In this article, the author conducts a preliminary review of the tragedy at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. He explains how and why such terrible events occur and provides some insights, principles, and strategies that may assist colleges in their quest to provide an optimally safe environment for their students and staff.

In recent years psychiatric medications have been prescribed for college students and the general public in burgeoning numbers. The vast majority of these prescriptions are written by non-psychiatrists. In the opinion of the author, psychiatric prescriptions are too often written under duress by physicians seeking a quick fix for distressed…

This commentary explores the role, psychological significance, and potential value of a restraining order that is used to extricate students from highly enmeshed and destructive relationships. The commentary places strong emphasis upon the need to evaluate an unmanageable student's behavior in the context of the college's code of student conduct…