Publicity kills

By: Ross Boettcher

According to Officer Ron Alcock of the DeKalb city police, gun control, better security and increased support for students are not one of the "underlying factors" for the campus shootings that have culminated since Columbine, in 1999.

His reasoning behind the recent increase in on-campus violence — publicity.

"Not publicizing it as much probably would be one way [to prevent these acts]. If they knew they weren't going to get the publicity of doing it they probably might not do it," Alcock said of the shootings and their relation to the media.

He mentioned briefly that gun control could work in favor and against circumstances where an active shooter is opening fire, but when asked what other factors may have played a role in these acts of violence, Alcock resorted back to blaming the media.

"I think that [publicity] would be about it," he said.

While Alcock portrayed the media as a scapegoat, he did have other explanations as to why there aren't many direct solutions to the active shooter situation.

"With the amount of people who were involved it's hard to control, it's hard to control a large area with a large amount of people," he said. "It's just a situation you have to deal with."

On the topic of gun control, Alcock said allowing guns may help deter an active shooter, but at the same time could increase the amount of gun-related violence.

"Having everyone with a weapon doesn't solve anything, having everyone without a weapon leaves some people vulnerable," he said. "It's just a situation we have to deal with."