Editorial: A Wake Up Call

The tragic events of the shooting at Virginia Tech, which caused more than 30 deaths, are immensely devastating, and our deepest condolences go out to all those who were affected.

This recent event was extremely terrifying for those immediately impacted by the shooting and students across the country. Even the lives of those not directly involved in such a tragedy are inevitably touched by such horrific occurrences. Those who lost their lives that day were students and faculty who were doing what we do every day: going about their daily activities on a campus they call home.

In hindsight, one can question or criticize the level of prevention, the mental state of the gunman and the social factors involved. But what value does further resentment hold after lives have already been lost?

Our University prides itself on its talented, relatively small student body. Unfortunately, smaller populations can breed small-mindedness.

We complain about trivial things, including the latest drama at local bars and the outrage over altered drinking traditions. Many students completely disregard anything outside their immediate sphere of consciousness. With such blindness to the outside world, who is to say that such an event could not happen at Fairfield?

Thus, this is not something that our campus community can ignore. The Virginia Tech shootings are an unfortunate reflection of our current society, specifically the student population.

It is a challenge to our generation, the generation that experienced this and a number of other horrendous misfortunes. We must break out of our myopic mindsets to prevent such violence from happening in the future.

We pose this question: Why do such evil events occur, and how can we better our society by learning from this misfortune while coping with the tragedy?

These questions should not be reserved for ethics classroom discussions or religious essay exams. We must think outside the Fairfield bubble in which we cozily live.

We must explore and ask such questions, while being ever mindful of the bigger picture and world of which we are a part and for which we are responsible.