Contributor(s): Martin Mitchell, James Longhurst, Dana Jacob
Starr Commonwealth
Albion, MI
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Introduction
On December 1, 1958, ninety-two
students and three teachers died in a fire set by a student
at Our Lady of Angels elementary school in Chicago.
Fast forward 50 years and the headlines are the same — A
young man kills 32 staff and students on the Virginia Tech
campus before turning the gun on himself.
The boy responsible for the Chicago fire was born in a home
for unwed mothers after his mother allegedly was raped by
her own stepfather. She, only 15-years-old, planned to put
the boy up for adoption but couldn’t let her child go.
Troubles at home were compounded by problems experienced in
school. He was mercilessly ridiculed and bullied by peers.
His mother was aware of the problems and did all she could
to protect him. She and her child moved to Chicago where the
young man’s childhood was filled with chaos and uncertainty.
He began setting fires at the age of five. |
It would take years for the truth to come to light and for
authorities to connect the young man to the fire. A Chicago
judge, concerned about the boy’s safety, placed him in Starr
Commonwealth’s educational and treatment program in Albion,
Michigan. There he completed the treatment program, was
given a clean slate and a second chance, leading him to
enlist in the Marines and later return to civilian life as a
productive adult.
Seung-Hui Cho, the man responsible for the Virginia Tech
shootings, was never afforded that opportunity. Reports
after his death reveal a bright, educated man fraught with
internal struggles. Cho was reportedly singled out and made
fun of during high school, having been told to “go back to
China” and teased for the way he talked. There also are
indicators that Cho had untreated and undiagnosed highly
functioning Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Imagine what it
would be like to grow up as he did, feeling unable to speak
and freely express himself? |
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(c) 2008 - Alliance for Children
and Families:
www.alliance1.org |
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