Virginia Tech tragedy opens eyes
NDSU has become my home away from home since I came here three years ago.
I’ve developed many relationships I hold very dear to my heart. I love my teachers, my fellow classmates and other students and staff I’ve come into contact with during the past three years.
When I heard about the shooting at Virginia Tech, I thought about what my life would be like if an event like that occurred at NDSU.
I’m a social person to say the least, and I know a lot of people on campus even if they are just casual acquaintances. A sinking feeling came over me when I was watching the news.
I had the feeling that if something like this ever happened at NDSU there’s a good chance I would probably know at least one person who was involved.
I was in Minneapolis when I heard about the shootings and only heard the news about NDSU’s potential bomb threat through a friend who was with me.
A sense of panic and helplessness swept through me when I heard the students, faculty and staff I have come to love were in harms way.
As stories of bomb threats started to pop up all over the news, I began to think, what is our world coming too?
When did students start resolving their problems by taking a loaded gun and shooting whoever crossed their path?
It’s a very scary idea because something like this could happen to anyone at anytime. It would be too late to try and prevent it by the time we knew there was a problem.
We can, however, take the lesson Virginia Tech unfortunately had to learn for everyone, and let it remind us that we have an obligation to start taking steps now before this becomes a problem anywhere else.
It is our job as human beings to make sure we are not only taking good care of ourselves, but the people around us as well.
I haven’t heard yet what caused the student who is responsible for the shootings at Virginia Tech to take so many innocent lives.
I do know we need to make sure something like this doesn’t happen around here, and we can start by helping and watching over each other.
Killing shouldn’t be an option for anyone, because nobody has the right to think they can take other people’s lives to ease their own pain.
There are always people in the world to help you through hardships that come your way.
Suicide alone is a terrible thing to fall back on and in my personal opinion, is very selfish.
But to use the anger, hurt or frustration to take the lives of other innocent people is disheartening.
Nobody should ever feel like they have no way out. I challenge NDSU students, faculty and staff to take action on this matter.
Open your eyes and take notice of those around you, because you never know when a simple hello can turn someone’s day around.