untold damage at Virgina Tech today—32 dead, no other details yet—at the hands of a singular gunman—also no details on him yet. An event of this proportion knocks the institution's communication staff off the front lines right away. The police, the news channels, the hospitals have taken over the crisis communications. That leaves Virginia Tech's leadership and media relations staff to work with their internal constituencies and serve as liaison to the external agencies.


I'm watching CNN as I write. The question has just been posed: Will this effect admissions? Uh, yes. Let's move on. It may also effect fundraising. But right now, today, these are unseemly questions. In the long run, when the coverage has died down, it is the students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni whose wounds need the most long-term attention. Was the institution particularly vulnerable? Can an institution of education—Columbine or Columbia—be prepared for such an event. And how do you know that such an event is in progress? In the case of Virginia Tech, there was one shooting this morning. Two hours passed before the next one. What transpired during those two hours? Crisis mode, of course. But not preparation for another attack. Not calling in a SWAT team. There may be some vulnerability there. Hard to say. Faculty and staff have been sent home. Red Cross is on campus for counseling. I imagine staff and faculty need counseling, too, and might need the same support of community as the students do. Hard to say what the thinking is there. Obviously, student affairs staff, including residential life, ministry, health providers, aren't going anywhere. Essential services such as dining hall and maintenance are still on campus. So are the communications people who are busy coordinating information for media outlets. Telephone lines may have been set up to contact parents. Important civic, government, and other constituenceis are being contacted. This is not just a school's nightmare. The new tagline is worst massacre at a school in the history of the United States.