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Monday, April 16, 2007 12:00 AM

University officials waited two hours to warn campus, students say

With at least 33 dead and 29 wounded, some ask why the campus wasn't shut down after an early-morning killing.

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  • Wednesday, April 18, 2007 02:19 PM

    "Unthinkable"

    Some people have defended the way Tech handled the crisis by saying the event was "unthinkable," and that it's unreasonable to expect someone to plan for the unthinkable.

    But I say, was it really so unthinkable? Schools, workplaces and public facilities are all supposed to have plans for emergencies, such as fires, explosions, earthquakes, etc. Those emergencies do include criminal shooting rampages, which have actually occurred in the past, across the United States and in other nations. Shooting rampages have been common enough, in fact, that there's a slang term for them: "Going postal."

    After Columbine, after the Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta, after the school shooting in Scotland, after numerous workplace assaults and, yes, even after 9/11, I would have expected a little more planning at Tech for the "unthinkable."

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