[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2364-2365]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                TRAGEDY AT NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, about 60 miles west of the city of Chicago 
is the city of DeKalb, IL. DeKalb is a town of great historic 
importance not only in our State but to our Nation. Many years ago in 
DeKalb, they invented barbed wire. It sounds like a small matter, but 
it turned out to be a major part of the settling of the Western part of 
the United States. The town of DeKalb grew up around the farms that 
provided not only produce but jobs, and eventually gave birth to a 
great university: Northern Illinois University. Last night I was at 
that university. I went into the convocation hall there, to a gathering 
that was called together to memorialize a terrible tragedy.
  On February 14, as this Senate was leaving Washington, we heard word 
that a shooter had come on campus, gone into a lecture hall and opened 
fire, wounding a score of students and killing five. It is hard to 
imagine. It is hard to imagine that a tragedy would take place at that 
great university. Today, Senator Obama and I are introducing a 
resolution expressing our condolences and the condolences of the Senate 
to all those affected by this tragedy.
  If my colleagues have ever been to that campus, they know that under 
normal circumstances, it is the picture-perfect American university 
campus. On any day, you are going to find thousands of students and 
faculty in their classrooms and research labs, on athletic fields and 
in the dorms, eating pizza, studying, stuck in front of their 
computers, going through the happiest moments of their lives. I look 
back, as many of us do, on my college days, and realize what a good 
time it was, meeting all those wonderful new people, being challenged, 
learning so many important things, and making friendships that last a 
lifetime.
  Tragically, for many of those students on the campus of Northern 
Illinois University on February 14, that atmosphere and that 
environment changed. They were literally running for the exits of that 
lecture hall as this man stood before them, repeatedly firing handguns 
and a shotgun, killing their fellow students. Within minutes, the 
campus police were there. No one has questioned the response to this 
tragedy, nor should they. There was a good plan in place to deal with 
it. They executed the plan, but when they arrived, it was too late. 
Students had already been shot and wounded. Five students died and 
seventeen were wounded. We mourn their loss.
  It is interesting, because in a circumstance such as this, we come to 
know the victims and their families. Gayle Dubowski of Carol Stream, 
IL. She was a devout member of her church. She sang in the church 
choir. She worked as a camp counselor and volunteer in rural Kentucky. 
When her parents went to her dorm room after she had been killed, they 
found the Bible open on her bed. Her faith was very important to her 
life.
  Catalina Garcia, of Cicero, a first-generation American. Her parents 
are from Mexico. She wanted to make them proud. She was her family's 
princess, her family said, and their inspiration. She wanted to be a 
teacher. She always had a smile on her face. If you saw the photograph 
they used in most of the newspapers, you saw her beautiful smile.
  Julianna Gehant of Mendota, IL. What a great story. She spent 12 
years of her life in the U.S. Army, serving overseas and serving her 
Nation. She was in the Army Reserves. She went on to Northern Illinois 
to become a teacher.
  Ryanne Mace, of Carpentersville, a much-loved only child who was 
rarely without a smile, and her dream was to be a counselor, to help 
those in need.
  Daniel Parmenter of Westchester, known as ``Danny,'' a 6-foot-5-inch 
rugby player, known as the gentle giant by all of his friends. He was a 
man who was sitting in that lecture hall next to his new girlfriend. He 
was going to give her a silver necklace the day after this shooting. It 
never happened. He died trying to protect his girlfriend from the 
gunfire, and she was able to survive.
  On February 14, five beautiful lives ended in Cole Hall, a lecture 
hall at Northern Illinois University. Last night at the gathering there 
were 10,000 people filling the university center. Senator Obama was 
there. We had four Members of our House delegation from Illinois. I was 
glad they came: Congressman Don Manzullo, Congressman Peter Roskam, 
Congresswoman Melissa Bean, and Congressman Rahm Emanuel. The Governor 
of our State was there and many other State officials.
  What struck me as touching was that as soon as we entered this hall, 
it was to silence; 10,000 people sitting in silence at this memorial 
tribute. Prayers were offered, as they should be, for the families of 
those who died and for the families of those who were wounded and are 
still recovering. They should not be forgotten. We wish them a speedy 
recovery. But we also commended the emergency responders, the law 
enforcement officers, the health care providers. They were there on 
February 14, and they did what they promised they would do: Everything 
they could to save lives and heal the wounded. They were trained, they 
were prepared, and they responded with courage. The toll from this 
shooting could have been worse if it wasn't for their efforts.
  I wish to also acknowledge President John Peters of Northern Illinois 
University and the entire administration. The program last night was a 
beautiful program which they organized, but even more important was the 
work they have done since February 14 to bring that campus back 
together.
  Today, classes resumed at Northern Illinois University. Lessons were 
being taught. But last night, we gathered at the memorial service to 
reflect on the lessons of life we have learned from February 14. First, 
we thanked all those across America who have joined us in expressing 
sympathy for our loss and solidarity of purpose for our future. From 
the moment that news spread about this tragedy in DeKalb, IL, America 
has been standing with the Northern Illinois University community.
  This tragedy is a terrible reminder that we in Congress have work to 
do to make our campuses and our country safer. We need to do all that 
we can to make schools a safe place. When we grew up, we always thought 
school was the safest place one could be. Now look what we face.
  Last April, Senator Obama and I introduced campus safety legislation 
in response to the Virginia Tech shootings. The Presiding Officer 
certainly knows the pain and sorrow and the grief that were associated 
with that tragedy. Key parts of that legislation will reach the 
President's desk soon as part of the Higher Education Act 
reauthorization. I hope these new measures Senator Obama and I are 
supporting will allow campuses and universities to think of ways to 
make those environments safer for students and everyone who visits in 
the future.
  But we also need to take a look at two controversial issues. We need 
to take a look at gun violence. There is an epidemic of gun violence in 
our Nation. We have reached the point in Congress where we don't talk 
about it, or if we do, it is in hushed tones. There is almost a feeling 
of inevitability that because there are 300 million guns in America, 
there is nothing we can do about it. We get tied up in political knots, 
every time we discuss it, about whether we are going too far, 
infringing on constitutional rights, or whether we are going far enough 
to spare innocent victims such as these five college students.
  In America, every day, we lose 81 people who die from gun violence. 
30,000 Americans die every year from gun violence, which is more than 
twice as many as die from HIV/AIDS. That doesn't count the 176 people 
who are wounded every day in this country by

