A View on the News

Since yesterday's shootings at Virginia Tech, colleges and university's al over the country have been reviewing their emergency plans, Minnesota included. However, college officials in Minnesota are not promising that they are able to prevent a tragedy like Virginia Tech suffered.

The first article I looked at is from the Star Tribune and can be found here: http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1125132.html

The article shows timeliness because of the massacre at Virginia Tech yesterday; therefore it is appropriate to discuss emergency plans and procedures for other college campuses. The article also shows, as a whole, the impact that the shootings had on Minnesota and authorities:

**Melinda Voss, spokeswoman for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, said its 37 institutions have their own policies, procedures and technology to avert such tragedies. All "are in a state of heightened awareness" because of the Virginia shootings, she said.**

Because of the tragedy, universities are looking more closely at their systems. The article brings up the conflict at Virginia Tech and discusses in short the opinion of an authority - U of M Police Chief Greg Hestness:

**Although some Virginia Tech students have questioned the time it took to notify them of the situation, Hestness said he was reserving judgment until he learns more.**

This article could serve as human interest; there is no doubt that people around the country are wondering how safe their college campus is and what precautions are being taken as far as safety and security goes. Regarding the supplemental values, the article shows currency because the subject is worthy of discussion for the same reason as the article exists as a human interest story. It is somewhat necessary for the public to know about the different colleges in Minnesota and their safety procedures and systems because many people who are reading the article will know someone or is someone who attends those colleges. It is helpful for that reason, as well.

The second article I read is from WCCO.com and can be found here: http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_107091514.html

This article is much shorter, but proves the same point. It shows timeliness because of the shootings in Virginia yesterday:

**Officials at Minnesota's colleges and universities say they have emergency plans designed to handle dangerous situations like yesterday's shootings at Virginia Tech.**

Their action is a result of the incident. This also shows the impact the shootings had on officials at Minnesota colleges, similar to the first article. One paragraph suggests the conflict regarding the lack of action taken by officials during the incident at Virginia Tech. It says specifically what would happen if an incident similar to the one in Virginia happened at the Universtiy of St. Thomas:

**Jim Winterer, spokesman for the University of St. Thomas, and Doug Stone, spokesman for Macalester College, said their campuses have close ties to St. Paul police and fire crews. Winterer said news of a shooter on campus would summon police in about two minutes and an e-mail alert would go out within 10 minutes.**

The article is a human interest story and shows currency for the same reasons as the first article does: it is worthy of discussion and therefore necessary because safety is important. However, it becomes more of a human interest story because of the shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday - safety is on everyone's minds. It is helpful to know about the University's security systems for those who attend the U or for those who know someone who goes there.

I think that the first article is way more thorough and complete, and for good reason. It gathers information about many colleges around the Twin Cities and their security systems, while the second article just talks about the U. The first article also discusses the specific things that happened yesterday in Virginia and compared it to procedures that are set here at the colleges in Minnesota.