“Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ.” These were words spoken by Cho-Seung Hui, the perpetrator behind the deadly Virginia Tech massacre of 2007, which left 32 people dead. He said them in a video he sent to NBC News just hours before the attack. They are the words of a mad man, but they convey the reality that when such horrendous attacks occur, the media’s coverage lends to the perpetrators attaining celebrity-like status in stark contrast to their victims.

Need proof? Try naming another infamous mass murderer — a name like Charles Whitman or Timothy McVeigh may come to mind. Now try to name one of their victims — you probably can’t.

Whenever a mass tragedy occurs, the first thing the media does is to try to put a face on it — analogous to casting a villain in a horror flick. This makes the killer a star and reserves the victims as merely background actors. This kind of reporting is unconscionable because it detracts from the victims and their families and instead gives attention to the perpetrator, sending a dangerous message about our societal values.

This past summer we felt the terror of two horrifying events in Aurora, Colo. and Oak Creek, Wis. Empathy invokes this terror. We picture ourselves as one of the victims and think of what it would be like to have our own life ended so suddenly. We would want retribution. We would pray that the wicked person responsible would ultimately fail at their ungodly objective and be brought to justice either in this world or the next. At the very least we would want someone to sympathize with us, grieve for us and remember us.

The handling of such crimes should correspond with these sentiments. The identity of mass murderers should never be released publicly. Their names should only be used by law enforcement and those involved with court proceedings. The focus of media coverage should only be on telling the victims’ stories, celebrating what they accomplished and sadly acknowledging what the victims were unable to achieve.

This measure is not just the moral thing to do; it also deters other ticking time-bombs from seeking attention through such evil means. It makes perfect sense when you consider the motivation of most perpetrators.

As was explained in Time’s “Inside a Mass Murderer’s Mind,” the profile of a mass killer almost always coincides with a clinical narcissist — one who has disabling low self-esteem and thus constantly seeks recognition and reward. Because notoriety is the primary objective of most psychotic killers, putting into law that the identities of mass murderers cannot be publicly revealed would be an effective deterrent of future massacres.

There is nothing more gut-wrenching than turning on the news to see something similar to what happened in Colorado and Wisconsin. Such events are horrifying and make us question the very nature of life and humanity. However, when we step back and take in the chaos, we realize that such tragedies are not a true representation of humanity but rather a rare incident resulting from a psychotic outlier.

The real value in these stories is how society is able to unite and persevere over the trauma. The media should spend its energy highlighting this element instead of turning maniacs into celebrities. While it is human nature to be curious, perhaps we can come to the realization that something greater can be achieved by not concerning ourselves with insane individuals and  instead give our respects to the innocent victims.

By doing so, we send the message as a society that there is a clear distinction between being remembered for good and being remembered in infamy. By eliminating the latter, we would better solidify our intrinsic moral code and consequently lead to a more peaceful future.

Andrew is a sophomore in Engineering. He can be reached at [email protected].