Seung-Hui Cho, the 23 year-old Virginia Tech student who opened fire killing 33 people including himself on April 16th, 2007, is said to have suffered from Selective Mutism, a rare and extreme form of social anxiety, in which the sufferer is unable to speak in certain settings (e.g., the classroom). Cho received accommodations for the disorder during high school, however due to federal privacy and disability laws, officials at Virginia Tech were unaware of his diagnosis and no provisions were offered during his college years.
A debate has ensued regarding the need to balance privacy and awareness with regard to mental health issues in college students. Unfortunately, the disclosure of Cho’s condition raises more questions than it does provide answers. Research has not linked social anxiety to violence and so it isn’t clear what role the disorder, and the lack of support in college, played in Cho’s actions. Perhaps at the very least, colleges will become more vigilant about referring troubled students to receive counseling or needed support.
