Milbrey Whitham Marina Martin Sloane Ward Patrick Rabitaille Paul Reilly Virginia Tech Massacre Milbrey Whitham Sloane Ward Patrick Rabitaille Marina Martin Paul Reilly

 Background  Situation Analysis  Target Audiences  Corporate Culture/ Organizational Ideology DETECTION

Background of Virginia Tech  Founded in 1872 under the name Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College in Blacksburg, Virginia  West of Roanoke, in the New River Valley  Founded as agricultural and mechanical land-grant college

Background cont.  Opened its doors on October 1, 1872  Very slow process  Name changed to Virginia Polytechnic Institute  By 1892, created a military academy, Corp of Cadets and athletics department  Military became mandatory as well as Corp of Cadets

 In 1921, women accepted into VPI  1922, Bachelor Degree program top 100  1960 Enrollment topped 10,000 students and African-American students allowed to enroll  1970 new name given, Virginia Polytechnic University

Today at Virginia Tech  Research university with the largest full-time student population in Virginia  Maintains Corp of Cadets  Enrollment 28,650, 82.5% undergraduate  215 undergraduate and graduate degree programs  16:1 student-faculty ratio  Main campus over125 buildings, 2,600 acres, and an airport  Ranked 44th in university research in the United States

 “Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) is a public land-grant university serving the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and the world community. The discovery and dissemination of new knowledge are central to its mission. Through its focus on teaching and learning, research and discovery, and outreach and engagement, the university creates, conveys, and applies knowledge to expand personal growth and opportunity, advance social and community development, foster economic competitiveness, and improve the quality of life.”

April 16, 2007  Seung Hui Cho  Killed 32 students and faculty  Wounded 17 others  Cho later shot and killed himself

The Virginia Tech Massacre

Virginia Tech Prodromes  1. Cho exhibited signs of mental health problems throughout this life  Selective mutism and depression  2. During middle school teachers observed homicidal thoughts in his assignments  Received medication  3. Junior VT, several complaints were sent in regarding Cho  , VT Cook Counseling Center and University Care team failed to communicate effectively with Cho  5. Cho’s records went missing allowing him to purchase guns in the state of Virginia  6.Sister began noticing problems with Cho, he stopped writing, something that was a strong therapy outlet for Cho  7. During a night out with his roommates, he was seen stabbing the carpet in another dorm room  8. Cho harassed multiple female students on campus and was warned several times by police to stop  9. Six months prior to the shooting, Cho was permanently removed from a class  University felt as though this solved all further problems

Target Audience and Communication Methods:  Enabling Publics:  President of the university, Governor of Virginia, FBI, Law Enforcement (state, local, and university), VT Board of Trustees  Functional Publics:  Students, faculty/staff, parents and families of those who attended or worked at the university  Normative Publics:  Surrounding schools and universities  Diffused Publics:  The local and national media

Objectives PREPARATION

Preparation  Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Tim Kaine, immediately appointed a panel to go over the series of events.  The panel interviewed over 200 people and looked over thousands of records in an effort to explain how this event occurred.  The university had immediate problems, its Emergency Response Plan of Virginia Tech did not have provisions that addressed what would happen if there were a school shooting.  The President Charles Steger of Virginia Tech, immediately convened the emergency Policy Group to focus on how they should respond to the situation.

Preparation  The first message students received via did not mention a double murder; it simply stated there was a shooting. This message also went out via a phone call.  Most students and faculty did not receive the alert before their first class which meant no classes could be canceled.  The Virginia Tech Police Department, VTPD, mobilized its emergency response teams as soon as the first shooting occurred. Chief Wendell Flinchum of the VTPD immediately called for backup from the Blacksburg Police Department, BPD.  Following the immediate response of the VPTD and the BPD, both law enforcement agencies put its emergency response teams on alert and placed them at various points around the city and the campus to respond accordingly.

How Did Virginia Tech Handle the Crisis?  In one of the first interviews that President Steger had he said “the incident was a possible murder suicide and also a domestic dispute and the police had identified a suspect in the case.”  Police reported that they believed the suspect had left the campus.

Where Did Things Go Wrong?  Police reported that they believed the suspect had left the campus.  Students were not notified that there was a possible gunman on campus  The university was not notified of the situation at first therefore classes were not canceled.

The Policy Group  The Policy Group and local law enforcement were communicating via telephone initially and it wasn’t until hours after the shooting took place that an officer was actually sitting in on the Policy Group.  The message that the policy group came up a full 2 hours after the shootings occurred contained information that they felt would best inform the public.

Jeffery Douglas  Jeffery Douglas  PRSA member  Director of public relations at Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine  Crisis Communications expert during the Virginia Tech shootings.  Douglas’s first assignment as the shootings were taking place was to find a place to house the hundreds of families that were arriving on the Virginia Tech campus.  The center that Douglas was in charge of monitored all news media, telephone calls and other media outlets. According to Douglas, all communication was routed to this center.  Douglas also said that he always had a plan so that if a reporter were to ever approach him he would know how to answer and to tell them where to go for more information. Any and all information that the university shared with the crisis center Douglas would share with the families and media.

The Use of Facebook Websites became one of the best ways to communicate the series of events that were taking place.  -They gave more detailed information on the people involved and the events occurring  The people who were setting up websites were referred to as the “problem-solving group” This group of online “problem- solvers” created an “I’m ok at VT” Facebook group where students could go to find out additional information on those involved in this tragedy.

Cont.  Facebook quickly became a destination for the Virginia Tech community to talk about the tragedy and get facts about those associated with the event  This may have not been the most credible source but it did help the community stay informed at the time.

 Crisis Communication Theory  Key Messages CONTAINMENT

Theories  Situational Crisis Communication Theory  Apologia Theory  Speech of self-defense that seeks to present a compelling counter description of organizational actions  Fern-Banks and Excellence Theory

Key Messages  Open and honest with media  Spoke with one voice as well as used the CEO  Caring message  During the crisis: Communication was poor  After the crisis: Communication improved

 Compassion  Credibility  Control Three C’s of Communication

Compassion  Cared about the well being of the Virginia Tech Community  Charles Steger’s Initial Response  “The university is shocked and indeed horrified that this would befall us, and I want to extend my deepest and most sincere and profound sympathy to the families of these victims, which include our students”  Planned memorials  Convocation the following day of the crisis to “start the healing process”  Mental health clinics

Credibility  Credible if they exhibit compassion, competence and expertise, honesty and openness, and commitment and dedication.  Information was incorrect at first,  BUT always told the information that they had.

Control  Had issues with the control of the situation  Took a long time to communicate to community  First shooting was reported at 7:15 am and the second at 9:43am. An wasn’t sent out until 9:26am.  Did not cancel class at first, nor did they communicate that the events were a big deal.  They had the wrong information  Clearly not prepared for the crisis that was taking place.

Communication Strategy  Corrective Action  University seeking to repair the damage from the crisis or to take steps to prevent a repeat of the crisis  Charles Steger initially outlined how the university was going to fix the results of the shooting  Convocation on April 17th  Meeting place for families  Mental health centers

 After crisis  Strengths  Weaknesses RECOVERY/LEARNING

After Crisis  Universities across the country evaluated emergency response systems and tactics.  Emergency notification systems  Training and protocol  Security enhancement systems and equipment  Screening of applicants and employees

Effects on the Community  Gun laws on eBay  Gun control and regulations  Students for Concealed Carry on Campus

Strengths  Honesty with media, students, and community  Compassionate towards victims and their families  Had a desire to move forward  Led to national campus security changes

Weaknesses  Poor communication  Did not proceed in a timely manner  Received incorrect information