Remember and learn

One year ago today, we experienced evil. Upset over struggles in class, a disgruntled student killed a nursing professor in her office, then killed two more of his teachers in front of a classroom full of students, before finally turning the gun on himself.

Though the shootings didn't seem to resonate as much as one might have expected - students on the main campus seemed to feel distanced from the tragedy - they still left an important mark on the UA.

The professors who lost their lives that day - Cheryl McGaffic, Barbara Monroe and Robin Rogers - made a profound impact on the students they taught, the faculty members they worked with and the family members they loved.

Over the weekend, the college sponsored a run in their memory, and a vigil last night gave students and community members an opportunity to fondly remember the friends they lost.

But the legacies of McGaffic, Monroe and Rogers and the lessons learned from their deaths live on around the campus, even though the shootings themselves pass further into history.

In the past year, we have seen heightened awareness of the importance of stopping threatening behavior before it develops into violence. Had curbing threats been a UA-wide priority years ago, Robert S. Flores Jr., who had a history of abusive behavior, might have been disciplined before he became violent.

On an informal level, some faculty have taken proactive steps toward preventing violance, like asking colleagues to look out for them when they need to have difficult conversations with students in their offices.

On a formal level, the UA has implemented policies and procedures for reporting threatening behavior, giving faculty and staff a means for protecting themselves against people they fear may turn violent.

These changes make for a safer campus, and hopefully an environment in which people feel like they aren't being ignored when they're threatened.

In the College of Nursing, officials are understandably closed-lipped when asked to discuss the tragedy. They'd prefer not to dwell on the murders and let the students and faculty go on with their lives.

But if we forget the tragedy too soon, we may also forget the lives of the victims and the importance of preventng violence. Remembering evil may be painful, but it's necessary.

Opinions are determined by the Wildcat opinions board and written by one of its members. They are Shane Dale, Kristina Dunham, Brett Fera, Caitlin Hall and Jeff Sklar.