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School SafetyPersuasive SpeechPersuasive Speech
Gabrielle VaughanApril 20, 2009
CAS 100A
April 16, 2007April 16, 2007• Assailant: 23-year-old Seung-Hui Cho• Location: Virginia Polytechnic Institute
FIRST ATTACK-
– West Ambler Johnston Building•Co-ed residence hall
–Housed 894 students–Only assessable to residents via magnetic keycard
Cho shot his first two victims at 7:15 AM
The Assailant's Next The Assailant's Next Move:Move:
• Fled the scene to dorm room• Deleted emails/hard drive• 9:01 AM - Mailed a box of writings
and video recordings to NBC news• Headed to Norris Hall
Norris HallNorris Hall• Cho brought a backpack
– Filled with: several chains, locks, a hammer, a knife, two guns and approximately 400 rounds of ammunition.
Cho’s following actions:• Chained the doors shut/taped bomb
threat to the door• Moved from classroom to classroom
shooting and killing many students and professors
Norris HallNorris Hall• His second attack lasted 10 - 12 minutes• In this short time, Cho fired a total of 174
rounds• IMPACT: 33 people dead, 17 wounded,
assailant committed suicide.
This was the deadliestdeadliest school shooting in U.S. History.
The Second Shooting The Second Shooting Could Have Been Could Have Been
PreventedPrevented• The students could have been evacuated/notified directly after the shooting– The reason they were not:
• Officials thought that the shooting was “domestic” - suggesting that it was between individuals that knew each other, also that it was an isolated attack.
• The bomb threat was found by a faculty member and brought to the administration - but it was never called in.
• If the police were to be notified of the bomb threat, they could have arrived on the scene before the shooting occurred.
Importance of Increased Importance of Increased Security on College Security on College
CampusesCampusesTHREE MAIN POINTS:
–How to go about increasing security
–How much will it cost?–How effective it can be
Statistical Statistical InformationInformation
• All schools and campuses can improve upon their school security
• Out of the 6,000 colleges and universities nationwide:– There have been:
•40,000 burglaries•3,700 forcible sex offenses•7,000 aggravated assaults•48 murders PER YEAR
According to March 2008 edition of Reader’s DigestAccording to March 2008 edition of Reader’s Digest
These Statistics These Statistics Can Be LoweredCan Be Lowered
• Almost 90% of crimes on campuses are due to lack of security.– Precautions that should be taken:
• Control over who is let onto school property• Armed security should be placed at the entrance
of the campus, along with many of the buildings and dorms to check for identification
• Visitors should be searched before entering campus
• Students should carry ID with them at all times
This will prevent trespassersThis will prevent trespassers
How Much Will it Cost?
• There is a definite lack of funding• According to Obama, it would cost the
country $40 million dollars to assure MINIMUM security on campuses
• That would require college students to pay an additional 5-7,000 dollars a year
• Many students do not feel that paying this money would be worth it.
If you had the chance to If you had the chance to go back and pay an go back and pay an
extra seven thousand extra seven thousand dollars that day of the dollars that day of the VATech shooting, to VATech shooting, to ensure that those 33 ensure that those 33 individuals would be individuals would be alive today, alive today, would would
you?you?
Time is MoneyTime is Money• It is a disadvantage that we will have to pay
thousands of dollars to increase our college campus’ security…– But you cannot put a price on someone’s life!
– This extra money will be spent to hire more people to keep us safe, these precautions will not only save lives, but prevent many theft, assault and rape cases.
It’s Almost Impossible It’s Almost Impossible to Prevent All Crimesto Prevent All Crimes
• Every life saved is a step closer to a safer environment.
• The smaller the campus, the less number of entrances it has, which will be easier to protect students and faculty.
• Bigger campuses present a bigger safety challenge, but it is not impossible.
ConclusionConclusion• There are various steps every campus
should take in order to ensure their students and faculty a safer environment.
• This act holds a $5-7,000 dollar price tag, but it could save your life - or the life of a loved one.
• This will not put a dead stop to crimes but it will drastically lower the amount of crimes on college campuses.
