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Colleges review mental-health issues
By Marsha King

Seattle Times staff reporter

Following Monday's fatal shootings by a seriously disturbed student at Virginia Tech, local college counselors say laws that protect privacy and other student rights are strict but do not prevent them from addressing serious behavioral and mental-health issues.

Indeed, if a student is deemed a threat to himself or others, counselors must take appropriate action — from increasing treatment sessions to calling police or warning a potential victim.

"When it's a crisis situation, we're generally able to do what we need to do," said Susan Hawkins, director of counseling and psychological services at Seattle University.

At the same time, counselors hasten to say they aren't perfect at predicting who might be a danger to himself or others.

"It's a judgment call several times a day," said Kathryn Hamilton, director of the University of Washington's counseling center. "We worry first about the student's safety and the safety of others."

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What more can be done?

When students show signs of mental illness, universities must walk a fine line.

By ALISA ULFERTS

Published April 22, 2007

As Seung-Hui Cho's history of mental disturbance is revealed piece by unsettling piece, the Virginia Tech killer's story has people across the country wondering whether the university should have done more to prevent the threat Cho ultimately became.

After all, the student who killed 32 people Monday before turning a gun on himself had left a wake of alarming behavior dating to well before the massacre: accusations of stalking, violent writings, cryptic e-mails, an imaginary girlfriend and a brief stay in a psychiatric ward.

But when it comes to students in mental distress, the trend in recent years has been for school officials to overreach by automatically suspending those who seek or receive psychiatric intervention, according to advocates for the mentally ill.

Spurred by a handful of wrongful death lawsuits filed by parents, some universities adopted policies that barred students deemed suicidal from campus unless they agreed to withdraw from the school and seek treatment.

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Didn't know pepper spray would carry that far.

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YO: Here's part of the reason for the kind of Virgiania Tech event that happens so often in the American society these days....

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The face of Hannibal Lecter was no match for Shia LaBeouf in a box-office battle of murder thrillers.

...(snip)

It's easy to understand why young people are so disturbia nowadays.

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My stepmother was a highschool English teacher. She was wondering, today, how it was possible for Cho to graduate highschool, much less get accepted at Virginia Tech.

12 years ago or so, she said, there was a big shift in how kids should be taught. The "new" thing was to put the kids in small groups - teams - and have them switch "jobs" within the teams on a regular basis to get all of the skills. It was to focus on getting the kids to work together, like they'd need to in real life. My stepmother said that the teachers, countrywide, were applying this to as many subject areas as they could. In that sort of environment, a "loner" like Cho wouldn't be tolerated by the other kids in his groups.

And I couldn't put my finger on it while talking with her, but I just realized the thing which happened after she retired from teaching which might make a big difference. She never had to deal with No Child Left Behind, while Cho's teachers did. Perhaps the small-group setting went out the window when the teachers were faced with the necessity of teaching to the test.

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The newer stuff does. I've been told the fogger versions of CN/pepper combo are worse than the old military bootcamp "gas chamber" experience. (for the uninitiated, one experience you get in boot camp is to enter a small room filled with CN gas and remove your protective gear. The point being to drive home the fact that the gear works very well in protecting you from chemical agents. The experience leaves a vivid memory.)

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Originally posted by Dude
The experience leaves a vivid memory.

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Originally posted by marfknox

First of all, lots of kids are going to have a difficult time with group activities, such as kids with severe learning disabilities, ADHD, or Asperger's Syndrome, all of which are fairly common. Such children need to be taught differently to learn the same information, and not everyone is capable of acquiring every skill. The problems in our public schools are not that we aren't teaching in small-group settings. The problems are much more wide-spread than that and very much tied to economic disparity. Teaching to the test worsens those problems, but "No Child Left Behind" can't be blamed for an educational system that was in many ways broken before GWB ever got into office.

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The speculation that kids with difficulties working with others wouldn't be able to finish HS is ridiculous.

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Originally posted by marfknox

Dave wrote:

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My stepmother was a highschool English teacher. She was wondering, today, how it was possible for Cho to graduate highschool, much less get accepted at Virginia Tech.

12 years ago or so, she said, there was a big shift in how kids should be taught. The "new" thing was to put the kids in small groups - teams - and have them switch "jobs" within the teams on a regular basis to get all of the skills. It was to focus on getting the kids to work together, like they'd need to in real life. My stepmother said that the teachers, countrywide, were applying this to as many subject areas as they could. In that sort of environment, a "loner" like Cho wouldn't be tolerated by the other kids in his groups.

And I couldn't put my finger on it while talking with her, but I just realized the thing which happened after she retired from teaching which might make a big difference. She never had to deal with No Child Left Behind, while Cho's teachers did. Perhaps the small-group setting went out the window when the teachers were faced with the necessity of teaching to the test.

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First of all, lots of kids are going to have a difficult time with group activities, such as kids with severe learning disabilities, ADHD, or Asperger's Syndrome, all of which are fairly common. Such children need to be taught differently to learn the same information, and not everyone is capable of acquiring every skill. The problems in our public schools are not that we aren't teaching in small-group settings. The problems are much more wide-spread than that and very much tied to economic disparity. Teaching to the test worsens those problems, but "No Child Left Behind" can't be blamed for an educational system that was in many ways broken before GWB ever got into office.

Anyway, plenty of kids have difficulties that they must overcome in school. The speculation that kids with difficulties working with others wouldn't be able to finish HS is ridiculous. Also, if Cho had schizophrenia or certain other problems, they were likely to not even manifest themselves until adolescence or older (my Uncle had it and didn't show signs until he was 19), and those kinds of problems can get worse and better throughout a person's life depending on a variety of circumstances. Just because the guy was obviously severely ill when he shot those people doesn't mean he was always that ill.