[[Page 2365]]

gunfire. It is of epidemic proportions. No matter where you are, where 
you live, or how safe you think you are, any of us could be among the 
dozens of victims each day who end up on the wrong side of a gun.
  Just a few months ago, I was invited to speak at a memorial service 
for a little girl who was killed near Logan Square in Chicago. She was 
playing on a playground and got caught in the crossfire of gang 
violence. The gangs started shooting at one another, and this little 
girl was killed. Her mother could hardly stand, as she was sobbing 
uncontrollably, even days after it occurred. As I went up to say a few 
words, the minister said to me, ``Don't bring up the gun control issue, 
it's too controversial.'' I reflected on that for a long time, and I 
abided by his wishes and the wishes of the family not to bring it up. 
But that is an indication of the fact that we cannot even talk about 
it. We cannot talk about reasonable ways so that guns don't get in the 
hands of people who will misuse them.
  The vast majority of people who own guns in America obtain them 
legally and use them legally and responsibly. We should do everything 
we can to protect their rights under our laws to continue to use guns 
in a safe and legal manner, for sporting purposes or self-defense. But 
we know--even gun owners know--there are people buying guns at this 
very minute who have an intent in mind of killing innocent people. This 
great Nation has to do a better job of keeping those guns out of the 
hands of those who would misuse them.
  The second issue is equally challenging; it is the issue of mental 
illness. It is ironic that 30 years ago a young boy whom I knew in my 
hometown of East St. Louis, IL--and I had known him since he was a 2-
year old--grew up, graduated high school, and went away to Northern 
Illinois University. He was gone 5 weeks, and he was sent home. We 
started asking, ``Why did Gary come back? What happened?'' We never got 
the full story until a few months later. When Gary went up to Northern 
Illinois University, for the first time in his life, he exhibited 
problems with mental illness, serious mental illness. They decided it 
was in his best interest for him to go home. And he did. He had a 
serious problem. Unfortunately, it troubled him for his entire life 
before he died. It first exhibited itself on that college campus. That 
is not unusual. Many people who leave their homes for the first time--
leave the shelter and comfort of the home environment and head out to a 
new place, like a new campus or university, move into a dorm room--have 
a problem that exhibits itself for the first time. When we talk to 
those who are leaders of universities, they say they offer counseling 
and try to find the students who need help.
  In times gone by, in worst-case scenarios, many students took their 
lives. The suicide rate on college campuses is higher than people talk 
about.
  Now there is a new element. I spoke to the president of a major 
university in Illinois about mental illness among the college 
population. He said that, in years gone by, a student would take his 
life and it was a tragedy for the school and their family. But now this 
is a new era, where that student buys a firearm and wants to take 
others with him. This university president said, ``I don't understand. 
I don't know if it is the video games or the movies or whatever it is; 
but this idea that you will shoot innocent people before you kill 
yourself, as this gunman did at Northern Illinois University--this is a 
challenge for all of us.''
  We have to first understand that mental illness is an illness and not 
a curse. It can be treated successfully in the vast majority of cases. 
We need to enact the Mental Health Parity Act so that more people have 
mental health protection as part of their health plans. We have to 
offer counseling for students and people who need a helping hand in 
this circumstance. We have to understand that the college campus can be 
an especially important place to focus our resources. We have to 
encourage students to move into those resources and get help. We cannot 
penalize or stigmatize them for fear that they won't seek help. But we 
also have to be protective of the innocent people around them and to 
understand that at some point you have to draw a line and say this 
person is now in an unstable or dangerous situation, should never be 
allowed a firearm, and needs to be at least monitored carefully, if not 
some other action taken.
  This is a difficult issue because for many years we didn't talk 
honestly and responsibly about mental health. We should. The shooter of 
these innocent students at Northern Illinois University obviously was 
suffering from some form of mental illness. I don't know if it could 
have been traced ahead of time and acted upon, but we have to think 
about the future and what we can do.
  After the shootings at NIU, a group of parents whose children died at 
Virginia Tech wrote to the newly bereaved parents at NIU to offer their 
support. Those parents are now joined together by a bond that no parent 
ever wants to share. The letter from the Virginia Tech parents is 
posted on the Web site of Northern Illinois University. The question 
facing us now is, how much larger will we allow the circle of grief to 
become? How many more support groups will be formed by those who lose 
someone they love in school and on a campus?
  We know guns and mental illness are controversial issues, but we also 
know that five of the finest young men and women you could ever ask for 
were taken from us on February 14. If there is any way we could have 
prevented their loss, we need to find it.
  In the days and weeks to come, the victims of the shooting will be in 
our thoughts and prayers. We stand in solidarity with the Huskies of 
Northern Illinois University, the students, faculty, the staff, and the 
members of the families as they mourn their losses and recover from 
this tragic incident.

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