In response to the Virginia Tech Review Panel's report, a recent study detailing the faults of the panel's analysis was released last week.
Vincent Bove, a security specialist from New Jersey, recently released "Crisis of Leadership: A Response to the Virginia Tech Panel Report," a 43-page report that he said discusses his claim that the panel "missed a golden opportunity to emphasize the lack of leadership" in the aftermath of the April 16 shootings that left 32 students and faculty members dead.
Bove said his study was designed with the goal "that people are held accountable and make changes."
One of Bove's main concerns with the panel's report is its approach to lockdown procedures. The panel report states, "The VTPD [Virginia Tech Police Department] erred in not requesting that the Policy Group issue a campus-wide notification that two persons had been killed and that all students and staff should be cautious and alert."
Bove said the panel should have been more conclusive about the immediate lack of response from campus police after the initial shootings in West Ambler Johnson Residence Hall. In his report, Bove argues that more preventative measures could have been taken during this time, and that the university's error to not follow thorough emergency procedures was a grave mistake.
"The campus should be ready to exercise lockdown procedures when a tragedy occurs," Bove said. The review panel determined that "the toll could have been reduced" has officials cancelled classes and instituted a lockdown after the first shooting. Yet the panel added that "none of these measures would likely have averted a mass shooting altogether."
Before Bove analyzed the panel's findings, he represented some of the victims' families in official dealings with Virginia Tech, working closely with several victims' family members, he said.
Bove emphasized the importance of determining the truth regarding the shootings, noting that it is integral for the community to "avoid having short-term memories."
"Especially with a tragedy this significant, the truth needs to be told and continually shared with the public," Bove said.
Bove's report was first released to the families of those killed or wounded, 24 hours before it was posted online Wednesday, according to Bove. Although Bove has not directly corresponded with Virginia Tech officials since the release of the report, he said he is, "open to receiving comments from [the community]", and "welcomes peoples' responses."
The Virginia Tech Review Panel's report was compiled through a collaborative effort between university officials and representatives from Gov. Tim Kaine's office. It summarizes the many recommendations that Virginia Tech received following the shootings and details the course of action that both the university and the Commonwealth plan to enact. In particular, the panel's report emphasizes the need for a better mental health evaluation system in Virginia and new policies that would be observed in the case of future threats.
Though Bove's report criticizes Virginia Tech's immediate response to the shootings, it does not comment on many of the other issues listed in the Virginia Tech Review Panel's report, such as gun control laws.
Some organizations, such as protesteasyguns.com, agree with the findings of the panel's report and support its future implications. Currently, the report calls for a change in what is known as the "gun show loophole" policy, which allows private vendors to sell guns to customers without conducting background checks, said Abby Spangler, founder of protesteasyguns.com.Under current gun control laws, only those classified as "public vendors" are required to conduct background checks on customers before selling guns. Spangler said her organization upholds the changes in gun policy listed in the Virginia Tech Review Panel's report "100 percent", noting "we do believe that the gun show loophole should be closed in Virginia"
Read More
Winsome Earle-Sears talks higher education in first U.Va. event of the campaign
By Ford McCracken | YesterdayA Jamaican immigrant and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Earle-Sears is the first female lieutenant governor of Virginia,
U.Va.'s Earth Day Eco-Fair 2025 spotlights sustainability advocacy
By Leigh Bailey | YesterdayStudents from Contracted Independent Organizations and University Office of Sustainability leadership programs each shared their unique perspectives about sustainability advocacy on Grounds.
Student Council votes to relocate Hereford orchard and basketball hoop
By Lauren Seeliger | 2 days agoStudent Council passed a resolution Tuesday to relocate the orchard and basketball hoop of Hereford Residential College due to construction in the surrounding area.
