College students around the country have been shaken up over the news of the mass shooting on the campus of the Umpqua Community College in Umpqua, Oregon, located less than 200 miles outside of Portland. Details behind this very recent tragedy are still just beginning to come out; it is known that the gunman was just 20 years old and was targeting students who were openly Christian. This is obviously not the first school shooting to occur in the United States in the last decade, and people everywhere are left wondering how tragedies like this continue to happen.
As a member of a college campus and community, particularly one with very strong religious affiliations and beliefs, this tragedy hits very close to home and causes many questions to arise. Should officers on college campuses be armed in case of events like this one? Is it time for a change in gun control laws in this country? With time, officials will most likely address all of these questions and concerns, and if change is what needs to occur, then hopefully it will.
Authorities were extremely hesitant about releasing details of the incident that occurred just this past Thursday, October 1. For the first time in the media surrounding a mass shooting, the local sheriff in Umpqua stated in a press report, “I will not name the shooter. I will not give him the credit he probably sought” (CNN). The usual “fame” that surrounds an event like this is being avoided, and the focus in the media has been more on the victims rather than the gunman. It is all extremely fresh, and it seems wrong that we as a nation are being forced to face yet another mass shooting. As a country, we will need time to assess the situation, and eventually heal. For now the most anyone can do is keep the victims and their families in their thoughts and prayers.