Goudie wrong to put blame on NIU

While it is obvious that there were significant warning signs related to the young man who committed the atrocities at NIU, Chuck Goudie's Feb. 18 column seemed to suggest the NIU administration and staff missed the warning signs and they are somehow personally responsible for this tragedy.

To accuse the NIU community of responsibility for this event based on the known facts represents a faulty conclusion and, in my opinion, is an irresponsible accusation by Goudie.

The NIU situation was very different than Virginia Tech.

The young man responsible for this tragedy was living in Champaign, attending the University of Illinois and, as a result, his problems were not on the NIU radar screen for its staff to connect the dots.

From what has been reported, he was a highly regarded student when at NIU.

Whatever sent him over the edge to commit this tragic crime could have as easily led him to commit this atrocity at the University of Illinois, his old high school, a shopping mall or any other location where there were groups of vulnerable innocent people who were easy targets.

It was certainly appropriate to suggest that people who see changes in someone like the shooter have a responsibility to themselves, the individual and to the community to take action and get help for the person.

But having had a family member who underwent treatment for schizophrenia, I can tell you that it is not uncommon for such a person to experience mood swings and not act normally for periods when he or she has gone off their "meds."

I can also tell you that in today's legal environment, it is very difficult to intervene and take action to force a person to get the help they need.

In these situations, your hands are tied.

You can only hope and pray that you will get through these difficult periods and don't get a call informing you that a senseless and possibly preventable tragedy has occurred.

It certainly would have been appropriate for Goudie to suggest this tragedy may have been prevented by cross-linking the gun licensing and psychiatric patient databases in a way that would have prevented him from buying guns and ammunition.

It would have also been logical to again raise questions about the steady diet of violence in the news and entertainment media as either a reflection or contributor to a growing culture of violence in our country.

We are all affected by the NIU, Columbine, Virginia Tech and other similar tragedies.

We all realize that it could have been one of our kids or even ourselves.

We all want answers. We all want to find a way to end this senseless killing.

But in our grief, which can produce fear, frustration and anger, we need to guard what we say.

While it is possible that the full investigation may eventually show NIU had information or could have taken steps that might have prevented this tragedy, the facts as we know them today do not support Goudie's conclusions.

I believe Goudie and the Daily Herald owe the NIU administration and staff an apology and retraction for what has been said.

Ray Pokorny

Geneva