He submitted two plays to Edward Falco’s class that had so much violent imagery other students refused to analyze his work. Last August, Cho’s parents helped move him into a dorm room he shared with Joe Aust, 19, for his senior year.Ĭho’s writings grew increasingly unhinged. Much about what Cho did after he left the hospital remains unknown. She was disturbed by his response, which she said was “very arrogant” with an “underlying tone of anger.” Lucinda Roy, then chairwoman of the English department, said she tried to intervene. In October 2005 a creative writing professor, poet Nikki Giovanni, refused to allow Cho to stay in his class because his writing was intimidating and he frightened other students.Ĭlassmates reported Cho photographing women under the desks. The psychiatric review came after a trouble-filled semester for Cho. Officials do not know if Cho received subsequent counseling. The doctor determined Cho was mentally ill, but not an imminent danger, and the judge declined to commit him, instead ordering outpatient treatment. He does not acknowledge symptoms of a thought disorder. “Affect is flat and mood is depressed,” a doctor there wrote. A counselor recommended involuntary commitment, and a judge signed an order saying he “presents an imminent danger to self or others” and sent him to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation.

Police said Cho did not threaten the women, who described the attempts at contact as “annoying.” But later on the day of the second complaint, an acquaintance of Cho’s notified police that he might be suicidal.Ĭho went voluntarily to police, and they referred him to a mental health agency off campus, Flinchum said. 12, 2005, a second woman asked police to put a stop to Cho’s instant messages to her. But she declined to press charges, and campus police referred the matter to the university disciplinary system, said Chief Wendell Flinchum.Ĭho’s disciplinary record was not released because of privacy laws, but Edward Spencer, associate vice president for student affairs, said it would not be unusual if no disciplinary action had been taken in such a case. The quest for the involuntary commitment, documented in court papers, came after a female student complained of unwelcome phone calls and in-person communication from Cho on Nov. There is no evidence police monitored him and no indication that authorities or fellow students were aware of any incident that pushed him into his rampage.ĭespite Cho’s time in the mental health system, when an English professor was disturbed by his writings last fall and contacted the associate dean of students, the dean told the professor there was no record of problems with Cho and nothing could be done, said the instructor, Lisa Norris. For all the interventions by police and faculty members, Cho was allowed to remain on campus and live with other students.

Seung hui cho manifesto