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AOL News has obtained two plays a classmate says were written by Cho Seung-Hui. Ian MacFarlane, the former classmate and current AOL employee, provided us with the plays. A note from Mr. MacFarlane and links to the works appear below.What happened yesterday:
When I first heard about the multiple shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday, my first thought was about my friends, and my second thought was "I bet it was Seung Cho."
Cho was in my playwriting class last fall, and nobody seemed to think much of him at first. He would sit by himself whenever possible, and didn't like talking to anyone. I don't think I've ever actually heard his voice before. He was just so quiet and kept to himself. Looking back, he fit the exact stereotype of what one would typically think of as a "school shooter" – a loner, obsessed with violence, and serious personal problems. Some of us in class tried to talk to him to be nice and get him out of his shell, but he refused talking to anyone. It was like he didn't want to be friends with anybody. One friend of mine tried to offer him some Halloween candy that she still had, but he slowly shook his head, refusing it. He just came to class every day and submitted his work on time, as I understand it.
A major part of the playwriting class was peer reviews. We would write one-act plays and submit them to an online repository called Blackboard for everyone in the class to read and comment about in class the next day. Typically, the students give their opinions about the plays and suggest ways to make it better, the professor gives his insights, then asks the author to comment about the play in class.
When we read Cho's plays, it was like something out of a nightmare. The plays had really twisted, macabre violence that used weapons I wouldn't have even thought of. Before Cho got to class that day, we students were talking to each other with serious worry about whether he could be a school shooter. I was even thinking of scenarios of what I would do in case he did come in with a gun, I was that freaked out about him. When the students gave reviews of his play in class, we were very careful with our words in case he decided to snap. Even the professor didn't pressure him to give closing comments.
After hearing about the mass shootings, I sent one of my friends a Facebook message asking him if he knew anything about Seung Cho and if he could have been involved. He replied: "dude that's EXACTLY what I was thinking! No, I haven't heard anything, but seriously, that was the first thing I thought when I heard he was Asian."
While I "knew" Cho, I always wished there was something I could do for him, but I couldn't think of anything. As far as notifying authorities, there isn't (to my knowledge) any system set up that lets people say "Hey! This guy has some issues! Maybe you should look into this guy!" If there were, I definitely would have tried to get the kid some help. I think that could have had a good chance of averting yesterday's tragedy more than anything.
While I was hesitant at first to release these plays (because I didn't know if there are laws against it), I had to put myself in the shoes of the average person researching this situation. I'd want to know everything I could about the killer to figure out what could drive a person to do something like this and hopefully prevent it in the future. Also, I hope this might help people start caring about others more no matter how weird they might seem, because if this was some kind of cry for attention, then he should have gotten it a long time ago.
As far as the victims go, as I was heading to bed last night, I heard that my good friend Stack (Ryan Clark) was one of the first confirmed dead. I didn't want to believe that I'd never get to talk to him again, and all I could think about was how much I could tell him how much his friendship meant to me. During my junior year, Ryan, another friend and I used to get breakfast on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Shultz Dining Hall, one of the cafeterias on campus, and it was always the highlight of my day. He could talk forever it seemed and always made us laugh. He was a good friend, not just to me, but to a lot of people, and I'll miss him a lot.
Click on the links below the read the plays. WARNING: the plays contain profanity and scenes with disturbing content.
- Read Play #1: 'Richard McBeef'
- Read Play #2: 'Mr. Brownstone'
Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 689)
16. This guy acted out like this and nobody said anything to the authorities or the teachers? Wow. How many Columbines do we need before somone figures this out?
Mike Lambert at 2:44PM on Apr 17th 2007
17. Wow. Why didnt the teachers or counselors do something? This writing is obviously evidence of someone really disturbed. This tragedy might have been prevented if only someone reached out to this twisted soul.
Lauren at 2:45PM on Apr 17th 2007
18. A new low AOL...I've never posted to anything on the net before because I believe it's a waste, but posting this makes me physically sick. 15 min. of fame for one of your own at the expense of the victims' families. Please take this down.
Jynx at 2:52PM on Apr 17th 2007
19. Stacy,
You say this sounds like a ninth grader...I see her comments are coming from her heart. What would you have liked her to say...maybe use big words, better vocabulary? Have you ever lost a person close to you...obviously not. If you had, you would talk about it with feeling, if you cared that much about that person. I think it's sad to be you.
Barb at 2:47PM on Apr 17th 2007
20. wow, and he didn't get checked out after this? i cant believe noone said anything.
rvjr at 2:46PM on Apr 17th 2007
21. Stacy was talking about the actual play Richard McBeef which does indeed sound like a young adolescent boy wrote it...She was not saying the note written by Ian MacFarlane, was juvenile...The note is what the two of you are referring to...go read the actual play and you will understand
Jessica at 2:47PM on Apr 17th 2007
22. Can anyone confirm the mental capacity of this student? For a college senior- his uses of "name-calling" and word choices are completely incohesive and give a sense that this student may have been mentally challenged. It almost sounds like what you might here from people undergoing psychoanalysis to deal with physical/sexual abuse and reassume their childhood personalities!
amanda at 2:47PM on Apr 17th 2007
23. It's sounds like he has internalized problems with society and expressed his feelings about them through this play.
Paul at 2:55PM on Apr 17th 2007
24. This should have gone straight to a counselor... this is not even close to an acceptable piece of work from someone of his age.
Were they going to let him graduate?
plastic at 2:49PM on Apr 17th 2007
25. I agree. I think a very angry 7th or 8th grader with serious issues could have come up with this. How twisted! And what is the point of the story?...
Jessica at 2:47PM on Apr 17th 2007
26. Kappharmd-
You pegged it. These writings should have been turned into counselors and then a follow-up should have been done on how it was being handled.
Jennifer at 2:49PM on Apr 17th 2007
27. AOL should remove the link. This is tasteless and I will change my homepage to something more appropriate. I can't believe that in linght of what has happened the editors of this website have chosen to make this a headline. Shame on them and shame on those that support them.
David at 4:59PM on Apr 17th 2007
28. "to protect from all threats domestic and foreign..." a week be fore this happened i said these words as i swore in to the navy i can't help but feel helpless because the military is suppossed to protect its citizens he gave signs and we should have said red flag help him but hindsight is always 20/20
Pilotav13 at 2:47PM on Apr 17th 2007
29. hey guys this isnt something to be fighting over. i knew some poeple up there at tech abd its terrible. i hate that some kid would have the nerve to do this i hope that all the familes hurt during this know that there a lot of people thinking about them. may GOD bless your families taht got hurt. Brittney
farminva09 at 2:52PM on Apr 17th 2007
30. OMG! This guy was really nuts. That is not a good piece of writing, especially for any college level student, even with the macabre theme. He must have been filled with rage. I hope his parents are seeking help for themselves-this kid must have been a handful. A lot of students with high IQ's have little, if any social skills. This person sounds like one of those. My prayers are with everyone involved.
Susan at 2:50PM on Apr 17th 2007