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chicken_man
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Name: JDeng
Country: United States
State: Virginia
Metro: Roanoke
Gender: Male
Interests: God, music, friends, fellowship, and finding joy in everything I do
Expertise: bass guitar, counter-strike (there are more people that play than you think...just remember :P), sleeping, VT electrical engineering
Occupation: Student
Message: message meEmail: email me
AIM:  YJD1604
AIM:  SKYPE: bleeper4 :D
Member Since:
12/16/2002
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| [11:23pm]
he should start blogging again. Josh has realized that blogging did something to process through his many many daily thoughts, and also to slow his brain down so that he can express himself clearly. Josh looked through his archives tonight, at old posts, and realized how open and vulnerable he was when he wrote. He didn't have a big readership back then, and I think that contributed to his ease of writing. But, now there is worry, and shame, in the way of writing openly about life, and fear of man. This should not be.
So, Josh is going to attempt to go back to the place where he can write freely and blog about life, and thoughts, and God. Josh recognizes that he is a sinner in the process of sanctification, and that he will not bear any shame for things that he has written, because they are but thoughts, and at the rate that Josh changes, he will possibly not hold those same thoughts in the near future.
So here's to putting life down on paper! It's about time.
^ JDeng | | |
| [7:01am]
here's the transcript of what was emailed to us:
February, 2009
Dear Students, Parents, Colleagues, and Friends,
Our university campus has again been touched by tragedy in ways we could little have imagined before April of 2007. Before the terrible events of 2007, we had never witnessed a student homicide on the campus of Virginia Tech. The murder of graduate student last month in the Graduate Life Center (GLC) stirs anew the trauma we continue to experience from April 2007.
The fact that any murder happens anytime in a peaceful place like this is newsworthy. Because of our recent history, it surely commands attention. Many, we are sure, are wondering 'Why us?' 'Why at Virginia Tech?' These events are troubling when seen against the backdrop of the normally serene college environment. Indeed, that may be why it is especially jarring; college campuses are and remain one of the safest places in America.
While rare, homicide on college campuses does occur. The violent crime rate on college campuses is less than 15 percent of the nation's average. Over the last eight years, on the 4,200 college campuses in this country, where more than four million people study, there has been an average of 17 homicides per year. In comparison, there are more than 12,000 homicides per year in this country. Indeed, 80 people are killed every day by firearms alone in the United States.
Many things are different on our college campuses today than they were pre-April 2007, including our mindset.
- At Virginia Tech we have added 11 positions to the VTPD and now have a 70-person police and security force.
- We have added positions in the Cook Counseling Center and the Dean of Students Office.
- The university has added, and continues to add, safety features throughout campus. Among them are electronic message boards in classrooms, emergency notification systems, the addition of locks on classroom doors, and residence halls locked around the clock.
- University officials continue to work very closely with each other to identify and evaluate students in need. The Threat Assessment Team and the Care Team meet regularly to assist students with problems in school or personal life. The Threat Assessment Team also intervenes when it appears that an individual could be a threat to self or others in our community (students, employees, or visitors).
- The university works closely with the Community Service Board in ordering commitments of students in need of immediate counseling, (Temporary Detention Orders).
During an emergency the university can use several notification methods, including VT Alerts. More people within the university have been trained to issue emergency alerts through the university emergency notification system. First-responders can assess the scene and determine whether an immediate alert or notification should be issued by the police department.
Students are required to 'opt-in or opt-out' during each course registration period. Parents can subscribe to the VT Alerts through their student's account. Students are able to select up to three emergency notification methods including text message, cell phone, land phone, or non-university e-mail. One of those three methods could be a parent. However, remember we use this system primarily as an alert to those here in need of emergency information. If parents wish to remain apprised of campus events, we suggest subscribing to the daily Virginia Tech Daily E-mail or RSS feeds available at www.vtnews.vt.edu.
Yet, all these safety features and programs did not stop the violent crime in a campus coffee shop in the GLC last month. The quick response by our campus police, just a little over a minute after receiving the 911 call, tragically could not stop the deadly assault.
