VIRGINIA TECH CRISIS
Christina Wisz
Wendy Alinor
Cristina Contreras
Karina Chowdhury
Brett Bond
Alex Sipala
Background

Virginia Tech is located in Blacksburg, Va.

There is a population of 35,000 in southwest Virginia near Roanoke.

The University is also known as Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
or VPI and SU.
a
Background

The campus has more than 125 buildings and 2,600 acres and an airport.

There are roughly 31,000 full time students.

Virginia Tech is a large school with smaller campuses throughout Virginia,
Dominican Republic and Switzerland.
Background

Virginia tech was founded in 1872.

The shield that was etched in stone was made to embody the schools motto “That
I May Serve”.

The president that opened the school was named Charles Landon Carter Minor.
Prodromes




Cho Seung-Hui was responsible for the shooting of the Virginia Tech massacre.
Cho Seung-Hui was born in South Korea. At age 8, he moved to the United States in
1992 with his family.
Cho’s older sister was highly praised at home for going to an Ivy League school,
Princeton, to study economics. Cho’s parents never spoke to him about going to Virginia
Tech.
It was a very big deal in South Korea to attend an Ivy League school.
Prodromes

In 2005 Cho frightened his English classmates and
teacher.
 He
would write about death and barely speak in class.
 He constantly ignored his classmates.
 He would eat alone and ride his bicycle in circles in the
parking lot.
Prodromes

The director of the creative-writing program of Cho’s school tried to seek help for
Cho.

In an interview she said he was “arrogant and obnoxious and so withdrawn that
she felt she was talking to a hole.”

Cho refused counseling.

The director notified the Division of Student affairs but since Cho was 18, the
University could not insist on a student getting help.
Prodromes

In 2006 Cho wrote two very strange plays titled “Richard McBeef” and “Mr.
Brownstone.”

Cho’s English teacher Licinda Roy knew he was troubled.

She contacted the University officials, but Cho had no mention of mental health
issues or police reports.
Virginia Tech Massacre

First shooting occurred at the West Ambler Johnston Hall on April 16, 2007.

Emily Hilscher and Ryan Clark were shot on the fourth floor.

Police marked off the West Johnston Hall, they thought Hilschers boyfriend was
the subject.

At 9 a.m. the killer sent a rant of 23 disturbing video messages and 29
photographs to be delivered to NBC.

At 9:26 a.m. the University sent out an email telling staff and students about the
shooting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyalPi1GeDY
Virginia Tech Massacre





At 9:45 a.m. two hours after the first shooting, Cho
opened fire in Norris Hall.
He killed 25 students and professors.
Once the police reached the scene Cho had killed
himself.
At 9:55 a.m. the University sent out a second email
stating: “a gunman is loose on campus. Stay in buildings
until further notice. Stay away from all windows.”
At 10:15 a.m. the college sent out a third email saying
classes were cancelled and to remain indoors.
Virginia Tech Massacre
Virginia Tech Massacre
Target Audiences

The target audiences during the crisis were the 30,000+ active students,
administration and faculty of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University.
 Enabling Publics: Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger and
Senior Vice President and Provost Mark McNamee.
 Virginia
Tech Board of Visitors: composed of 14 members,
13 of which are appointed by the governor.

The 14th member is the president of the Board of Agriculture
and Consumer Services.
Target Audiences



Functional Publics: Virginia Tech Staff, Faculty,
students, student government and vendors
Normative Publics: Virginia Tech Alumni, Virginia
Tech boosters, parents, Virginia Tech sponsors and
the surrounding community
Diffused Publics: The media
Corporate Culture

Mission Statement: “Virginia Polytechnic and State
University is a public land-grant university serving the
Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation and the world
community. The discovery and dissemination of the
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 quality of life.”
Corporate Culture

Virginia Tech offers 215 undergraduate and
graduate degree programs to all of their students.
 They
offer the largest number of degree programs in
the state of Virginia.
 The average GPA of an incoming freshman is a 3.98.
 The University provides an “intense working climate” for
their students.
 Virginia Tech was compared to sought after Universities
such as the University of Michigan and Purdue
University, both of which have very good academic
reputations.
Did Virginia Tech use effective crisis
management?

The Management International Website stated that Virginia
Tech did not plan well during the crisis.
 President Steger said there was no need to notify everyone
on campus about the crisis.
 He assumed the gunman had already left the campus.
 Steger claimed students in transit could not be reached.
Did Virginia Tech use effective Crisis Management?


Virginia Tech did not feel the need to lock down the
school.
The school held a press conference with inadequate
information.
 They
made it obvious that their preplanned crisis plan
was not ready to handle a crisis of this magnitude.
 They claimed they had evidence to prove the shooter
had left the premises.
Did Virginia Tech use effective Crisis Management?

The two most important hours in the entire crisis was
the time between the two shootings.
 Jonathan
Clay, a PR Professional, claimed that Virginia
Tech was more concerned with “crisis management
rather than the safety of their school. They should have
been more concerned with the safety of their school
and ready for a response to any what if questions.”
Crisis Recovery

With these flaws in their crisis plan, it was difficult
for Virginia Tech to recover.
 The
PR Agency that Virginia Tech hired to help with the
crisis was Hill & Knowlton.
 Hill & Knowlton claimed the police officer did not do a
good job of displaying care and emotion to the
audience while addressing the situation.
 The campus-wide communication system failed to reach
everyone on campus.
 Virginia Tech failed to communicate with key
stakeholders.
Crisis Communication Theory



The Apologia Theory was used after the Virginia Tech
crisis. They used the strategy of conciliation: they made
some mistakes during the crisis, they are very sorry, and
seek forgiveness.
Situational Crisis Communication Theory: This was a
high response crisis. Proper crisis communication
strategies along with better decision-making could have
prevented it and saved lives.
The initial response immediately following the crisis
was good. Virginia tech provided counseling and
hosted memorial services and had a valid and credible
spokesperson.
Key Messages: How did the company deal with the
media?

