Nikki Giovanni Had Virginia Tech Killer Removed From English Class

Posted on April 18, 2007

Acclaimed poet Nikki Giovanni teaches at Virginia Tech, the site of the worst school shooting in U.S. history. Nikki had the gunman, Cho Seung Hui, in her class and was very disturbed by his behavior and personality. He was so disruptive and so scared the other students that Professor Giovanni had him removed from her class. Nikki was named as one of Oprah's 25 Living Legends and is also an acclaimed prose writer. She's also tough enough not to allow a disruptive student to destroy her popular creative writing class.

Giovanni told the Washington Post that Cho would take pictures of other students during the creative writing class. He also wrote about death. Giovanni also says, "Kids write about murder and suicide all the time. But there was something that made all of us pay attention closely. None of us were comfortable with that."

The sinister poems Cho was writing frightened the other students. Days after having students recite there poems in class seven of Giovanni's approximately 70 students did not show up. She asked the class where the other students were and she was told they were frightened of Cho. She says, "Once I realized my class was scared, I knew I had to do something."

She went to the head of the English Department and wrote a letter demanding his removal from her class. Then, Ms. Roy continued to tutor him. But he terrified her, as well.

Professor Giovanni also told CNN, "I was willing to resign before I would continue with him. It was the meanness."

It is fascinating that a renowned poet was easily able to tell the difference between a normal student writing about suicide and murder and a mentally disturbed student writing about the same subjects. You can read an interesting (pre-shooting) interview with Nikki, in which she discusses her work, here. You can find out more about Nikki and her work here.