2007年VOA标准英语-Educators Discuss Ways to Make Colleges Safer

By Deborah Block
Washington
16 May 2007
 

One month ago (April 16) a gunman killed 32 students and faculty¹ members at Virginia Tech University before taking his own life.  A group of educators told lawmakers at the U.S. House of Representatives that schools need to have better programs to prevent such tragic² events from occurring.  VOA's Deborah Block reports.

Police rescue a Virginia Tech shooting victim

The Virginia Tech massacre³ is the worst shooting incident in U.S. history.  A student at the school with a history of mental illness opened fire in a dormitory and classroom building on the campus of 25,000 students.

A group of educators told a congressional panel that to prevent violence like the attack at Virginia Tech, colleges need to have better mental health counseling, communication and emergency systems. 

Dewey Cornell is a specialist at the University of Virginia on youth and violence.  He says homicides in schools are actually decreasing and prevention programs can reduce violence by half. "Our schools and colleges are safe but in a large nation with thousands of schools, even rare events will occur with troubling frequency and skew our perceptions of safety,” he said. “We must avoid overreacting to rare events and make better use of prevention methods including threat assessment⁴."

This assessment includes reaching out to students who have problems before they show threatening behavior that may escalate⁵ into possible violence.  Cornell blames part of the problem on a lack of mental health services in colleges and says ignoring or expelling a student does not protect a school.

"The Virginia Tech shooting appears to be the act of an individual who was paranoid, delusional⁶ and suicidal.  This shooting represents a mental health problem, more than a school problem,” said Cornell. “Colleges campuses see many students with serious health problems.  Yet their staffing levels and resources are limited and focused on short-term treatment."

Some critics say some of the deaths at Virginia Tech could have been avoided if more students had known what was happening. Steven Healy is president of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators⁸. He says the latest technology systems could be a life-savor in other violent situations.

"These systems must use voice messages, text messages, e-mails, in addition to other systems such as sirens and horns.  No one method is sufficient.  We must combine all of these methods to make that sure we reach the community," said Healy.

Many mental health professionals say an incident like the one at Virginia Tech is rare and nearly impossible to predict.

Jan Walbert, head of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, says even in those rare instances every avenue must be taken to prevent violence. "The reality is that students are more apt to say something to another student than they are to a senior administrator⁷ of some sort and we need to have the systems in place, and most campuses do, to use that liaison⁹ very effectively."

Cornell says some people want less confidentiality¹⁰ for students who seek psychological counseling.  But doing that he says would deter¹¹ students from seeking help, including those you might least expect to become violent.  

1 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

2 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

3 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

4 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

5 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

6 delusional   

妄想的

参考例句：

• You became delusional and attacked several people trying to escape. 你产生了错觉并攻击了许多人还试图逃走。 来自电影对白
• He is incoherent, delusional, suffering auditory hallucinations. 他出现无逻辑的，妄想的，幻听的症状。 来自电影对白

7 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

8 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

9 liaison   

n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通

参考例句：

• She acts as a liaison between patients and staff.她在病人与医护人员间充当沟通的桥梁。
• She is responsible for liaison with researchers at other universities.她负责与其他大学的研究人员联系。

10 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。

11 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。