Should my brother go to Virginia Tech?
Before the shooting occured, Virginia Tech was my brother’s top choice. He even said just a day prior to the shooting that he was definitely going there. He even just convinced my mom and dad, who don’t really want him to go “too far from home”, about going there. College is a really big decision that will in some way define you. He is not as sure about going there anymore. He’s taking a closer look at the other colleges he was accepted to, which include the University of Maryland and Northeastern University. Also, he wants to be a civil engineer. He knows that he has to follow his heart, but opinions are greatly appreciated. Another thing you might want to take note of is that he is Asian- American (killer’s race) if that offers any significance. He resides in New York.
He’s putting a lot of thought into his decision.
P.S.-
He would’ve been in Virginia Tech yesterday (Monday, day of the shooting) if it wasn’t for the storm.
I’m a parent of a college student myself and I would still send a child to Virginia Tech. I believe VT is going to come out of this even stronger and better. Even right now, the VT students and teachers who have spoken to reporters have been amazing representatives of their school. The personal attention that is shown to students is quite apparant and I’ve also been very impressed with the friendships between students across races.
I think that the odds of another shooting are not only “RARE” for VT, as ThePenPal said, but would be even LESS likely to happen than at any other school because everyone there would now be more attuned to looking out for odd behaviors in people.
Please keep in mind that this is something that could have happened at any college in the country and is NOT the fault of VT. I hope that the federal review that is going to happen will find that laws dealing with mental illness and intervention need to be tightened, plus those that allowed a mentally ill person to buy guns be changed.
I wish your brother all the best with his decision.