Winchester 73
member
Letter: Tech's new security policies worth investigating
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stor...h_s_new_security_policies_worth_investigating
Letter to the editorFriday, March 28; 12:00 AM
So far Virginia Tech has spent $10.4 million in security revisions.
These include, but are not limited to, the alert system which I, and many others I know, did not get on Tuesday's test, installing doors that cannot be chained shut, locking down the dorms even though they were locked when the incident took place last year, and adding 10 more officers to the Virginia Tech police, making the student to officer ratio 500:1 if all are on duty at once.
Last week as I heard the lists of defenses put in place and the manner of how a door locks, I recalled my World War II history.
In France there was the Maginot Line, a series of pillboxes and artillery placements connected by tunnel that ran the length of the border between Germany and France.
A defense so feared that the Germans simply went through the Arden forest in Belgium, going around the line and capturing Paris.
In some ways I wonder if we are creating our own Maginot line, building a set of defenses we feel is so strong that they will ward off any attacker.
The point I'm trying to make is that a lot of the new systems in place, which are all very good ideas, will act in the end act as only a buffer.
It's like those security blankets we had as kids, it wouldn't do anything to stop that monster in the closet, but we felt safe when it was around. And in my opinion, thinking we are safe when we actually are not is more dangerous than not being safe.
What happened here on April 16 I hope will never happen here again, but already we have seen "copy cat" events at Northern Illinois University.
Even in the last week we have seen an escalation in violence in Blacksburg between the three assaults and a robbery.
By no means do I mean any disrespect to the administration or police department. I am just trying to put things in the proper light.
All too often people rapidly dismiss the idea of concealed carry, on the grounds of "they wouldn't feel safe." We need to start thinking with logic rather than emotion.
I just ask that people consider it opposed to just dismissing it as a bunch of Second Amendment screaming gun nuts.
The facts are out there, someone possessing a concealed carry permit is five times less likely to commit a violent crime than someone without one.
Several universities have already adopted concealed carry, and if there was some massive upswing in violence I'm sure we would have found out.
In Florida crime has dropped dramatically since allowing residents to carry a concealed weapon, opposed to D.C., which has one of the highest crime rates and some of the strictest gun laws.
Australia has tripled in homicide rates since the banning of firearms while most states that implement concealed carry have shown a decrease in crime.
You wouldn't think giving you a little bit of the flu would help keep you from getting it full on but that's pretty much what a flu vaccine is, similar train of logic.
Take a few minutes to look up the facts online from creditable sources and see for yourself.
John Havranek
junior, aerospace engineering
Name:
Email:
Comment:
Posted by: Gene German at 10:35 am
Is it safe to assume the $10.4 M does not include the costs to defend VT and pay damages to the victims and their families? We may never know how many students decided to enroll in another college elsewhere. My point is the total cost to VT for this incident is much larger than a few million for security blankets. We know an armed citizen will not prevent future attacks or prevent some deaths. However, an armed citizen can significantly reduce the total body count. Often, these madmen plan to die before they are finished and the sooner that happens the better.
Flag Abuse
Posted by: Crickets... at Mar 28
John, it seems no one can argue your points! Not surprised, $10.4M later and what has changed? The next time the ***** hits the fan, it'll be interesting to see what we've achieved with all this. Probably have to buck up another $10M for more worthless stuff. What does concealed carry cost? Oh, nothing! But VT continues to fail to learn the lesson...
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stor...h_s_new_security_policies_worth_investigating
Letter to the editorFriday, March 28; 12:00 AM
So far Virginia Tech has spent $10.4 million in security revisions.
These include, but are not limited to, the alert system which I, and many others I know, did not get on Tuesday's test, installing doors that cannot be chained shut, locking down the dorms even though they were locked when the incident took place last year, and adding 10 more officers to the Virginia Tech police, making the student to officer ratio 500:1 if all are on duty at once.
Last week as I heard the lists of defenses put in place and the manner of how a door locks, I recalled my World War II history.
In France there was the Maginot Line, a series of pillboxes and artillery placements connected by tunnel that ran the length of the border between Germany and France.
A defense so feared that the Germans simply went through the Arden forest in Belgium, going around the line and capturing Paris.
In some ways I wonder if we are creating our own Maginot line, building a set of defenses we feel is so strong that they will ward off any attacker.
The point I'm trying to make is that a lot of the new systems in place, which are all very good ideas, will act in the end act as only a buffer.
It's like those security blankets we had as kids, it wouldn't do anything to stop that monster in the closet, but we felt safe when it was around. And in my opinion, thinking we are safe when we actually are not is more dangerous than not being safe.
What happened here on April 16 I hope will never happen here again, but already we have seen "copy cat" events at Northern Illinois University.
Even in the last week we have seen an escalation in violence in Blacksburg between the three assaults and a robbery.
By no means do I mean any disrespect to the administration or police department. I am just trying to put things in the proper light.
All too often people rapidly dismiss the idea of concealed carry, on the grounds of "they wouldn't feel safe." We need to start thinking with logic rather than emotion.
I just ask that people consider it opposed to just dismissing it as a bunch of Second Amendment screaming gun nuts.
The facts are out there, someone possessing a concealed carry permit is five times less likely to commit a violent crime than someone without one.
Several universities have already adopted concealed carry, and if there was some massive upswing in violence I'm sure we would have found out.
In Florida crime has dropped dramatically since allowing residents to carry a concealed weapon, opposed to D.C., which has one of the highest crime rates and some of the strictest gun laws.
Australia has tripled in homicide rates since the banning of firearms while most states that implement concealed carry have shown a decrease in crime.
You wouldn't think giving you a little bit of the flu would help keep you from getting it full on but that's pretty much what a flu vaccine is, similar train of logic.
Take a few minutes to look up the facts online from creditable sources and see for yourself.
John Havranek
junior, aerospace engineering
Name:
Email:
Comment:
Posted by: Gene German at 10:35 am
Is it safe to assume the $10.4 M does not include the costs to defend VT and pay damages to the victims and their families? We may never know how many students decided to enroll in another college elsewhere. My point is the total cost to VT for this incident is much larger than a few million for security blankets. We know an armed citizen will not prevent future attacks or prevent some deaths. However, an armed citizen can significantly reduce the total body count. Often, these madmen plan to die before they are finished and the sooner that happens the better.
Flag Abuse
Posted by: Crickets... at Mar 28
John, it seems no one can argue your points! Not surprised, $10.4M later and what has changed? The next time the ***** hits the fan, it'll be interesting to see what we've achieved with all this. Probably have to buck up another $10M for more worthless stuff. What does concealed carry cost? Oh, nothing! But VT continues to fail to learn the lesson...