After massacre, security issues resonate

By Larry Meyer - Argus Observer
Friday, April 20, 2007 1:02 PM PDT

ONTARIO - The mental health of a lone gunman linked to the deadly shootings at Virginia Tech university received plenty of attention in the wake of the tragedy, but the director of a local mental health services facility said mental illness is not a factor in itself to cause people to be concerned about their safety.

Greg Schneider, executive director of Lifeways Inc., Ontario, said certain actions should raise concerns but he cautioned that people struggling with mental illnesses lash out less frequently than those who are not mentally ill.

“It does occur. But it isn’t usual,” Schneider said, referring to violent actions by the mentally ill against other people.

According to information being released in the case, the gunman, Cho Seung-Hui, was transported to a psychiatric hospital in 2005 after he was deemed suicidal, but was approved for out-patient treatment. Schneider said there are a number of changes people can look for regarding a transformation in mental health.

“Behavior that changes abruptly— hostile behavior,” Schneider said. “All are indications some action could come out.”

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He also suggested some actions that might trigger concern in other places may be tolerated more frequently in an educational setting. Schneider said Oregon does have, as part of its health system, a board which can intervene and require that a mental hospital track certain patients when they leave or treat them for a longer period of time.

At Eastern Oregon’s only university in La Grande, one college official said the institution is reviewing its options regarding security.

When there is an incident like at Virginia Tech, he said, university officials promptly review security measures to see if they should be improved, Eastern Oregon University Associate Vice President of University Advancement Tim Seydel said.

“We have security on campus 24 hours a day,” Seydel said. EOU security officers are not armed, he said, but they try to be visible and make themselves available to students. Security personnel offer to escort students around campus at night — to classes, the library or to the dorms.

“We have a great working relationship with the La Grande Police Department and the Union County Sheriff’s Office,” Seydel said, both of which are a short distance away from the campus. A campus committee is scheduled to convene to reassess the school’s security efforts, he said. Regardless of size, all colleges have a kinship so the shooting incident at Virginia Tech made an impact on students and staff at Eastern Oregon University, Seydel said.