Planetblacksburg is the student run blog at Virginia Tech where recently Cho Seung-Hui killed 32 students and staff before killing himself. It was a tragic event. However, just when the European Union is making holocaust denial a criminal offence across Member States, it does not seem appropriate for students in the media to attempt to rewrite history by not mentioning Cho Seung-Hui's name on their blog anymore. America makes such a play on its constitution and the right to freedom of expression. This is how the editor made the announcement:
"Editor’s Note: This is one of the final articles planetblacksburg.com will publish in regards to Cho Seung-Hui. He has dishonored the special community that is Virginia Tech. After Wednesday, April 18, 2007, his name will not be mentioned again by this student media organization".
It is a shame that censorship of this nature is brought into play. I think this is one of the situations where it is better to adopt a Lest We Forget stance than lets not mention his name. It is the kind of position more likely to be taken in a primary school or kindergarten rather than an institution preparing teenagers for adulthood. I hope that the editor rethinks this position and that it is better to come to terms with it than try and run away from it.
UPDATE: It would appear that Virginia Tech has turned into Hogwarts school according to this commenter on the planetblacksburg blog ""We said the killer's name will not be mentioned again on our website." Sounds like you kids have read the Harry Potter books a few too many times. It's a bit like "He who's name cannot be spoken." Don't let fear take over".
Posted by Sidney | April 20, 2007 12:22 PM
