Posted on 04/18/2007 8:14:16 AM PDT by Names Ash Housewares
It emerged today that at one stage students were so scared of his behaviour that only seven out of 70 turned up for class, forcing lecturers to give him one-to-one tuition.
One teacher even suggested today he was given A grades because he was so "intimidating and staff wanted to keep him happy".
Nikki Giovanni, who teaches poetry, said she threatened to resign if Cho was not taken out of her class. She said: "I think he liked the idea he was a scary guy. Some people like that. That is how they define themselves. Kids write about murder and suicide all the time. But there was something that made us all pay attention closely.
"Students absolutely would not come into class. They said, 'He is taking photographs of us. We don't know what he is doing. It is very strange'."
(Excerpt) Read more at thisislondon.co.uk ...
I also wonder this. VT is hard to get into. MY niece got rejected even with high grades, 1400 SATS and many extra curricular activities and volunteer work at a hospital
1) What did his High School teachers wrote in their letters of recommendation; did they write the truth?
2) Were his high school grades inflated because his teachers were afraid of him?
3) Was was on his college application that got him admitted?
The high school and the university will hide behind confidentiality and we will probably never know the truth.
Interesting....
At some point in education, the need to protect an individual will be balanced against the protection of society, i.e., a school community. At least, I hope so. This is craziness that we endanger tens of thousands to protect the rights of one.
The same thing happened at that other well-known "gun-free zone," Columbine High School, where the murderers-to-be even rehearsed their carnage in the form of a "film documentary" under the very eyes of the educrats.
Zero tolerance? That's only enforced on little kids who point their finger at someone and say, "Bang." Not much risk in making a big deal out of that...
I think there may be more to the sealed records than meets the eye. Perhaps the diciplinary records being sealed even after death is to protect the University as much as the student!
Daus, have a link so I can read the play?
You are correct. To begin with, a high percentage of students are on prescription drugs, e.g., anti-depressants, ritalin. When they go off to college they start mixing other drugs and alcohol. Then they're in bigger trouble.
I've known quite a few situations where the families send their VERY sick kids off to college hoping the college can deal with them. Also it's a lot cheaper than having them institutionalized.
Fortunately the cat is out of the bag as several teachers have spoken up to the media about their experiences with this loser. I hope some very talented tort lawyers get this case and sue the living Jesus out of VT.
Well, now lots of people know how to get through Med school....
I got stuck with a ‘roommate” who fit the lunatic category. I ditched the dorm as soon as possible and heard he flunked out soon after. He once threatened to kill me and throw me out the window. I looked up at him from my chair and said something like “that’ll get you hauled in front of the Dean.” and promptly ignored him.
Or perhaps you have just taken temporarily leave of your usual conservative senses?
Good grief, that’s not what she said.
Dog, you’ve obviously never had a family member with severe mental illness.
I have.
It’s not as easy or cut-and-dried as you would like it to be. The weird behavior isn’t static. It comes and goes. It escalates. If the individual is lucky, he has a family or support group who talks him into treatment, or he gets so obviously ill that they can get him committed. In the case of a kid, it builds from normalcy to insanity. Many times the symptoms do not show and grow until adolescence.
The parents of this young man knew him, and likely loved him, as their little boy. Who knows how worried they were as he retreated into his shell as a teenager, as stories from his high school indicate. Who knows what conversations they had with him, or even what mask he wore around them when they saw him on occasions after he left home?
From personal experience, I can tell you that a parent seeking treatment — medical or psychiatric — for a family member over 18 is almost impossible anymore due to privacy laws. I’ve dealt with doctors’ offices that won’t discuss errors on a college-age son’s medical bill with me when I’m the one to whom the bill is sent!
I’ve also been involved — more than once — in forcibly committing an obviously psychotic relative, and it is very hard even for a family as informed and determined as we are. To this day, I wouldn’t be surprised if this relative, who is now treated and free, relapses and commits mayhem, but there’s not a thing I can do about it. Nothing. He is marginally competent now, just odd. We do not lock people up in this country for being odd.
Soften up. Lay off these parents. They didn’t cause this, and it’s highly unlikely they could have prevented it.
no the outta country student angle is my quizzins
I know - I think the same thing was true of that kid who killed several of his classmates in Washington State a few years ago. The parents were trying to get him committed, but the state insisted that he “live independently.” He killed both of his parents before setting off to kill a number of his classmates.
One of the Columbine killers was also under psychiatric “treatment” and I believe residential care was being discussed before the shootings.
He didn’t have a VISA, he had a greencard...
thanks much, RKV Ex teacher and writer and have been wondering what kids are getting away with.
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