The O’Collegian

The Daily O’Collegian Editorial Board would like to remember those who fell in last year’s Virginia Tech massacre.

Hopefully such events will not happen again, but given the long history of such attacks, it is hard to be so optimistic.

The anniversary of this terrible event has arrived as universities and schools across the country try to reevaluate their security procedures. More importantly, reevaluating how institutions deal with troubled people on their campus, before a crisis situation develops, is taking place as well.

Putting up security perimeters, remote sensors, inside locks, electronic entry and various other measures to supposedly boost security on campus is important in conveying an outward sense of security and makes us feel safer.

But how effective are these procedures when we can’t put monitors and locks into the mind of a would-be attacker?

A common thread in the attacks over the past decade is a deeply troubled person who has somehow eluded the intervention of others, whether intentionally or by accident, which could have prevented his or her ultimate meltdown.

A pound of prevention is worth an ounce of cure, but in situations such as the Virginia Tech shooting, there seemed to be a breakdown in the school’s handling of student personal crises.

The warning signs were obvious. The steps to ensure this person was doing OK failed because of bureaucratic problems. Also, ignorance could have been the culprit.

We have seen clearly the damage that ignorance can do in our society — but that ignorance can also extend to one another. If we are not aware of our neighbor, have no love or care for them, then we may be just as unaware of other dangerous forces in the world. Caution and awareness, not paranoia, is the answer.