(Edited to add: nother examples: I have a cousin who is psychotic and unable to live on her own or hold down a job, but she finished HS because she wasn't dysfunctional until she was in her early 20's. Same thing with the son of a friend of mine who is currently institutionalized - at one point he was attending Berkley.)

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Understanding Subjects with Paranoid Schizophrenia; From: The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin | Date: 12/1/1999 | Author: DUFFY, JAMES E.

The paranoid type is characterized primarily by delusions or auditory hallucinations in the context of otherwise-normal cognitive and emotional functioning. Compared to other forms of schizophrenia, paranoid schizophrenic thoughts are coherent, and delusions generally revolve around an organized theme. Anxiety, anger, aloofness, and argumentativeness are common symptoms associated with this illness. Furthermore, individuals often will have a superior or patronizing manner. The persecutory themes may predispose individuals to suicidal behavior, and the combination of persecutory and grandiose delusions with anger may predispose individuals to violence. [2] The fact that many who have paranoid schizophrenia have coherent thinking that accompanies consistent delusions makes them potentially lethal. Although they misperceive events, their behavior is generally organized, making them capable of significant, premeditated, goal-directed behavior. [3]


Prevalence rates are similar throughout the world, and typically, the onset occurs in the late teens to mid-30s, with men more likely to have an earlier onset. Delusions and hallucinations will have content consistent with cultural beliefs and practices of people from other cultures. For example, a Russian immigrant with a mental illness may have concerns about the KGB.

Evidence exists for a strong genetic or biological component to the disorder because first-degree biological relatives of individuals with schizophronia have a 10 times greater risk of developing the disorder than the general population. At the same time, twin and adoption research studies have shown that environmental factors also can play a role in the development of the disorder. [6] In any event, evidence shows that the disorder is a biologically based illness, and many of the available treatments are antipsychotic medications.


While many people with schizophrenia can live more normal lives in the l990s, a lack of funding for community-based care has led a number of these individuals to deteriorate and lapse into behavior that law enforcement now must address. Experts estimate that more than one-half of all people with schizophrenia receive inadequate therapy, while fewer than 30 percent get appropriate medication. Some mental health experts believe that the burden of responsibility and risk is shifting to law enforcement. [ 8 ]

...recent research demonstrates that the prevalence of self-reported violence among those with schizophrenia remains 5 times higher than those with no disorder and that schizophrenia remains 3 times higher in jail and prison samples than in general population samples. [10] In particular, those who actively experience psychotic symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations, are involved with violent behavior at rates several times higher than members of the general population with no disorders. [11]

If present, several factors or activities may elevate the risk of violence. The most common of these is alcohol abuse and illicit drug use. Weapons possession represents another common element because when individuals with paranoid schizophrenia believe they are not safe, they are more likely to acquire weapons to increase their sense of power and safety. These factors, combined with these individuals' near-absolute distrust of everyone and their delusions and hallucinations, can turn them into potentially violent, unpredictable, and dangerous adversaries for law enforcement. When individuals possess all of these elements, law enforcement faces the problem of trying to control a person who feels directed to complete a "task" and, at the same time, due to paranoia, has become totally distrustful of any police involvement.


Ideally, management and intervention of potentially violent citizens with paranoid schizophrenia, as well as other disorders, begin with early recognition of an evolving problem. Prior to committing acts of violence, many subjects write letters, make telephone calls, and use other methods to communicate with those in the community and law enforcement


Police officers can use numerous techniques and resources to assess threatening and desperate communications and behaviors. For example, law enforcement and mental health professionals can respond as teams to evaluate and intervene with citizens who have deteriorating conditions. Also, officers may conduct proactive interviewing of "problem" citizens in order to monitor signs of deterioration or escalation. Law enforcement also should increase its attention to mental health needs and intervention during sentencing phases of criminal trials involving individuals with schizophrenia, particularly if the individual will be released someday. Although police administrators should determine the best approach for their departments and communities, proactive evaluation of these situations by law enforcement should include considering--

1) whether such individuals are organized and coherent versus disorganized and unable to engage in goal-directed behaviors;

2) whether such individuals stay fixed on one or several major themes or explanations for their concerns that involve blame for significant problems in their lives versus not having "figured it out" yet;

3) whether such individuals focus on a specific person or several persons versus not having determined who or what is behind it all;

4) whether such individuals have an action imperative where they believe that they have exhausted the legitimate avenues of addressing their issues and now believe that they have to take matters into their own hands; and

5) whether a time imperative exists, and such individuals communicate a sense of urgency or desperation about the need for such actions. [16]

Individuals who demonstrate these factors elevate law enforcement's degree of concern and need to intervene.

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Certain brain activities trigger people on Prozac to become homicidal or suicidal. Thanks to research by Illuminati controlled companies, the Network knows exactly how to used ELF waves vectored on a particular person by 3 separate towers to stimulate the Prozac controlled brain to murder. This is being used to increase acts of anarchy and violence in order to help insure anti-gun legislation. If a slave doesn't comply or needs to be thrown from the Freedom Train they can become a useable statistic. Simply trigger them to murder and then watch the police gun them down. The NWO gains one more statistic and another case to scare the public into accepting gun control.

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Originally posted by JohnOAS

I'm not sure where Peter Bowditch got the original quote from, but I copied it from his site, here.

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My stepmother was wondering, based on her decades-long teaching experience, how this one particular kid managed to get accepted at Virginia Tech, or even graduate high school. The possibility that he had a psychotic break only after being accepted is an interesting one, but is there any evidence for it?

...

We're talking about someone who was profoundly disturbed, as I understand it, for many years. I'm not making broad generalizations about "kids with difficulties."

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