USDOE: Virginia Tech 2007 Tragedy Response Violated Notification Law

According to published reports throughout the nation on May 19, 2010, the preliminary U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) investigation of the Virginia Tech tragedy found the university violated federal law requiring timely warning of a crisis on campus.

Virginia Tech was notified of this USDOE finding on January 21, 2010 but only made it public (despite attempts by the press for Virginia Tech to release it earlier based on the Freedom of Information Act) on May 18, 2010—accompanying the federal report with their 73 page response.

Reprinted From U.S. News & World Report

Report Says Virginia Tech's Slow Response to Shootings Violated Law

May 19, 2010

BY JEFF GREER

An Education Department report released on Wednesday says that Virginia Tech failed to comply with a federal law that requires quick alerts to students in the event of campus emergencies. The document claimed the school responded too slowly to the 2007 campus shootings that killed 32, the Washington Post reports. This preliminary report prompted a swift rebuttal by the school, saying that the federal investigation of the school's response to the shootings had factual and legal errors.

The report says that Virginia Tech violated the Clery Act, a statute that necessitates swift alerts when campus emergencies unfold. Virginia Tech failed to notify the campus community quickly enough after the shooting of two students in an on-campus dormitory, the report says. The shooter, a Virginia Tech student named Seung Hui Cho, shot and killed 30 others in a campus building about two hours later.

"Virginia Tech failed to issue adequate warnings in a timely manner in response to the tragic events of April 16, 2007," the federal officials write in the report. "There are two aspects to this violation. First, the warnings that were issued by the university were not prepared or disseminated in a manner to give clear and timely notice of the threat to the health and safety of campus community members. Secondly, Virginia Tech did not follow its own policy for the issuance of timely warnings as published in its annual campus security reports."

In my opinion, the 73 page rebuttal of Virginia Tech to the USDOE findings is outlandish. Tech’s approach, through their new Director of Emergency Management Michael Mulhare—who was not at the university during the tragedy—is an attempt to obfuscate the meaning of timely warning and emergency notification as distinct policies that are not clearly defined.

What remains irrefutably clearly defined is that two students were killed on campus and the killer was at large, yet, Virginia Tech administration did not diligently, clearly and immediately notify the community of this tragedy. This lack of judgment, competence and leadership was responsible for 30 additional fatalities and many other injuries. Families entrusted their children and loved ones to the care of Virginia Tech who failed to protect them from crimes that were preventable. The continual disingenuous manipulation of information by VT administrators not only dishonors the victims but shamefully disrespects their families.

The reasonable mind does not need a policy to immediately take action to protect students and the college community when such a horrific act takes place on a campus and the killer is at large. Nevertheless, if Virginia Tech is going to continually look for loopholes and technical jargon in their chronic menagerie of denial, distortion and deception (obviously administration is aware that additional lawsuits are pending) perhaps they should know that the reasonable standard with such a crisis at a campus was very clearly documented years before the tragedy in the Recovery section (page 4-2) of the USDOE May 2003 Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities: Respond within seconds

This reasonable standard was also clearly documented years before the tragedy in the 2005 Department of Education handbook titled The Handbook for Campus Crime Reporting (pages 61-62) guiding schools on the implementation of the Clery Act which says:

"The warning should be issued as soon as the pertinent information is available because the intent of a timely warning is to alert the campus community of continuing threats especially concerning safety, thereby enabling community members to protect themselves."

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Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide For Schools And Communities	Click here to visit site
The Handbook for Campus Crime Reporting	Click here to visit site
USDOE Report and Virginia Tech Response	Click here to visit site
Virginia Tech Blogs	Click here to visit site

Memorial Day: Honoring Character, Courage, Sacrifice

It has been my privilege to deliver presentations on character, violence prevention and leadership to audiences throughout the United States. At the conclusion of each presentation is an American Military Tribute that honors all Americans who serve our nation in the armed forces.

As the nation celebrates Memorial Day, the character, courage and sacrifice of military personnel deserves our devotion and prayerful reflection.

Remembering the sacrifices they have made—some by giving their lives—to preserve our liberty is a sacred obligation. Each American should participate in an observance in their community or a visit to sacred ground where those who have served are laid to rest.

At 3:00pm on Memorial Day, the National Moment of Remembrance, established by Congress, asks all Americans to pause for one minute in a national act of unity. This expression allows our nation to be unified and to reclaim Memorial Day as the sacred holiday it was meant to be.

Saving Private Ryan (3:50) Tomb of the Unknowns (3:13) D-Day (3:08) Remember Me (5:23)

<A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO61uM8gnTs">Play the clip on YouTube</A>

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Commission on Remembrance	Click here to visit site
Patriotism Blogs	Click here to visit site

America's Youth: Transforming the Nation through Character

On Monday and Tuesday, May 10 and 11, 2010 an initiative that crystallized the importance of renewing character education took place for over 1,000 students of Fort Lee High School in Bergen County, New Jersey.

