Tragic stories – detailing violence, war-related casualties, terrorism and natural disasters – cover front pages, form the entirety of evening newscasts and undoubtedly affect us all. But no tragedy hits as close to home as one that involves the innocent deaths of more than 30 college students.

Monday’s unprecedented shooting rampage at Virginia Tech should strike a chord in all of us. As college students, it’s easy to empathize with the students’ grief. We can imagine the harrowing effects of someone opening fire on fellow members of our tight-knit campus community. We understand the dynamics of a college campus – how these people we live and associate with every day essentially become our family away from home.

As a university affected by a tragedy of similar magnitude more than a year ago, we understand how difficult it is to pick up the pieces and proceed to normalcy. But we came together as a community and have started to heal, and Virginia Tech will one day do the same.

This tragedy also hits close to home because it could happen anywhere. Recent events have shown violence like this doesn’t discriminate. It can happen at a highly acclaimed college in small-town Virginia, a high school in Colorado, an Amish primary school in Pennsylvania or perhaps even here. It’s a sobering reality, but nonetheless, one we must accept.

We must be assured that Loyola is prepared if such an event were to occur. Granted, Virginia Tech could have never prepared for Monday’s tragic events, but there were many flaws in the university’s initial reaction to the events. Sending out notifications via e-mail and neglecting to cancel class after the shootings began was an inadequate way to deal with the situation. We must all learn from the failures of the university and use this knowledge in implementing an effective plan of action.

It only takes one or two people to cause such a devastating tragedy and in this case, the deadliest shooting in American history.

In preparing the university for the possibility of a hurricane, Loyola should continue to take measures to prepare for the possibility of violence. In our not-too-distant past, Loyola has dealt admirably with a minor hostage situation in a classroom and what was thought to be a bomb threat at Temple Sinai. Proper planning and foresight has served the university well.