Spring Break
Learning Lessons From Virginia Tech
English Department Searches For Ways To Deal With Potentially-Disturbed
Diane Pauley
Issue date: 5/27/07 Section: News
The tragic shooting that claimed the
lives of 33 students and professors at
Virginia Tech, including that of shooter
Cho Seung-Hui, has initiated a nationwide
scrutinizing of college security,
and UConn is no exception.
On Thursday, a panel discussion
titled "Beautiful Teaching" was held in
the Stern Lounge of the CLAS building.
Sponsored by the Aetna Chair of
Writing, the Aetna Foundation and the
UConn English department, the event
was a look into UConn?s own writing
programs and their correlation to the
Virginia Tech massacre.
Lynn Bloom, who holds a position
on the Aetna chair of writing, led the
discussion, which addressed "ugly
papers."
Bloom said that ugly papers - controversial
pieces written by students
- are unsettling papers that all professors
within the English department
eventually come in contact with.
"You?re lucky if you only run into
one or two of these [papers] in your
career," Bloom said. She stressed that
experience is a teacher?s greatest aid
in discerning the threatening from the
creative.
According to Bloom, high school
teachers are required to report any student
material they deem threatening,
given the student?s status as a minor.
Once a student is 18, however, these
precautions are not required, as is the
case with UConn.
Ken Cormier, a Ph.D. candidate
for the UConn English department,
noted that a student?s personal character
must be evaluated in addition to
their work.
"Ugly papers come along with the
package of an ugly person," Cormier
said. He argued that discussion with
the student in question is crucial to
determine whether their paper was a
product of a troubled mind, or merely
a statement intended for "shock
lives of 33 students and professors at
Virginia Tech, including that of shooter
Cho Seung-Hui, has initiated a nationwide
scrutinizing of college security,
and UConn is no exception.
On Thursday, a panel discussion
titled "Beautiful Teaching" was held in
the Stern Lounge of the CLAS building.
Sponsored by the Aetna Chair of
Writing, the Aetna Foundation and the
UConn English department, the event
was a look into UConn?s own writing
programs and their correlation to the
Virginia Tech massacre.
Lynn Bloom, who holds a position
on the Aetna chair of writing, led the
discussion, which addressed "ugly
papers."
Bloom said that ugly papers - controversial
pieces written by students
- are unsettling papers that all professors
within the English department
eventually come in contact with.
"You?re lucky if you only run into
one or two of these [papers] in your
career," Bloom said. She stressed that
experience is a teacher?s greatest aid
in discerning the threatening from the
creative.
According to Bloom, high school
teachers are required to report any student
material they deem threatening,
given the student?s status as a minor.
Once a student is 18, however, these
precautions are not required, as is the
case with UConn.
Ken Cormier, a Ph.D. candidate
for the UConn English department,
noted that a student?s personal character
must be evaluated in addition to
their work.
"Ugly papers come along with the
package of an ugly person," Cormier
said. He argued that discussion with
the student in question is crucial to
determine whether their paper was a
product of a troubled mind, or merely
a statement intended for "shock
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