Sheila Sobchik2001: Two lives lost and 13 wounded in Santee, Calif.
2005: 10 lives lost in Red Lake, Minn.
2007: 33 lives lost in Blacksburg, Va.
It was April 16 when those 33 lives were lost in the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University shooting and three Cal Poly students found themselves discussing the turn of events. Lizzy LaMotte-Mitchell, Ruth Osorio and Jen Ledbetter wanted to explore the issues beyond what the media showed. Thus, Wednesday’s school shooting panel discussion was created.
Three faculty members and a Counseling Center psychologist comprised the panel that answered students’ questions on the emotional responses, media attention and causes of school violence that have accompanied recent school shootings. More than 25 students gathered in the San Luis Lounge to hear what they had to say.
“We thought it was important to start a dialog on campus,” said LaMotte-Mitchell, who decided to do her senior project on school shootings.
The event hit home for two panel members. Religious studies professor Stephanie Stillman, specializes in what shapes Americans’ memories of school shootings – particularly the Columbine incident. Stillman herself is from Littleton, Colo., the site of the 1999 shootings, and is writing a book about its aftermath.
“In the case of Columbine, it becomes very intellectual. It’s more of the mind than of the heart,” Stillman said of her studies on the subject.
“With Virginia Tech, I had much more of an emotional reaction because of my students. I wondered, if someone came in, how could I move the desks in the room? Would there be an open window?”
Additionally, Jodi Jacques, a graduate professor in the College of Education’s counseling program, received her master’s degree from Virginia Tech.
“It’s been interesting to watch the news and know where the shootings happened on campus,” she said.
Of her former university and Cal Poly, she said there are few differences between the two polytechnic universities in small towns.
“Having been in Blacksburg and having been in San Luis . it’s very ironic because Blacksburg has very much the same meaning to me,” she said.
The other two panel members, psychology professor Linden Nelson and Counseling Center psychologist Barbara Gilbert, said school shootings are incredibly difficult to prevent.
“Everyone says, ‘there were signs all along,’ but those signs could be there and nothing happens,” Gilbert said. “While we all have this aggression in us, we have empathy too. We’re all aggression-prone to some extent.”
“If the key is to identify that college student that’s going to be violent, I’d say forget about it,” Nelson said, adding that what needs to be done to prevent such a scenario should take place an earlier age, such as elementary school or junior high.
Jacques said students become accustomed to taking tests as early as third grade and their level of stress becomes increasingly high.
“Kids are not allowed a lot of time to be kids,” she said.
Gilbert said it’s not unusual for resident advisers or professors to walk students over to the Counseling Center.
“We see ourselves as our brother’s keepers,” she said. “If someone’s distressed, it matters.”
The discussion concluded with the panel asking questions of the students in the audience about how they felt.
“It was like watching an action movie,” computer engineering sophomore Jacob Lopez said of the Virginia Tech coverage. “I had a lot of questions that had not been addressed by any other outlet. Now I have to digest it.”
“That was one of our goals,” LaMotte-Mitchell said. “You sit and hold a candle, but there’s no discussion.”