WHY?

I was very saddened by the news regarding the shooting at Northern Illinois University yesterday. Hearing that it took place in a large lecture hall was a little eerie because I have a lecture every single day of the week in 250+ seat classrooms. I didn't think it was possible for something like Virginia Tech to happen again (at least not for awhile) and it happened within a year and this time even closer. Northern Illinois, like Western, is in the Mid-American Conference and has roughly the same amount enrollment. Western was supposed to travel to DeKolb this weekend to face the Huskies in basketball, but that is an afterthough right now.

Something is going to have to change at colleges and universities across the nation because this is starting to get a little scary. The first thing I thought about today walking into my lecture was, should I start sitting a little closer to the front in case that one person walks through the door and decides that it's his or her turn to make national headlines. I'm not sure if metal detectors are necessary, but campuses need plans for emergency situations. All it takes is one little thing to snap inside someone's head and dozens of innocent people are put in danger. All I know is, that everytime someone walks through the door during my lectures in the weeks to come, I'll be more aware and alert about who it is.