This is to MSN.com. I can't believe you approved the posting by Ruth Creek. People should be allowed to post their opinions, but her comments are completely insensitive and inappropriate for this occasion. She has clearly never been to college, judging by her uneducated writing, and she is attacking the entire media, all parents and the Virginia Tech community. You need to take that down.

Sincere sympathies to all of those who have lost a loved one. My prayers go to the families and to the survivors of this tradegy. I really believe you have an entire nation behind you. Take whatever services that are offered to you to help you come to terms with this horrific event and how it effects you. Many prayers ....

May god be with all the victims whose lives were taken in that horrific tragedy, and with the families that lost there love ones. God Bless

As a native of Virginia, born and raised, I cannot accept the evil cloud that is hovering over our beloved state. I choose to believe that there are now 32 beautiful angels watching over us. It's the only way I can accept that this horrible tragedy happened at all.

I don't even know how to convey my sadness and condolenses to all that have been affected in these shootings. You are all in my prayers every single moment...all those families and friends that have lost someone and to all those students who are facing this nightmare and time of uncertainty. I must admit, I am scared right now. My husband and I live in a college town (Penn State) and he is a student...the realization that this can happen anywhere on any college campus (and has, on a small degree hit Penn State before in 1996)...that is scary! Also, as I am due to have my first child in September, I fear for his or her safety...it is unfair to not feel your child will be safe in school as that is to be a safe place of learning and not a place where we should fear for our lives. I will continue to pray for everyone affected in this needless tradegy...that you may come to a place of peace though I know it will take lots of time to heal!

Instead of letting those nincompoops we call politicans make the call on handgun regulations, let the American public vote on this issue. I am sure there are more registered voters who want to see handguns outlawed than handgun lobbiests. Let them bare arms...a musket in every home. If this student would have had a musket, he may have only taken one life if he wouldn't have been seen first walking on campus with the awkward thing.

My sincere condolences to all the families of the wounded/deceased especially the family of Cho Seung-Hui. I can't even fathom how they feel and they too, as the 32 others, will be burying a loved one but with shame and guilt

God Bless every member of the VT family. The old second-guess gangs are out in force as usual. What would they say if this wacko waited another 4-6 hours,came back the next day or a week later to wreak his carnage? You can't shut down a college that is a city with in a city. Begin the healing process. America is with you! Our prayers are with you.

From New Jersey our prayers go out to the families of all the victims. May God give you all the strenght to hang in there. Something needs to be done with all these guns out there. Laws must be changed because there are too many people hurting otherd.

I think it was a terrible thing to happen and it was made much worse by the decision not to immediately announce the first two killings over the campus public address system especially since the killer was not found. I know it would have upset all classrooms, students and staff but at least they would have been aware of the possibility of trouble on campus and that could have saved many lives. It may not have stopped the killings but I’m sure it would have saved some lives. Somebody said ‘You can’t put police in all classrooms’, but you could post either police officers or staff members at all doors of campus buildings during classes. Also locks should be installed in all classroom doors with the ability to lock the door from the inside. It would also be nice to able to bar or bolt the door closed from the inside the classroom so it could not easily be forced open. With the ability to bolt a classroom door closed students could minimize multiple shootings like the ones at Virginia Tech. When students heard shots outside their classroom they could bolt their doors and phone for help. Once the doors were bolted the shooter would have had less targets.

This is definitely a throat throbbing tragedy. My heart sinks & my prayers go out to all who lost their loved ones.

I don’t have the exactly words to say how, sad we are now for everything that we are hearing in the news. I want to send all my prayer and I am so sorry for the persons who lost a student or teacher there. This is a massacre that is worldwide and everybody is sad for the others. Sometimes god decides to do this as a lesson for people who stay here on earth & we need to think of the lesson. Those poor persons who died that day are angels now and will be helping now in heaven. My condolence for all the families and friends.

