La Voz

Since the Virginia Tech shooting, we may have overlooked our best defense against another gunman.

Instead of the obvious and popular options of seeminglu trasnforming a camus into a prison, there could be a better way. More available counseling services may have helped prevent what happened. Giving aid to disturbed students before they become murderers is the only form of real defense we have.

A week ago today, Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old English major, committed the single deadliest gun massacre in American history. College students everywhere were left feeling vulnerable, wondering if something similar could happen at their school.

At De Anza College we were immediately reminded of the failed plot of Al DeGuzman, who planned to bomb the school in 2001.

Questions remain of what we can do to stop the unthinkable before it happens.The first idea heard is inevitably increased security. Suggestions vary from installing alarm systems and surveillance cameras to putting schools on lock-down.

This reflects a knee-jerk reaction that hasn't fully thought about the reasons behind the killings. A college campus can't simply bar up our school the way high schools did after Columbine. No one will tolerate being searched every day to go on and off campus. Nor would people want to enter a campus that's wired to a "big brother" surveillance system.

One issue brought up surrounding the attacks was De Anza's evacuation procedure. This should be given more attention - it's hard enough to escape campus quickly in a non-emergency, let alone during a disaster. But that should be reviewed as an overall disaster preparedness plan, not as a primary defense against this kind of attack. A deranged individual with enough planning could even use an evacuation to his advantage.

The only workable prevention method is counseling. We need to foster the kind of community that doesn't simply leave people to fend for themselves. De Anza can lead the way.

Increasing the staff of the De Anza counseling department should be the first step, but not the last. We can't just make improvements now, but stop once the memory of Virginia Tech fades. Vigilance is needed for prevention and when it comes down to it, prevention is our last best hope. Students and faculty need to work together to bring about this change.

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