Once Again

It has happened once again. Another tragedy at yet another college campus. Six young promising lives gone, sixteen injured. Why?

I sat here in my living room yesterday listening to the news report of the shootings at NIU stunned, and horrified. Northern Illinois University is my husband's alma mater. I spent lots of time there as a teenager visiting my husband, then boyfriend. It was a peaceful campus nestled in a pretty, rural town called Dekalb. It's a small town which has grown over the years, but still has that small town feeling to it. It's about 45 minutes from where I live today. I just can't fathem what has happened there.

My son Andrew was supposed to have taken a college tour there this coming Sunday. It has of course been cancelled. A very shaken administrator called us last night to inform us that the campus will be closed. I'm relieved. I don't know how I feel about him attending school there now. Actually, in all honesty, I fear for him to attend any college at the moment.

Something has to change. We cannot allow these events to continue to play out year after year. Our children should be able to go to school without being in mortal fear for their lives.

I heard this morning that the shooter was a troubled young man who had been reported to the authorities by one of his professors last year for writing threatening essays. He was treated by a doctor and was thought to be a danger to himself for suicide. Sound familiar?? His family knew he was troubled. His teachers knew he was troubled. His doctors knew he was troubled. Why is it that we always seem to know these were accidents waiting to happen, and yet we do nothing to prevent them?

I think the parents and families who have lost their child or loved one deserve an explanation.

If we need to have armed guards at every building and metal detectors, just like all our federal court houses and airports, then let's do it. Let's do something! Let's not wait until this happens yet again and then shake our heads and say, "Oh, this is such a tragedy, how could this have happened?" I'd also like to know where this young man got a hold of three guns? Say what you will about it being our "right" to own guns, I think it's wrong. They inevitably end up in the wrong hands and hurt people. Yes, I know, guns don't kill people, people kill people. Go tell that to the grieving parents of these kids.

Also, maybe we need to start holding the parents of these kids responsible for their actions. If Johnny is 19 yrs. old and we know he has a mental illness and could possibly be a danger to himself or others, maybe we shouldn't let Johnny attend a state campus unattended? Maybe he should live at home where mom and dad can keep an eye on him, see that he takes his medication and gets the medical attention that he needs, and attend a community college? Just a thought.

Right now they have not released the names of those who were killed or injured. Many kids from the town we live in go to school at NIU. We are praying that none of the families we personally know have been effected. My niece just received a letter of acceptance, she's going to be there in the fall as a freshman. My girlfriend has a son and a daughter who go to school there now. Thankfully they are both alright. It's very frightening, and it's just so terribly sad. Our hearts go out to those who lost their lives way too early, and to the people who loved them.