Columbine and Virginia Tech: Injustice in Higher Education
Imagine a typical high school at lunch time. Kids rushing to get first in the lunch line.
Some kids straggle behind and talk with a few friends at their lockers. It is a beautiful day
outside, so kids are eating outside on the lawn with friends. The scene is very serene and
peaceful. The only noises are that of the dull roar of casual conversation. Suddenly, in an instant,
the picturesque situation is shattered by the sound of gunshots ripping through the air. Kids begin
screaming in pandemonium and run for their lives. This is Columbine High School.
education. By taking the lives of innocent students and teachers, these individuals were
committing an atrocious crime against humanity. The events that took place at Columbine and
similar ones at Virginia Tech were unthinkable actions which still leave us searching for a true
solution, yet the prevention was to simply pay more attention to these students.
Indeed, violence does happen in school everyday, whether it is simple bickering of words,
fighting or bullying. Although when an an event as shocking as a shooting, this violence is raised
to an unprecedented level. In the past 12 years there have been two major school
shootings: Columbine High School in 1999, with 13 killed plus injuries and Virginia
Polytechnical Institute in 2007, where 33 students were killed (West 23-49). These acts were
committed by students who had psychopathic, mental and emotional issues and who were
ostracized by fellow students. The tragedy at Columbine was the act of Eric Harris and Dylan
Klebold (Toppo 1). On the morning of April 20, 1999, these two students came to Columbine
High School, located in Littleton, Colorado, equipped with 9mm pistols, semi-automatic carbine
guns, sawed off shotguns and an assortment of homemade CO2 bombs (West 3) . Their goal was
to kill as many students as possible in... [continues]
Imagine a typical high school at lunch time. Kids rushing to get first in the lunch line.
Some kids straggle behind and talk with a few friends at their lockers. It is a beautiful day
outside, so kids are eating outside on the lawn with friends. The scene is very serene and
peaceful. The only noises are that of the dull roar of casual conversation. Suddenly, in an instant,
the picturesque situation is shattered by the sound of gunshots ripping through the air. Kids begin
screaming in pandemonium and run for their lives. This is Columbine High School.
education. By taking the lives of innocent students and teachers, these individuals were
committing an atrocious crime against humanity. The events that took place at Columbine and
similar ones at Virginia Tech were unthinkable actions which still leave us searching for a true
solution, yet the prevention was to simply pay more attention to these students.
Indeed, violence does happen in school everyday, whether it is simple bickering of words,
fighting or bullying. Although when an an event as shocking as a shooting, this violence is raised
to an unprecedented level. In the past 12 years there have been two major school
shootings: Columbine High School in 1999, with 13 killed plus injuries and Virginia
Polytechnical Institute in 2007, where 33 students were killed (West 23-49). These acts were
committed by students who had psychopathic, mental and emotional issues and who were
ostracized by fellow students. The tragedy at Columbine was the act of Eric Harris and Dylan
Klebold (Toppo 1). On the morning of April 20, 1999, these two students came to Columbine
High School, located in Littleton, Colorado, equipped with 9mm pistols, semi-automatic carbine
guns, sawed off shotguns and an assortment of homemade CO2 bombs (West 3) . Their goal was
to kill as many students as possible in... [continues]
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