Virginia tech handled the media poorly at first.
 Their
first interview was sloppy.
 They were ill advised of the situation and based most
of their answers off of assumption.
 Students were encouraged to not speak with the media.
Key Messages: What type of media
strategy was used?

Virginia Tech tried to remain in control of the media
even though the media was everywhere.
 They
used the President, Virginia Tech website and
emails to speak with one voice.
 They also made sure to keep the police up to date on
everything possible.
Key Messages: Did it disseminate news effectively to
its various publics?

At Virginia Tech, the lack of aggressive, timely
communication may have cost lives.
University officials spent more than two hours in internal
meetings before sending out a first advisory via email that
didn’t warn students to seek safety but rather asked them to
be the eyes and ears of campus security.
 The University failed to use a loudspeaker system to
address students inside their dorm rooms, classrooms or
walking on campus that could have let them know about the
shootings.
 They held a flawed press conference with inadequate
information.
 News was not disseminated effectively.

Key Messages: Did the company use the three C’s of
crisis planning?

Virginia Tech used the three C’s after the crisis was over.
Compassion: After the crisis the University offered
counseling and students and staff that needed it. They also
cancelled class for the rest of the week for students to
grieve and held memorial services.
 Control: The University failed to be in control during the
crisis because they failed to plan for a crisis of this
magnitude.
 Credibility: The University did use some credibility during
the crisis because they used the President and as their key
spokesperson during the crisis. Although they had a credible
spokesperson, the information he delivered was poor and
unrehearsed.

Key Messages: What were the crisis communication
strategies?

The only strategy that Virginia Tech could use was
corrective action. It was clear that there were
mistakes made and Virginia Tech could have
responded better during the crisis. Virginia tech
worked on enhancing their campus security systems
and updated their crisis communication plan after
the crisis was over.
What Happened after the crisis?



Virginia tech started looking over their security
measures.
It was a huge wake up call for the University.
Communication is key.
Was public confidence restored following the crisis?

It took awhile for public confidence to be restored
following the crisis due to lack of timeliness and
warning students and faculty of the crisis that was
happening.
A
Fox News article stated that “failure of the state’s
mental health system and the school’s lack of
information about the shooter’s mental health played a
role.”
 The mother of a victim stated that the “president of the
University and the campus police chief should be fired.”
What happened to the University?



The families of the victims sued Virginia Tech.
A judge approved an $11 million settlement that
went towards healthcare.
The Department of Education fined the University
$55,000 for waiting too long to notify students of
the shootings.
What changes occurred as a result of
the crisis?


Other colleges improved their emergency notification systems and programs to
speed up reaction times of campus police to a potential shooter on campus.
Other universities started using crime-warning systems that could be sent out via
cell phone, email, and text message.

The also are still using the methods of sirens and emergency announcements.
Was there any corrective action taken?

No immediate corrective action was taken.
 Virginia
Tech only had an emergency email alert
system, police did not have power to send alerts
themselves.
 This kept students and faculty from being alerted as
quickly as possible.
How can the crisis be evaluated?


A run through of the crisis needs to be completed
while paying attention to faults and what went
wrong or could have gone more smoothly.
The crisis could have went a lot smoother and a lot
of lives could have been saved if:
 Campus
police had blueprints of every building on
campus
 The alert system had been more efficient and effective
 The crisis plan was updated more regularly
What was learned by the University
and others?

Some of the learning experiences that the University
has learned are improvements to school safety, and
some states have banned students from carrying
concealed weapons.
 There
are now 38 states that have banned students
from carrying or using weapons in schools.
 There are now 16 of those states who have banned
guns from any part of campus.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Identify what you feel were the
strengths and weaknesses of the crisis management used in this
crisis.
Strengths
• Students reacted well and tried to
prevent gunman from entering classrooms
• When police finally came to Norris Hall,
they were effective in reaching injured
students and saving others
Weaknesses
• First incident on the dorm was not
properly evaluated
• Not having proper equipment to break
down the chained doors
• Not having an effective and efficient
alert system
• Not giving police power to send
messages
Quiz

1. When did the Virginia Tech crisis take place?
A. August 5, 2007
B. April 16, 2007
C. December 12, 2007
D. February 28, 2007
Quiz

2. Where is Virginia Tech located?
A. Bedford, Va.
B. Caroline, Va.
C. Richmond, Va.
D. Blacksburg, Va.
Quiz

3. Where did the first shooting take place?
A. A parking lot
B. The library
C. A dormitory
D. The cafeteria
Quiz

4. How long did it take for the University notify the
campus about the shooting?
A. 2 hours
B. 1 hour
C. 30 minutes
D. 3 hours
Quiz

5. Which of the following was a mistake that the
University made during the crisis?
A. They failed to send out a message immediately
notifying students of the shooting
B. They failed to lockdown the campus
C. They held a press conference with inadequate
information
D. All of the above
Quiz Answers

1. When did the Virginia Tech crisis take place?


2. Where is Virginia Tech located?


Answer- C: A dormitory
4. How long did it take for the University to notify students
about the shooting?


Answer- D: Blacksburg, Va.
3. Where did the first shooting take place?


Answer- B: April 16, 2007
Answer- A: 2 hours
5. Which of the following was a mistake made by the
University during the crisis?

Answer- D: All of the above