Oakland college still reels from shootings

• Tweet

OAKLAND, Calif., April 11 (UPI) -- The president of Oikos University says last week's shootings of seven people may have been fatal to the small California college.

Jongin Kim said this week that the slayings had disrupted classes and stirred up enough negativity to possibly cut into future enrollment.

"Bad publicity is not good," Kim told the Bay Area News Group Tuesday.

Speaking in Korean through a translator, Kim said: "I need help, lots of help. I need lots of encouragement."

Oikos is a Christian school that caters largely to Korean students seeking degrees in nursing and similar trades. Bay Area News Group said it depends primarily on student tuition for its operating budget and averages about 100 students at any given time.

Kim said many Oikos students remained rattled by the whole experience and there was no date for classes to resume. Bay Area News Group said the killings of six students and a receptionist also raised the issue of overall safety at Oikos, which is housed in an Oakland industrial park.