By Adam Van Vreede and Marie Khan
4/22/07


The recent shots fired at Virginia Tech that left 33 dead, including the gunman, have shocked many people, and through this tragedy, students from campuses nationwide have reached out in an innovative way with support and comfort for their peers.


One of the ways students have shown support is through the website Facebook.com. This site is a cost-free way of networking students and others world-wide with profiles, personal pages, groups and message walls that facilitate almost instant communication. This relatively new site is quite similar to that of myspace.com, except at its initial conception it targeted college students.


In the wake of the tragedy at the Virginia Tech campus, local students at UW-Milwaukee have been using Facebook to voice their sympathies and support. Alex Wilkosz is a UWM student that decided to create a Milwaukee chapter group to give those at Virginia Tech some comfort.


“I just thought students there should know that people around the country, if not the world, would be there to support them, and that other colleges and people can put aside sports and differences to come to a cause of others,” Wilkosz said.

Although the use of Facebook does not provide as personal of a response as some would like to give, Wilkosz believes any little bit will help the Virginia Tech campus.

“It is not nearly as personal as other ways of solace, condolences, or vigils…but it is a way for students to vent and let go and be able to get their emotions out there. It is really a peer-to-peer way of talking,” Wilkosz said.

Meredith Chin, a representative for Facebook.com, agrees that the website has been heavily utilized to try and comfort those at Virginia Tech.

“Facebook has been one of the primary vehicles of communication around the
incident. Many reports first appeared on the site through new groups and wall posts. Users have formed thousands of groups in memory of the victims, made hundreds of thousands of wall posts and used their profile status to communicate they are okay to friends and family,” Chin said.

Mike Conrad and Adam Hauert decided to post a banner on Facebook under UWM to offer an outlet of religion at this time of tragedy.

“It’s amazing how quickly students from other campuses were able to communicate with their friends from across the country in relatively quick time,” Conrad said. “It would have taken hours to call your ‘friends list’ and talk with each person individually. With Facebook you can type to hundreds within minutes.”

By Elizabeth Bolin and Filiberto Ortega
4/22/07

Those who knew him say Seung-Hui Cho was uncommunicative, emotionless, and isolated. He was a student that some of his classmates and teachers feared. Yet, surprise rocked the Virginia Tech campus and the nation last week as Cho shot and killed 33 people, including himself.

How could this shooting have happened?

It is a question many are still grasping to answer. As the nation grieves, the rampage instilled fear among many students nationwide about the potential for similar occurrences. Here at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, however, campus officials are working to create a secure environment that is alert to potential threats.

Dr. Julie Bonner, M.D., director of UWM’s Norris Health Center, acknowledged that there are warning signs that can be exhibited by a potentially dangerous individual.

“While there may be verbal and behavioral cues and threats, which would be the most obvious, there can be instances where there are not warning signs that have come to the attention of a health care professional,” Bonner said.

However, just because a person is quiet does not mean he or she is a threat, said Dr. Carlyle
Chan, M.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Yet, he added that people experiencing erratic mood swings, such as being ecstatic and then deeply depressed in a short period, may be a danger to themselves or others.

If students themselves experience such behaviors or witness these actions in others, there is help available to them.

Norris, staffed with a crisis counselor, two psychiatrists, and five psychologists, provides medical and mental health services to approximately 4,000 students in a given year.

“We certainly know that there’s a lot of changes that take place in this age group and the college environment,” Bonner said.

Furthermore, Kathy Miller-Dillon, assistant director of UWM’s center for women’s studies, said that students are under a huge amount of pressure and stress, which may disturb their lives and actions.

Among the many issues the Norris center addresses, students can seek help for depression, anxiety, partner relationship problems, and adjustment disorder. Though the facility only offers short-term treatment options, the center works with the greater community to address problems that are more serious.

In addition, in response to the Virginia Tech shootings, Norris is creating a brochure for faculty and staff about steps to take in identifying and helping potentially dangerous individuals.

“We want to be prepared in making sure that Norris Health Center could be a place that individuals could go to get information or to seek counseling if they were upset about the situation,” Bonner said.

However, Bonner said that if an individual is feeling immediately threatened by another person, they should contact the campus police as soon as possible.

Students can contact the Norris Health Center at (414) 229-4716. Faculty and staff can contact Symmetry, a private, nonprofit human services agency, at (414) 256-4800 or (800) 236-7905.

In case of an emergency, contact the University Police by cell phone at (414) 229-9911, by campus phone at 9-911, or by using one of the campus emergency phones in the yellow boxes.