As the speaker for the event, I was privileged to address every student of the high school with a program titled Generation of Hope: Be a Person of Character. The program was delivered separately in assemblies for each grade from freshmen through seniors. It was modified for each venue due to the different social and emotional dynamics of each group.

Through an honest assessment of contemporary concerns in the nation, indicated by the collision courses of corruption, violence, broken families, alcohol/substance abuse, driving under the influence tragedies and toxic relationships, the program challenged the students to influence America, one person at a time, by living a life of character.

Recent headlines, very familiar to the students, were identified and evaluated including:

• The murder of Yale student Annie Le, whose body was found on what should have been her wedding day
  
• The "Suicide by Bullying" tragedy of Phoebe Prince from South Hadley, Massachusetts
  
• The sexting incident that led to the death of 18 year-old Jessie Logan from Cincinnati, Ohio
  
• Megan Meier's loss of life due to a cyber-bullying MySpace hoax. Megan committed suicide by hanging herself just prior to her 14th birthday
  
• Michael Brewer,15, set on fire after been doused with rubbing alcohol by three teens, ages 13, 15 and 16 in Broward County, Florida, after a stolen bicycle incident. Over 65% of Michael's body was burned
  
• The shocking murder of lacrose player Yeardley Love at the University of Virginia
  
• The brutal "text rage" beating into a coma of teenager Josie Lou Ratley. Josie spent 41 days in the hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and had 3 surgeries

In light of these recent tragedies, the presentation emphasized that by living a life of character, communities of hope can be cultivated and each student has the power to change the world by helping others do what is right. Being a person of character in all our actions, including the manner in which we express ourselves through Online social networking and texting was highlighted. The positive contributions being made throughout the country by young students as documented in the CNN special Young People Who Rock were utilized as a call to action, including:

• Elizabeth Torres--a national speaker who tells students, "We won't stumble. We've come to save the world."
  
• Brittany Merrill--started a non-profit to help Uganda's poor, raising $800,000 in donations and also opened an orphanage for 180 children in Texas.
  
• Aaron Fotheringham--born with spina bifida but extreme sports competitor and champion
  
• Sadiya Buta--came to the U.S. from war torn Somalia; star tennis player with perfect GPA
  
• Taraje Williams Murray--a four time national judo champion with 16 hour training days
  
• Matt Cerner--founded sports clinic for children of special needs, working with 100 special needs kids and their families
  
• Winnie Phan--started Safe Walk Program with older students mentoring younger students afraid of walking to schools in troubled neighborhoods

The call to action was also inflamed as inspired by the life of Rachel Scott, the first student killed at Columbine. Rachel's example of kindness and compassion--coupled with the contents of her 6 diaries which have become the foundation of a life changing character education program for American schools--was warmly received by the students.

As with all of my presentations, the event concluded with a tribute to the American Military who serve our nation in harm's way, allowing us our liberty and freedom.

The entire Fort Lee High School community deserves commendation for their dedication to this character education initiative. A special commendation is deserving of Teacher Carol Burghardt whose leadership and vision led to the success of the event. The Fort Lee Education Foundation is also deserving of recognition for their generous support of this program.

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Fort Lee High School	Click here to visit site
Fort Lee Education Foundation	Click here to visit site
CNN-Young People Who Rock	Click here to visit site

Leadership: Reawakening the Nation through our Schools

On Saturday, May 1, 2010, I was privileged to present a two-hour program titled Educators: Reawakening the Heart of the Nation through our Schools to 150 educators at a leadership conference weekend organized through a partnership of the Bergen County Education Association and Passaic County Education Association.

The presentation affirmed the essential role of educators in reawakening the nation as a response to contemporary concerns of corruption, violence and under the influence issues. It stressed the importance of creating a culture of character, achievement and security in our school communities.

Some highlights addressed additional issues including:

• Online Social Networking
• Bullying/Cyberbullying
• Gangs/Guns/Drugs
• Eleven Principles of Character Education
• School Safety and Security Best Practices
• Principles of Crisis Management
• Sexting/Text Rage
• Diversity
• Anger Management Principles for Students
• Altruism: Essential for the School Community
• Rachel's Challenge
• Patriotism: Critical to the School Culture
• Issues of Shattered Families
• Early Warning Signs and Timely Collaborative Response
• Building Better Staff/Parent/Community Connections
• Preventive Education Transformation through Character

As with all of my presentations for educators, my goal was to empower them to use all of the resources we discussed to serve the youth entrusted to their care. Perhaps my closing words of the program crystallize the importance of the role that educators have in transforming the nation:

"Michelangelo and Da Vinci created the statue of David and Mona Lisa, respectively. Through Picasso's Guernica, individuals can see the inhumanity, brutality and hopelessness of war. Van Gogh's paintings have captivated and given millions serenity, comfort and inspiration.

"But above and beyond the mastery of all of the world's greatest artists, only a teacher can mold the heart of a child."

It was indeed an honor for me to address such dedicated individuals who serve our youth in school communities and I encourage them to realize how vital they are to the nation's schools, communities and families.