Colleges Dealing with Troubled Youth

Whenever safety is involved — whether it’s personal safety or public safety — priority measures must be taken for a responsible outcome. Period. End of story. If a child, student or an adult is believed to be in danger of harming themselves or others, university staff and administration must take this responsibility of reporting the possible imminent danger seriously.

Cho’s behavior was noted by at least one of his professors as disturbed and disturbing. I believe the head of the English department was notified, but the outcome of having this student privately tutored so as not to upset the other students was not satisfactory. The student should have been forced to be evaluated by a medical team and/or undergone continued treatment or at the very least — been watched periodically or continually.

If a person is suspected of suicidal behavior, involuntary three day incarceration at a mental health facility is available so that the person may be assessed and helped. This type of support must be made available and utilized by university and college staff and administrators, who must be held accountable and responsible for not doing so. How many Columbines and Virginia Techs do we have to have before schools get the message that security is more important that SAT scores?