chicken_man's Xanga

Message from President Steger on campus homicide

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:02:08 GMT

[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

on songs

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:40:06 GMT

[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

well hello, blog...

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:10:45 GMT

[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

Chrome!

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:41:00 GMT

[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

los olympics

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:11:04 GMT

[9:40pm]
this olympic opening ceremony is amazing! As much money was spent into this thing ($300 million), they really put on a visual feast.

The parade of nations is great too. It's kinda cool to see differences in countries and cultures just by peoples' strides.

But the one thing I CANNOT stand is those commentators...it's like every other sentence that comes out of their mouths is more evidence of their cultural ignorance.

Hope yall are enjoying!

^ JDeng

"...like a big bright circle!"

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:45:28 GMT

[7:38am]
wow! It's been a while. I feel like I need to keep up with this blogging deal so I can process through stuff verbally.

So since I've moved to Dave's house down McCoy (rural Blacksburg for those of you that don't know), God has been pretty cool in the mornings, mainly with the sun. The first morning I drove from his house to work, there was a slight fog, not enough to cover the roads but just enough that it dwelled in the trees. The sun was 45 degrees up in the sky and it cast light beams through the trees in the drive to work...it was glorious, and I took it as a bit of confirmation that this was a good place to be for the time being, until I move onto campus.

This has happened a few mornings now, but never as cool as the first day, but today was very cool. The fog was thick (THICK) so that the sky was bright but you couldn't see the sun. And all of a sudden as I got around a bend, the sun showed up...but was covered in such thick fog that it was just a nice illuminated circle. I can't tell you how pure and even the light was, and how perfect of a circle the sun made...it was just cool. I followed the sun all the way to work, until I got out of the valley and the fog stopped covering it, and then I started blinding myself because I still wanted to look at it. Insert spiritual segue here.

In other news, they made 460 a 65mph now! That is too good.

^ JDeng

a worshipful weekend

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:19:45 GMT

[10:47pm]
well it's been a while, and this past weekend has been quite a memorable experience, so I must blog about it.

Eric and Sarah's wedding was this weekend, and I was invited by the man to read some scripture at the wedding (I read the part in Genesis about a man not being complete without a wife and leaving his mom/dad etc). Not only that, I got to take part in the pre-wedding festivities. I'll sum them up shortly and move on to the important stuff.

Thursday consisted of a canoe trip with Eric, Mike, Jon, and I. This was probably the most joy and fun I've had since early on in my college career! The river was plain and peaceful, with no noises except the birds, the wind, and our paddling. The atmosphere reaked of what heaven might be like...man it was delightful. And to spend it with some of my closest buddies! We definitely did some crazy guy stuff, including but not limited to relieving oneself off of the canoe, flipping a canoe over and walking underwater with it, jumping poses off of a tall rock, and of course, canoe racing. I loved every minute of it, and I'm glad Eric loved it just as much.

Friday was when the other guys came, and we spent it running errands, having a cookout, wedding rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, and then the guys toko off to Dave and Buster's of Philadelphia. D&B is basically like a Chuck E. Cheese's for old people. tons of arcade games, plenty to eat and drink, and tickets redeemable for prizes. We all had a blast and just enjoyed ourselves as guys. we threw all our tickets together to get something for Eric, and there's a bit of a story with the basketball chair we got him, but I will leave that to be stored in the recesses of my mind and not on digital ink. We got back around 2am and all crashed.

Finally, the day of the wedding was here, and we were all lookin sharp and headed over in a limo. The ceremony itself was one of the best weddings I've ever seen. The whole atmosphere, as Mrs. Schroeder put it, was simply worshipful. I loved the scripture read, loved the hymns sang, and loved the points that the pastor spoke on as he drew the couple together into matrimony. The single most memorable moment for me was when Sarah came out the door with her dad to walk the aisle. I turned back to the front of the church and looked at Eric, just in time to see him completely lose it. He tried hard to not cry but he absolutely could not. Words cannot describe the love that came out of his eyes for his bride. I think I'll leave it there, but a very very strong mental image will be forever etched into my head. If a love like that can exist on earth between two humans...how much greater a love can there be between man and his creator?

The reception was the biggest and longest and most expensive I've ever been to, and I almost think that the fault went to the parents instead of the couple for that to happen. The food was great, the reception fun. Sad times though, about halfway through the dancing I suddenly felt very introverted, and wished that Holly were there so she could force me to get up and dance. After taking a nap at a table and wandering around, I headed outside (of the mansion) and went to a lookout (over the river beside the mansion) to just chill and think. Overall though, it was still very fun.

Saturday night through Sunday I got to find out just how awesome Eric's parents are. Mr. Schroeder, a man of responsibility and solid leadership, and Mrs. Schroeder, full of love and graceful wisdom (and a passion for nutrition!). In the 30 minutes total that I got to talk deep with them I think I learned more about life and love than I would have on my own for a week. I really admire them and the family that they have raised, and it is such a testimony to God that when one's life is aligned right with God, everything else falls in place. I hope I get to have more conversation with them in the future.

So after an AC-broken ride back to nova, I am back in the burg and doing the work thing again. It is a 3 day week so I am glad for that; I need to find some time to do my own things! Don't take a fish out of water for too long...

Praise Him,
JDeng

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:37:19 GMT

[11:34pm]
whew. tonight I got to talk to my favorite two people (around my age), Holly and Preston. Holly and I got some love goin on :) [can I keep her, God?]

and I always end a conversation with Preston praising God, because man, it doesn't matter what jank we've been through in life and how far away we get from each other, it's only a phone call away and we're right back to where we left off. Preston is probably one of few people that I can just be real with straight up off the bat, and he feels the same with me. Thank you Jesus for blessing me with a true brother :)

^ JDeng

Friday, June 13, 2008

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:29:43 GMT

[7:23am] (wow it's early! But it's also Friday :)
so the thing I've noticed (and you can back me up or not) is that here in America there seems to be a fading (or already faded) sense of "Lordship", much more so than in other countries. It's probably because the U.S. is democratic, and never had a season of the country's life where the whole thing was ruled under the authority of one man. Yeah, you can say that Bush is president...but really, who looks at Bush as boss of this country? Not too many. In my opinion this system kinda takes away from being able to see God as "The One Lord" over us all; not only that, it can take away from being able to submit to Him as our ruler and authority, and take orders from Him and Him alone. Of course I'm not saying I'm very good at that either :/ but I wonder if it's a small downside of the system we live in.

so tell me, my caucasian friends, where do you stand? When you see a movie in which someone bows to a king, ruler, or leader (think LOTR or old chinese flicks), what thoughts stir up in you? How do you reflect on the Lordship of Jesus and God the father?

^ JDeng

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:45:10 GMT

[9:44am]
Mayko's in Japan for a week before he comes back to work...and he's camping in a tent on the countryside so he doesn't hafta pay for a hotel.

YJD1604: go camp
t dash mike: naw
t dash mike: maybe later
YJD1604: go pick up chicks
YJD1604: hahaha
t dash mike: im trying

HAHA

^ JDeng