Virginia Tech president alienates victims' kin

No one could have foreseen the terrible tragedy that descended on Virginia Tech on the cold morning of April 16, 2007. In the immediate aftermath of Seung-Hui Cho's deadly rampage, Tech President Charles Steger's clumsy response to grieving families might be forgiven as he came to grips with his personal shock before reaching out to others.

Nineteen months later, Steger continues to treat the parents and spouses of the slain and injured as a threat rather than as heartbroken men and women trying to make sense out of 32 senseless murders.

The chilly reception families received during a meeting with Steger last month added to their immeasurable distress and reflected unfavorably on the entire university.

Once again, Gov. Tim Kaine stepped in to console the families and, more importantly, to listen. After two meetings last weekend totaling 51/2 hours, Kaine agreed to consider revisions to his investigative panel's report on the mass shooting. He asked the victims' families to submit suggested changes incorporating new information released in recent weeks by the university.

Although the report contains some inaccuracies, panel members were careful to acknowledge that their account was based on sometimes vague and conflicting interviews with police, university leaders and others on campus that day.

Documents released in response to a Freedom of Information request by the Richmond Times-Dispatch reveal that university officials' decision to delay warnings to students about the first two murders was not, as previously reported, based on police information that a suspect (later found innocent) had been identified and had left campus. That false lead did not reach them until later.

The new information underscores, rather than detracts from, the conclusions and recommendations made by the investigatory panel. The panel's report faulted police for assuming that they had the killer, based on minimal evidence, and for failing to consider other alternatives. It also criticized university officials for their slow reaction to the crisis and their "questionable decision" to warn students only that a shooting had occurred without clearly stating that two students had been murdered and their killer remained at large.

Kaine was previously hesitant to revisit the report because he viewed it primarily as a vehicle for mental health and public safety reforms, 25 of which were approved last winter. But after meeting with families, he recognized, and responded to, their need for a factual and complete public record.

The governor's gift for emotionally connecting with the families has made him an agent of healing. In contrast, Steger's refusal to acknowledge his own missteps during the crisis have cut him off from the suffering of others in the Tech community and delayed his own ability to heal.