Fallout from Virginia Tech's mass shooting: debates swirl about legal limits and leadership.

THE MASS SHOOTING ON APRIL 16 AT VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTItute and State University--the deadliest in U.S. history--has reopened arguments in higher ed about privacy laws that limit revelations about troubled students. It has also prompted reviews of security measures on campuses nationwide.

The shooting at Virginia Tech is being called higher education's Columbine. While the 1999 shooting at the Colorado high school left 12 dead, the Virginia Tech tragedy had 33 casualties, including the shooter, Cho Seung-Hui, an English student at the university. In a video sent to NBC News between his two killing sprees on campus, Cho references Columbine, while using rhetoric characteristic of such deadly suicidal shooters. Cho saw himself as a victim who was driven to kill classmates and faculty in revenge. In the reporting in the aftermath, former high school classmates recall Cho being antisocial, while at the same time being the victim of bullying. He obviously carefully planned his attack, dispelling the notion that such shooters suddenly "snap."

There were plenty of warning signs about Cho. Several women on campus complained about Cho's e-mails and instant messages to them. Professors, including poet Nikki Giovanni, were disturbed by the violent subject matter in Cho's coursework. Cho was mandated by a court in 2005 to get help for his mental illness, but Virginia Tech administrators have clearly noted that this was outside of the school's legal purview. Of course, the limits of student privacy laws, the reach of in loco parentis, and a university's responsibility have dominated the media coverage in the aftermath of the shooting.

"They can't really kick someone out because they're writing papers about weird topics, even if they seem withdrawn and hostile," Richard Kadison, M.D., director of mental health services, Harvard University, told the press.

Still, there are several court cases that have challenged the current understanding, notably the lawsuit brought by the parents of Elizabeth Shin, an MIT student who committed suicide after exhibiting suicidal behavior and seeking counseling. MIT respected Shin's right to privacy by not informing her parents of her troubles. The parents, in turn, sued the university claiming they would have helped their daughter had they only known the trouble she was in. MIT eventually settled with Shin's parents for an undisclosed sum.

The Virginia Tech tragedy also highlights the need for tight emergency plans and campus security. Security officials have been roundly criticized for not locking down the campus immediately after Cho's first shooting incident in a residence hall. After killing two people, Cho then slipped away, mailed his tape, and resurfaced two hours later to kill 30 others in Norris Hall. Campus police lost time chasing down a false lead. They also met with President Charles Steger before finally sending out e-mail alerts and announcing warning messages on a public address system. "That is basically a flaw in this operation," says Adam Thermos, a campus security consultant.