Shooting at law school a reaction to campus stress
A fatal shooting spree by an emotionally “sick” student at a Virginia law school shocked campuses nationwide, forcing students to acknowledge stress levels inside and outside the classroom.
“I was sick. I was sick. I need help,” said Nigerian-born Peter Odighizuwa on Jan. 17, according to The Richmond Times-Dispatch and writer Rex Bowman.
According to the article, “That was the terse explanation Odighizuwa offered when reporters outside the courthouse asked him why he shot and killed three people at the Appalachian School of Law on [Jan. 16].”
Among the dead were Dean L. Anthony Sutin, a former Clinton administration official, a faculty member and a student, according to www.msnbc.com. Three other students were wounded and sent to the hospital in critical condition.
In an MSNBC staff interview with Dr. Jack Briggs, the Buchanan County medical examiner, Briggs said the gunman had recently failed and been expelled from the law school.
Briggs said he had previously treated Odighizuwa for stress.
“I had no idea that it would affect him this way. However, he was a time bomb waiting to go off,” Briggs told MSNBC staff.
Mark Nafziger, a Utah State University psychiatrist, said, “Predicting when someone is dangerous is one of the most difficult things to do.
“Unless they come to our attention somehow, we wouldn’t necessarily have any way to know,” he said.
Nothing as extreme as the Odighizuwa shooting has happened at USU, but Nafziger said such incidents make people think about the possibility of it happening in their own communities.
“It always gives you a little bit of a twinge when it does happen somewhere else, because it is possible,” Nafziger said.
He said there are many ways students can take a proactive role in preventing a similar senseless act of violence related to stress at USU.
“Being in college is more of a marathon than a sprint,” Nafziger said. “You need a balanced life, or over time there are things you can’t ignore forever.”
He said sometimes students demand too much of themselves and need to give up lower priority items to lower the amount of stress.
“Learning how to balance the important aspects of life is a challenge,” Nafziger said.
He said students can take workshops on a variety of subjects offered by the USU Counseling Center or simply talk to one of the counselors individually.
Nafziger said stress doesn’t always have to be school-related. Sometimes people can experience high emotional stress in a relationship.
According to The Palm Beach Post and writer Eliot Kleinberg, “A student aspiring to teach elementary school died [Jan. 18] on a college sidewalk, shot by her former boyfriend in front of students changing classes at Broward Community College. The man then fatally shot himself, police said.”
Nafziger also stresses the importance of acknowledging potentially violent or disruptive behavior in the people around you.
“We need to get information from the outside,” he said.
He said Odighizuwa was “obviously distressed,” but Nafziger also said identifying that stress prior to the shooting would have been difficult.
“I’m not sure how anyone would have identified that unless someone had previous knowledge,” he said.
He also said there is a greater likelihood international students, such as Odighizuwa, are going to be under stress. They are dealing with another language and another culture. This just adds to the potential stressors.
Negar Davis, director of International Students and Scholars at USU said they try to prevent added stress for international students by having them go through an orientation program first thing. She said they talk about the different expectations and cultural habits in the United States such as social behavior, classroom culture and student mentality.
“Every [international] student is different, so we also provide individual services,” Davis said.
If there are special circumstances, staff is encouraged to contact the department the student is working under to look into the situation, Davis said.
“There is a lot of communication that takes place,” she said. “We have to put our feet into that person’s shoe.”
Nafziger said although counseling has become more accepted in the United States, some cultures may view it as a sign of weakness.
“Sometimes there’s not as much counseling available in other countries, and there are different cultural and religious views on whether or not it’s even OK to see a counselor,” Nafziger said.
Steve Mecham, USU Campus Police chief, said there are also a number of ways campus police help protect the university against unpredictable acts of violence like Odighizuwa’s. Out of the 13 campus police officers, four are trained with the Logan SWAT team, and all officers go through training with response instances, Mecham said.
“The training is key for something like this, so we train regularly,” Mecham said.
He said USU has been more cautious since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“We’ve been on a higher state of alert and encouraged students and employees to call with anything that’s suspicious,” Mecham said.
He also stressed the importance of cooperation between the campus community.
“The involvement of the community is important,” Mecham said. “Police officers can’t do it alone, and that’s not just here, that’s anywhere.”