First, I would like to say, my heart goes out to all of Virginia Tech (HOKIES), including students, alumni, faculty; and my deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones during this horrific experience that NO One should ever have to endure. Words can really not explain the mixed emotions I have about April 16th, but most of all, sadness. Sad for the students that lost their lives, sad for the parents, sad for students that escaped but had to watch their fellow students, friends, professors, go out of this world the way they did... and also sad that someone would be so angry, disturbed, and mentally drained of all sense of control, that he felt that was the only way out. There is no one to blame for that day, other than the gunman himself, and especially not the school..There was no way anyone could have prevented the unknown, we have to believe that what is meant to be will be. If there were metal detectors, it would have taken place on the lawn, if the doors were locked, it would have been done in a public place. Cho had in mind what he as doing, and there was no stopping it. Those precautions would have only changed the location. The only thing we can do now is learn from our experiences and pray that it never happens again! and pray for all those affected by Monday's events. One thing I have taken away from all of this is it has been stated so many times that we never know what is going on with a person, and how our behavior, as mentally intelligent people, can impact, whether, good or bad another person's tone or thought that is more mentally and emotionally challenged for whatever reason. That is why I try to treat everyone with respect and kindness, and always make it a point to speak and be polite, and most of all, smile. A smile can go a long way. I will continue to do so, and hope that it’s having a positive impact on another person's life. I do feel that Cho was reaching out in more ways than one, especially through his writings, suicide threats and bizarre behavior... but we still had no way of knowing the extent of what was to come. In no way am I excusing his actions, or blaming anyone other than Cho for what took place on Monday, but because of the experiences, comments, and actions taken by Cho leading up to the events, it just reiterates what I have always said, we need to slow down and listen to those reaching out. we are so quick to believe people are bluffing, or reaching out for self pity or just wierd. and in some cases, this is true, but not in all. as we see from the events that took place on Monday.. It could be close friend, family member, or just an associate that you see from time to time. but, when the signs are there, people must act. We must act! and MOST OF ALL, when there is writings of killing, people must die, this is behavior that we can never ignore again. Our lives are busy, I realize this, and sometimes there is just not enough time in the day, but the events at Virginia Tech, taking the lives of our future, others family members, friends, classmates, a school I have supported and loved for several years, only reiterates that we need to make time

I am greatly saddened to read the comment that these children should have to "suck it up." My son's girlfriend is a student at VT. Had she not overslept, she would have been in the middle of the shooting. All the students at VT have experienced a horrible tragedy and their pain is resounding thru every college campus in the country. They deserve a lot more than to be told to "suck it up!"

Sad Sad Sad for the families, friends and a find University.

The thing I don't understand is: How can 30 people just cower on the floor and let some pipsqueak fire off rounds at leisure? I would rather get shot trying to get a lick in on the guy than lie down and passively let him shoot me. I think these creeps count on the fact that people will either try to run away or go fetal. What happened to good old fashioned American fight?

I second that, Amanda. I read it and completly started to wonder why in the world it was even posted.

Sharon from Chicago

I predominately agree with you except on a few points. I disagree with censorship which you recommended by stopping certain games to be produced. Being better parents by monitoring the games they play would be the appropriate action. He was mentally ill and in a mental health facility, but to think that we can stop insanity before it wrongly kills or hurts innocent individuals is more idealistic and not reality.

So many are quick to rush to judgment and lay the blame on practically everything from rap music, to illegal immigration, and gun control. Let’s stop being ignorant on pushing our own personal agendas as a reason the shootings took place. My initial thought is simply that he was a disturbed individual. I’m tired of people trying to connect events from his screenplays as him necessarily being abused growing up. It’s all speculation at this point. We do know that he had been in a mental health facility in 2005 so he was getting help. Someone with depression doesn’t necessarily need something had to happen to trigger it meaning every situation doesn’t need to be cause/effect. Some people are just bad people that don’t value human life. You can’t blame the parents, school, or classmates for that.

What did we learn from this instance? I think everyone has to decide that for themselves, but trying to be more aware of others and their surroundings is probably a good start. Could VT have alerted the students in a quicker way than an email two hours after the first shooting? I would think possibly by cancelling classes upon the initial notification, but that’s my own opinion. I hate to even admit the cancelling classes because it falls into the media’s spin on what could have been done to save the other 30 people on his second shooting spree. However I do have a problem swallowing Charles Steger’s (VT President) reason for not responding as an emergency situation because they believed the gunman had left the campus. I’ll pray for the family and friends of everyone affecting by Monday’s shooting at Tech.

