One year ago, Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and injured many more on the Virginia Tech campus before taking his own life.

One year later, colleges across the country are taking precautions should a similar event occur on their campuses.

As a response to the shooting at Virginia Tech, California State University Chancellor Charles Reed issued Executive Order 1013, which called for full-scale emergency exercises to be held annually on all CSU campuses.

Just last week, SF State held its first-ever drill for a campus-shooting scenario as part of emergency preparedness week.

There are so many factors that can lead a person to pick up a gun and open fire on helpless people.

There’s not a set list of behaviors and actions that can identify someone who needs help.

Each person is individual and thus his or her motives are unique and probably hidden from society at large.

It’s easy to live in a bubble and think that a tragedy like this can never happen at school.

That’s not a good way to act. This is a problem with our society. We’re so fast-paced, always thinking about work and school, overloading our schedules because we tell ourselves we have to.

We cannot, or do not want, to slow down and realize that there are others around that need help.

Can we strike a balance between security and freedom? Does this campus need metal detectors at the entrances of all buildings so every student is screened multiple times a day?

If someone is really determined to follow through with a murderous action, he or she will. No counseling, drugs or intervention can stop someone who has made his or her choice.

Banning guns is also not the answer (plus, the gun lobbyists are very powerful and, oh yeah, the second amendment), nor is pretending like nothing will happen near you.

It may, and what happens then? We just repeat the same mistakes and life continues until the same thing happens again.

Life is a collective experience. Life is also short. It’s time for us to slow down and reach out.