Fresh debate has gripped the nation to define the difference between a violent imagination and the intent to murder, following news Wednesday about Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui’s disturbing writings.
English major Jason Primrose, 22, said distinguishing between creativity and murderous plotting is difficult. “I don’t think there is anything inappropriate in creative writing. People can choose to write what they want, and people can choose to read what they want,” he said. “The inappropriate part comes if the fiction writing becomes a reality. But one can never know when or if that will happen.”
Just because somebody writes a scene depicting a vicious rape does not mean one would commit the act, Primrose said.
Terry Oggel, chair of the English department, said there are no guidelines for interpreting a writer’s creativity.
“It’s a tough call,” Oggel said. “I don’t know if I would know how to handle it. There are no hard and fast rules.” Judgment depends on the type of writing being evaluated, Oggel said. Since a personal notebook is very different from a poem or a short story written for the public, he said, the professor has to make a decision based on the writing itself.
“I don’t know if I would know how to handle it. There are no hard and fast rules.” -Terry Oggel, chair of the English department
Lucinda Roy, an English professor at Tech, told The Roanoke Times she thought some of Cho’s writings, including a poem for class and a letter written to her, had a threatening undertone. Cho was confronted about the writings, and he said they were only satire.
English major Harry Ludeman, 21, said creative writing is a personal privilege.
“Creative writing can be an outlet for individuals, by writing what you know and letting your creativity take over,” Ludeman said.
Ludeman said decisions regarding student work should be made at teacher discretion.
“Creative writing can be an outlet for individuals, by writing what you know, and letting your creativity take over.” -Harry Ludeman, VCU student
“Professors should certainly know whether an individual would need to seek counseling,” Ludeman said. “How-
ever, I don’t think that they should limit content, because it limits creativity, and students should be allowed to explore any area they feel like.” But despite potential challenges inherent in interpreting student work, education major Nicole Fitzgerald, 26, said she still looks forward to teaching.
“You can’t foresee these things. You can make judgments on past events, but you can’t know someone is going to go out and buy a gun and shoot 33 people,” Fitzgerald said. “We can’t stop having education because people out there want to ruin lives. To be honest, this is only going to make students and communities stronger.”