After the GLC homicide, the suspect was immediately apprehended. Still, the university notified the community within 35 minutes of the first 911 call with about 40,000 emails, which were distributed in minutes. The VT Alerts, which relies on multiple cell phone carriers and external service providers, sent 60,000+ messages in 33 minutes. We continue to look for ways to reduce notification time, but we must realize that instantaneous communication with 35-40,000 people on the move in town and on campus is not feasible.
Regrettably, I also find it necessary to address some troubling commentary directed to the university leadership via e-mail, on blogs, or in letters-to-the-editor. Virginia Tech is an open and accepting community including many races, ethnicities, and cultures from around the world. We believe firmly that this diversity enriches the educational experience of all of our students. There is no evidence to suggest this death was in any way ethnically motivated.
Moreover, it is important to note the international student community at Virginia Tech has an outstanding law-abiding history and reputation. Compared to their percent of the student body, our international students generally are extremely under-represented in terms of offenses brought to the university's judicial system. Nationally, the Bureau of Justice statistics point out that Asians are ten times less likely to commit homicide than whites in the United States. We reject any suggestions that condemn an entire class of people, particularly those with a strong law abiding reputation on our campus.
Virginia Tech is located in a small community. We are not regularly visited with violent crime like urban-based universities in many cities around the nation. For that reason, any violent crime, but particularly one such as this, shocks and deeply moves us all. It challenges our community to offer support to one another and challenges our thinking as a nation. We trust, however, that our principles of mutual caring and respect will allow us to pick up and move on. Thank you for your understanding and support as we join together to do so.
Sincerely,
Charles W. Steger, President
that is a very cool two paragraphs! I respect Steger for speaking out on that.
^ JDeng | | |
| [12:35pm]
taking a break at work and eating and writing an email...but here are some thoughts on songs.
first, why do contemporary worship leaders (Chris Tomlin, Starfield, Leeland, and to an extent Crowder, Hillsong, and many more) sing so freakin high? Is it because they want us to scream at the top of our lungs when we sing? Is it because when you enter into the music world your voice automatically ranges up an octave? Because it does NOT work...
second, remember the song "Father Abraham"?
Father Abraham had many sons
Many sons had Father Abraham
I am one of them and so are you
So let's all praise the Lord.
Right arm, left arm, right foot, left foot...
"so let's all praise the Lord"?!?!? Sounds like the writer ran out of lyrics and had to fill in something random. What kind of gospel are we teaching our young ones? What kind of gospel did WE grow up with?
^ JDeng | | |
| [1:07am]
sadly, this blog is reaching the end of its days...it has been for a while. Now less of a journal and more of a depository for cool thoughts, I am considering moving on and figuring out journaling alternatives that are more appealing. Or maybe, since my dad is 1 of 3 people that still check on this blog, I'll just write to him and update on stuff that matters to home.
Google Chrome is still nice...it likes to lock up while rearranging memory when you close a big tab, and doesn't have scrolling (my #1 complaint), but is still nice and fast.
Found this quote from "every man's battle":
"In so many areas, we're often sitting together on the middle ground of excellence, a good distance from God. When challenged by His higher standards, we're comforted that we don't look too different from these around us. Trouble is, we don't look much different from non-Christians either."
- Stephen Arterburn
That's all for now; this week is killer (as is every week), so I need to work on balancing out my life. Have a good one,
^ JDeng | | |
| [12:38am]
it has been the single longest day of my school life but I'm still up and toying around online. I'm typing on Google's new web browser, Chrome, and aside from taking up lots of memory, this is the fastest web browser I have ever used! I think it will improve my productivity. I'm waiting for new features to come out, but for now it has a few cool things: like, this typing box has a little drag thing in the corner so that I can make it bigger if I want to, and automatic spellcheck as I type (evidently spellcheck isn't a word).
haven't blogged in a while, I think I should!
^ JDeng | | |
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