There is some evidence that Cho was schizophrenic and taking medication for his mental illness, which makes me angrier than anything else. People with mental illnesses are treated like they are sub-humans and are cast off to the edges of society. We don’t treat people with mental illnesses with the same attention we treat people with cancer or even substance addictions. There is no sympathy, just ignorance. So if Cho truly was schizophrenic, he should have been closely monitored, had regular therapy sessions, and been in touch with school counselors to help him cope with his illness. His family, however nice they might seem, should have been more involved. Regardless of any stigma that might have resulted, people on campus—responsible people like professors or student resident advisors—should have been involved.
A place like Virginia Tech was the wrong place for a guy like Cho Seung-Hui. Cho’s family severely failed him. Young men and women who suffer from mental illnesses can still attend college, but they need to have a strong support system in order for them to manage their illness effectively. He or she needs to find the school that best suits their needs. A smaller college focused on liberal arts and closer to home would have been a better match for Cho. And maybe he shouldn’t have been living on campus—maybe he should have been living at home if he was unable to manage his illness.
Virginia Tech failed Cho and the rest of the student body, but not for the reason you may think. It’s not because they didn’t lock down the campus after the first shooting incident. They failed because they didn’t recognize that Cho was a serious problem when his creative writing professor recommended that he seek counseling because of the disturbing content of his writing. This same professor tutored Cho privately three times between October and December of 2005, where he silently cried beneath a pulled down baseball cap and dark sunglasses. If the school knew he had a history of mental illness, this should have been enough evidence that Cho needed help. And if the school didn’t know his medical history, then they should have contacted his family immediately and insist that Cho enter some sort of therapy.
