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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 688 of 689)
10306. I tried to rewrite the plays into the blog (http://virginiatechkillerplays.blogspot.com/ ). I will also try to translate it o Czech ( http://divadelnihryvraha.blogspot.com/).
bosy at 8:49AM on May 7th 2007
10307. I want to express my opinion about role of advising deans, the college atmospher in general, the overt and covert treatment to students. One must read this report from Cornell http://www.gannett.cornell.edu/downloads/campusIniatives/mentalhealth/AAATFreport2004.pdf
This gives good idea of the treatments towards students and how some cannot deal with the pressures. No one likes to be rejected (asian, american, african ...) The colleges expect all students to be adults at 18. Parents are not informed of academic or non-academic progress. No one cares in the campus. The family is the only one who can help these kids and they are not informed!!!
This happens in schools where tuition is 30K + . The deans don't do their job, they just recite rules. The do not genuinely help ALL kids.
For asians, if more advising deans are asians that does not help either, because the "Asian Advising Deans" are in their own quest for being accepted by the whites and they don't help the asians. THe "White deans" don't help the asians because they expect the students to open up to them They help only those that can communicate to them, when the help should be offered to those that don't communicate.
The tragedy is terrible, but this tragedy could have been avoided.
Sue at 6:49AM on May 8th 2007
10308. Well, although I'm not Korean but I'm Chinese and I read a lil bit about his story. All I gonna say is he probably had strict asian parents and he didn't have that mental ability to take that shit. From what I heard I don't think he did bad academically in school. I think the situation might be like this:
Cho was been bullied and got his ass whooped back in high school. Even his teachers were making fun on him probably. When he went back home his parents picked on him without giving him any constructive suggestion about what to do with the bullies.
I had exact same situation in school b4 (thx to god I dropped out) but my answer is to hang out with all the gangstas (mostly latinos with few blacks in my school) n callin homeboys to jump the bullies. But Cho prolly chose to take it silently (mostly this type of kids are welcomed in Asian families) until the incident of Virginia Tech
Jimmy at 3:29AM on May 8th 2007
10309. And now for the real important question: When will americans learn that guns kill people?
Anderson at 6:14AM on May 8th 2007
10310. get over it.
iheartcho at 11:50PM on May 8th 2007
10311. This is what a psychopath thinks like. Both plays are ways to express his anger towards society, especially teachers. Notice that both of the hated characters are male, which probably means that the male gender is of somewhat an issue for him (like bullying-wise, etc..). I am not going to iterate what other users said about reporting it to the counselor, etc.. but what I want to say is, please be aware of people like him, and help them seek help before its too late.
I deeply mourn for all the 32 innocent killed in the massacre. May their souls forever rest peacefully in the heavens
M at 3:38PM on May 9th 2007
10312. 10293. A moment of silent to pray for all those who is no longer with us. I'd like to share a little story of the cultural diversity with all of you. One of the main reason that make an Asian guy feel left out of a society is RACISM and MAKING FUN OF THEIR PEOPLE. For example, the Hispanic people seeing an Asian guy and call him "CHINO" or CHINESE RIGHT AWAY.
You're doing the same, do not do examples if you dont know if ALL the hispanic do that everytime they see an asian! just say there's a lot of racism and that should be more than okay. But for your info, normally hispanic can relate to anyone as we dont have enemies by race/religion we just have them by knowing them. Bye
KristianY at 4:44PM on May 9th 2007
10313. My cousin was killed at VT. I know that this man had serious mental problems, but I honestly don't see what the big deal is with these plays. I read the comments before I read the play and I was expecting it to be horrible and graphic and sick and twisted. I didn't get that at all. It is a little on the wild side, but something like this should have been reported to counselors? uhh... no... I have read literature that is way more fucked up than this and the authors were perfectly healthy people. all of these comments are gross overstatements. if u had read this, not knowing who wrote it, you wouldve thought it was weird but you wouldnt have flipped a shit like you all are now. the fact is, its over. he's dead. whats the point off bitching about what couldve been done to prevent this? this is just what he wanted, for the world to be talking about him. just forget the motherfucker and focus on the victims.
James S at 5:38PM on May 9th 2007
10314. Language IS the issue here. If this moron wrote like this, showing how underdeveloped he was, then the question should be raised as to how he was ever accepted into such an elite school. There are plenty of disturbed people in the world that are smart enough NOT to kill people. Cho was not one of them. His stumbling grammer and tasteless, thoughtless plot, stock characters, and lack of cohesive ideas prove that to us. Stacy, at the top, simply made an observation. I would defend it. Seung Cho was stupid enough not to figure out another avenue for his destructive tendencies besides ruining lives. He was also stupid enough that this was his best work...and it SUCKS. Worst play in history. Hands Down
andy at 6:45PM on May 9th 2007
10315. mmmkay, and I have to aff that the idea of this problem being centered around race is pretty dumb. People tried to help Cho, people tried to talk to him. They didn't, I'm pretty sure, say "Hey chink fuck!" when they did so.
andy at 6:50PM on May 9th 2007
10316. Bruno, This does not represent an "extraordinary human being." It represents a dumbass. I review the humanity around me with disgust quite frequently, but I do not end their lives as a result. Fuck the question of what's inside his head. Inside his head was nothing, nothing at all.
andy at 12:21AM on May 10th 2007
10317. I tried to rewrite the plays into the blog (http://virginiatechkillerplays.blogspot.com/ ). I will also try to translate it o Czech ( http://divadelnihryvraha.blogspot.com/).
bosy at 8:35AM on May 10th 2007
10318. what a werld we live in
scrotum McDee at 12:01PM on May 10th 2007
10319. Mr. Diversity if you read this again you are a racist jerk. Diversity is a great thing our founding fathers would be proud of us. Just because this guy is Asian doesn't make him different from the kids at Columbine (Americans). Anytime something like this happens you can't blame race. That is the dumbest thing possible. I doubt he was raised to kill people.
SomeGuy at 5:09PM on May 10th 2007
10320. I can't believe school authorities didn't do anything and even his parents maybe they were too busy working to pay attention to this kid...he was screaming for help and attention for many years and nobody did anything..I send my daughter to college everyday with the fear that something like this can happen to her be in the wrong place at the wrong time...and authorities just do something after this for like a month or until the media stops talking about this incident...what a sad thing maybe we parents should found a coalition to prevent tragedies like this
Mexican 27 at 1:41PM on May 12th 2007