Lifeboats for Virginia Tech President and Officials First; Students Left to Fend for Themselves during America’s School Violence Titanic

According to published reports throughout the nation today, some Virginia Tech officials warned their families first of the killings on April 16, 2007 and President Charles W. Steger's office was locked down well before the campus-wide alert.

These reports, as gleaned from a newly released addendum to the Virginia Tech Panel Report, also state that a student survived several hours after being shot without anyone notifying her family. The student, Emily Hilscher, subsequently died without Virginia Tech following the most basic crisis management and human empathy principles of notifying her parents about her injuries or whereabouts until she passed. These are indicative of egregious negligence, incompetent leadership and a grave insult to Emily, her family, the Virginia Tech community, the people of Virginia and the nation.

Essentially, the lifeboats were seized by the President and other university officials, who placed their own personal safety and that of their relatives above the students and staff entrusted to their care. An administrative building and office were locked down in advance and the word was communicated selectively to families of officials before alerting the student body through a vague and untimely message of the danger.

Virginia Tech officials failed to follow the basic standard of crisis management as outlined in the May 2003 document published by the U. S. Department of Education titled Practical Information on Crisis Management: A Guide for Schools and Communities. The officials failed to "Respond within seconds, Evacuate or lock down the school as appropriate, Communicate accurate and appropriate information and keep students, families, and the media informed".

Yet, it seems even more deficiencies of the leadership will be revealed as we approach the December 14, 2009 oral arguments with demands being made by the Petersen and Pryde families through their lawsuit for full disclosure, accountability and consequences.

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Va. Tech Report: Staff warned their families first	Click here to visit site
'Inexcusable' actions in Va. Tech killings report	Click here to visit site
Mass Shootings at Virginia Tech Addendum to the Report of the Review Panel	Click here to visit site
Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools – August 1998	Click here to visit site
Safeguarding Our Children: An Action Guide – April 2000	Click here to visit site
Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and Creating Safe School Climates	Click here to visit site
THE FINAL REPORT AND FINDINGS OF THE SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PREVENTION OF SCHOOL ATTACKS IN THE UNITED STATES – May 2002	Click here to visit site
PRACTICAL INFORMATION ON CRISIS PLANNING: A GUIDE FOR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES – May 2003	Click here to visit site
Report to the President on Issues Raised by the Virginia Tech Tragedy – June 2007	Click here to visit site
Vincent Bove Virginia Tech Blogs	Click here to visit site