Monday's brutal killing at Virginia Tech in the picturesque town of Blacksburg, VA stunned the nation. A mechanics professor. A Holocaust survivor. A Peruvian international relations student. Future engineers. An Air Force cadet. Parents, brothers, sisters and friends. They were taken away in the blink of an eye because of one young man's wanton rage.

What could have been done? The killer's creative writing professor directed him toward counseling after reading his disturbing thoughts, but there is no way to force someone into getting help. As this instance showed, he may not want it.

What can everyone else do? How do you feel safe on a sprawling campus like Virginia Tech or the University of Washington after such a catastrophe?

As Virginia Tech and the nation wait to hear what the school's administration and police department say, students across the United States should wait for the same thing from their schools.

Our schools are our communities. City police and fire departments frequently engage their communities to educate them about safety, make them aware of resources and hear their concerns. Are campus security forces across the U.S. doing the same? The all-too-recent Griego shooting and the Virginia Tech massacre raise serious doubts.