Misuse of property, outbursts of temper, warnings from co-workers show no “formal discipline for threatening behavior” by VTA employee who killed nine, then himself, on May 26.

Trayvon Martin’s death on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Florida, is a tragedy of epic proportions. I strongly believe Trayvon would still be alive today and attending school in his Miami-Dade County high school if alternative suspension strategies had been the norm in his school district. Every school in every district should take this opportunity to reexamine disciplinary policies that are historically ineffective.