I have several friends of Tech who have notified me that Friday, April 20, 2007 will be “Orange and Maroon Effect Day” to honor those killed and show support for VT students, faculty, administrators, family, alumni, and friends. Everyone across the country is invited to be part of the Virginia Tech family and show their support by wearing orange and maroon.

What an immense tragedy. I can't imagine the horror going on in that young mans head to lead him to such a violent end and to take with him so many wonderful people. I would like to say that too many times people see someone who is troubled and are afraid to reach out or offer help. We all need to search our own souls and look around and be willing to extend ourselves beyond our "comfort zones". Mental illness, depression, are all around you and when we as a "community" further isolate and shun someone who is already suffering it only compounds the problem. I know what you may be thinking, "he is responsible for his behavior"...your damn right he is. And so are we.

The Two (2) most covered NEWS items in this Nation in the pass few weeks, have involved College Students.

In each situation they have "Handeled" themselves like the Young Adults they are. We as a Nation should take a look at how well they have handled such adversity.(political parties should take notice)

The old saying of," and a little child shall lead them" is evident here.

It seems the Students that were taken from us all too soon, were the personality types, he wasn't.

(Ismale Ax) is a Computer Coding program language. This needs to be looked into. No one knows where this young man went or what he did in the two hours before the end.He was obviously a very Intelligent person,we will never or just starting to know that.

PEACE,(psalm 121)

Empty Seats speak volumes-families incomplete
deal with this never-ending nightmare of grief
A mind too corrupted to be understood
Insanity's portrait painted in blood
a void too great to comprehend
disbelief and outrage knowing no end
We weep and pray for you Virginia Tech

My heart goes out to all the families of this terrilbe tradeg. As for that Ruths comment that was very insensitive and this has nothing to do eith giving your child car keys.

My sympthy goes out to everyone. Since I have a daughter in College I could only imagine the pain and agony each parent that has a child out there is facing. Because of this incident I cannot sleep or work, it has been a nightmare for me and I am sure a lot of parents are feeling the same. Besides praying for the victims, I am actually praying for the shooter as well, I do pray that God is able to clense him. He was a tortured soul that could not be helped on earth. I have one comment to make that has bothered me since my daughter started College. Unless it has been stressed by a child that a parent should not be informed about their affairs at College and that should be backed by abuse etc. A parent/parents should be informed about our childrens concerns in College. This would have all been avoided if his parents were more involved. What a time for them to learn that their son is a killer

At one end of the Drillfield, there is a War Memorial along with a small chapel, to honor Tech cadets who died in wars through the years. Looking at it was very sobering. I can't imagine the whole Drillfield, let alone the entire campus, carrying that same feeling. The last time I gathered on the Drillfield was to spell out "125" for an aerial photo for the school's 125th anniversary. I can't express how much I hate that it has to serve as a gathering place for such grief now.

Jane Doe, your classmate was kicked out because of the overt threat he made. Cho was described as having "annoyed" the two women who reported him - neither instance of contact was threatening, according to the women, and they didn't press charges - and his writing, though disturbing, also did not threaten anyone expressly or impliedly. Yes, he wrote violent, disturbing stories, but so does Stephen King and he's never hurt anyone. In the absence of a verifiable threat I don't know how the school could have legally kicked Cho out. I don't envy anyone who has to try to determine the intentions of another human being. I do, however, believe that people whose mental health had been called into question as much as his had should be prohibited from purchasing firearms. That measure doesn't guarantee safety, but it does make it harder for such a person to harm as many people as Cho did.

MY TEARS GO OUT TO ALL. GOD BLESS!

How ironic that an outsider can go into anothers country and kill innocent people and because it has happened in the USA it's on the front page of every newspaper and headline on all media outlets,But the same scenario is happening in Iraq everyday by the Same people that can't understand why the rest of the world hates them so much,you Americans are such gigantic hypocretes,I feel sorry for all those innocent victums,But wake up America,whay do you expect??