[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 18] [Senate] [Pages 26612-26613] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]A LESSON LEARNED THE HARD WAY Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, it is with great sadness that I reveal yet another tragedy in my state. Early this week, in the dormitories of Kalamazoo College, a 20 year old student allegedly shot and killed his former girlfriend, before turning the gun on himself and committing suicide. Now, two students are dead, and the relatively small campus in Kalamazoo is in deep shock over the loss of their fellow classmates. The apparent murder-suicide was announced in a campus-wide email, sent to all students to inform them that classes and school events would be canceled, trained counselors would be on hand, and a mass grieving assembly would take place on the campus quadrangle. To many, such an announcement must have seemed like a terrible nightmare. But students soon realized that this tragedy was not a dream and this week they have been trying to make sense of such senseless violence. This week, students are being taught the most valuable lesson they'll ever learn in college. Unfortunately, it's a lesson learned the hard way. What they will take away from this tragedy is the knowledge that guns can destroy innocent lives and devastate families; guns can result in pain, suffering, and loss of quality of life; and gun violence will continue to be a reoccurring nightmare for our young people unless Congress [[Page 26613]] controls the easy access of guns among minors. I ask that an article about this tragedy be printed in the Record. The article follows: [From the Kalamazoo Gazette, Oct. 19, 1999] K-College Students Search for Answers--Murder-Suicide Leaves Many Wondering What They Could Have Done to Stop It (By Lynn Turner and Mark Fisk) The students came in groups of two or 10, quietly walking toward ``The Quad'' of Kalamazoo College just before noon on Monday. By the time college President James Jones stepped to the portable podium on the east end of the grassy clearing, more than 300 students had gathered--eerily silent--to hear words that, maybe, would answer the question ``Why?'' Why had junior Neenef Odah, 20, a computer science major, shot sophomore Margaret Wardle, 19, to death and then turned the shotgun on himself in an apparent murder-suicide? Could others have recognized some sign and stopped the carnage? ``There is, to date, not a single indication that any of us could have foreseen what was festering in Neenef's mind and what drove him in the end to commit such a deed,'' Jones said as an occasional sob was heard from those at the gathering. ``I ask you, therefore, on this serene quad, on this autumnal day, not to second-guess yourself. ``We shall not succeed today to make any sense of this endless night and their senseless deaths. All we mortals can do is hold tight to each other.'' After Jones ended his 15-minute speech and walked away, the students continued to stand and sit in a ragged semicircle until some began shifting, forming knots of hugging students who cleared away each other's tears. jealousy possible motive Witnesses told police they heard a heated argument coming from within Odah's dorm room in DeWaters Hall around midnight Monday. ``They heard a female yelling, then some loud bangs,'' said Capt. Jerome Bryant of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. If Odah planned the shooting, he kept his intentions private. Several students told the Kalamazoo Gazette there were no warning signs that Wardle's life was in danger. Police combing the school for clues also came up empty- handed. Even talks with Wardle's mother and stepfather, and Odah's father on Monday shed no light on any problems between the two, Jones said. Jealousy is considered the prime motive in the incident. The two had dated on and off for the past year. ``There was a homecoming dance over the weekend in which both people were in attendance,'' Bryant said. ``She was dancing with another K-College student and possibly this is what invoked his rage.'' The weapon used was a bolt-action shotgun, Bryant said. Wardle was shot at least twice. ``He had purchased it legally from a Kalamazoo-area gun dealer earlier this month,'' Bryant said. Sorting it out About 25 minutes after the meeting, about 100 students remained in the quad. The mood remained heavy despite the sunshine. The Rev. Ken Schmidt, pastor of St. Thomas More Student Parish, and pastoral team member Andy Lothschultz wandered among the students, offering hugs and shoulders on which to cry. ``I don't have anything to tell them that can make sense of something that doesn't make much sense,'' Schmidt said. ``All I can do is listen and help them to process it for themselves.'' Jessie Sheidt, finance director for K-College's Student Commission, was one of those trying to make sense of things. Although she didn't know either student directly, Sheidt said a friend of hers was a friend of Wardle's. ``There's a total trust between students on this campus,'' she said of the 1,300-member student body. Bad things don't happen here, she said. At least they're not supposed to. Simone Lutz, president of the Student Commission, said that belief was the topic at hand during early morning meetings she had with students. ``We all think it doesn't happen here, but in all reality it does,'' she said. But it hasn't shattered the bonds between students. ``The cocoon is still very much intact,'' Lutz said. ``When something happens, we all come together. It develops a much closer bond to see people out here who care so much about the people who we've lost. . . . It's amazing, and I think it's an incredibly heartwarming thing.'' Zero tolerance for weapons During a media briefing following Jones' speech at the quad, his patience slipped--showing the toll of the previous 12 hours--when he was asked what, if any, new information he had. ``We don't know any more than we knew this morning,'' he said curtly. ``We have two dead students and a grieving campus.'' Outside counselors are augmenting the college's staff at residence halls and Stetson Chapel, he said. When asked about the weapon used in the apparent murder- suicide, Jones said that neither he nor Odah's roommate had a clue as to when it came into the dorm room or how long it had been there. The roommate, who has not been identified except as a Hornet football player, was working in the college's ceramics studio at the time of the incident. He, along with two suite- mates, have been moved to new quarters, Jones said. K-College has long had a zero tolerance policy for having weapons on campus, including weapons used as theatrical and sports-related equipment, said Marilyn LaPlante, a vice president there. This fall it became the basis for suspension. Jones called for tighter gun control measures during his talk to students. ``I wish every congressman in Washington who has taken a position against gun control could walk on this campus this tragic day,'' he said. ``I would imagine that a moment or two here would drive them to change the laws of the land tomorrow morning.'' Wardle showed much promise. Although few could make sense of Monday's tragic events, everyone agreed that Wardle was a young woman full of potential. A science teacher called the National Honor Society member one of two of the most intelligent students he'd encountered. Plainwell High School Principal Linda Iciek called her ``a lovely young woman of character . . . an outstanding student who will be missed by students and staff alike.'' Little is known of Odah. Jones said Odah was not an athlete on any school team. He didn't have information regarding any of Odah's extracurricular activities. Sarah Ayres, Wardle's best friend, said Wardle was good at ``anything she did. ``She was really smart, she was top-notch, but she was so modest she would never flaunt it,'' Ayres said. ``She was the kind of person that had great things coming.'' Ayres and her boyfriend had gone on a double date with Wardle and Odah, but saw nothing to lead her to believe their relationship would end in violence. ``He seemed like a normal person and she never said something'' to indicate anything was wrong, Ayres said. ``I think he was thinking it was more serious than she did. She broke it off with him this year and started going out with other people this summer. . . . I know he wanted her back the whole time.'' Ayres' father had the task of informing his daughter of the deaths by telephone Monday. Ayres is studying in Mexico through a Hope College program. ``I couldn't hardly believe it at first,'' Ayres said. ``She was like the fourth daughter in my family, so my dad was real shook up, too. We're all shook up. She was such an extraordinary person.'' ____________________