Dr. Jerald Kay, Chair of the American Psychiatric Association Committee on College Mental Health:
"There appears to be more evidence of copycat behavior in incidents such as the one at Virginia Tech than that of suicide contagion, which refers to the potential influence of reporting suicide in evoking similar experiences in others.
"It would be wise, therefore, not to repeatedly air the video tapes that NBC received. The potential gains are clearly outweighed by the potential dangers." [...]
Mark I. Singer, Professor of Family and Child Welfare, Case Western Reserve University:
"Adolescents are very impressionable, and when presented with 'high profile' individuals who may be expressing thoughts and feeling similar to their own, and acting in ways that they themselves may have contemplated, these high profile individuals become role models. This relationship was directly expressed by the Virginia Tech shooter in his mention of the martyrdom of the Columbine killers.
"Large front page pictures of the Virginia Tech shooter holding two guns western style, black baseball hat on backward and dressed in a khaki vest, will undoubtedly become emblematic for many angry, disconnected youth."
