Like everyone in this town, I am shocked by the shootings today.

But more than that, I am truly dismayed by the Virginia Tech administration.

I have worked at Tech for 3 years. Until today, since I am seriously considering putting in my resignation. I know that the place is topheavy, bureaucratic, and plagued with poor communication. I know that problems in the system could well have contributed to the second round of shootings today.

But this is not the first shooting on this campus. Two people were shot on or near the campus last August. In this terrorism-conscious era, the school administration should have been prepared to cancel class and evacuate the campus following the first shooting at 7:15 AM. The majority of staff reports at 8 AM. No classes start before 8 AM.

The reason this situation is such a tragedy is that it could have been prevented.

All the people shot in that class building were sitting ducks! And they didn’t have to be there, if they had been warned. We should have been warned before 9:26 AM, which is when I received the first email from Virginia Tech regarding the situation.

There is still no good information from either Virginia Tech or from the media about what is happening today. We know that upwards of 30 people died and another 30 were injured. But we don’t know if the gunman acted alone. We don’t know if it is safe to go outside and about our daily business. We don’t know if the convocation about grief tomorrow is going to turn into the site of another rampage.

Even if they can’t tell us anything new, they should keep us posted on what is happening. Until we do, we won’t know if there is danger of further violence.