sell.com donating all proceeds to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund

As a graduate of Virginia Tech, I wanted to do something positive in response to the recent tragedy. My web company (sell.com) will donate ALL PROCEEDs for the rest of April to the Virginia Tech Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. Go Hokies!

http://www.sell.com/announcements/virginia-tech/

Darren Dittrich

2007-04-25

Darren Dittrich

eng

[Untitled]

My heart goes out to all of the victims who were affected by this senseless tragedy. I don't have a story to share; just my thoughts and hopes that we can begin to heal. This day will be etched into my memory for as long as I can live. I will take with me the courage and inspiration that so many exhibited during these dark days.


God bless

In memory

Forever

Matt Gravely

2007-04-25

Matt Gravely

eng

Shock and Horror

On the morning of April 16 I was in my office at George Mason University recording a podcast with two colleagues. When we came out of our recording session, I sat down to check my email and saw on the news feed that there had been a shooting at Virginia Tech and that as many as 16 people were believed dead.

I could hardly believe what I was reading. How could so many students and faculty be killed in one rampage? Little did I know that I knew only half the story, half the tragedy. As each hour passed we learned more by updating our browsers and each time the number of dead and wounded grew. And each time I wondered if the people I knew there in the History Department were safe? Were the children from my neighborhood who attend Tech safe? Not having names to put with the numbers made the waiting so much more excruciating.

Later that day I saw a former student in our main student union building. From the stricken look on her face, I knew something was wrong. When I asked, she told me that her sister's best friend was among the wounded and had been shot in the leg. We hugged one another for a moment and agreed that this young woman, at least, had been a little bit lucky--she would be one of the survivors.

That night, I had to sit down with my two children, ages 10 and 8, and explain what had happened. Why it was that the free access to handguns in our society made it so easy for someone to carry out such vengeance on those he believed were at the root of his own personal darkness, and why now, perhaps, my boys understood why their father hates handguns so much. I told them about the time I was one of the lucky ones--when the man who had shoved a pistol under my nose decided to run away rather than shoot me. I told them that I never, ever want them to own a handgun as long as they live.

Then I had to explain to them why they didn't have to worry that their father, a professor like those who died at our sister institution in Blacksburg, was in no danger at his job at George Mason. Children need such certainty in moments of crisis.

But was it wrong to lie to them? To tell them George Mason is a safe campus when it is no safer than any other campus in America? Over and over I tell my children that telling the truth is the most important thing. But on April 16 I just wanted them to feel that their father was safe.

And, of course, I was lying to myself for exactly the same reason.

Mills Kelly

2007-04-25

Mills Kelly

eng

A Resolution to support the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Community

Draft of resolution passed by the George Mason Student Senate to support the greater Virginia Tech Community.

Sheila Brennan

2007-04-25

Sheila Brennan

eng

Notice to the Media (Sign)

Sign affixed to doors of Torgersen Hall. By the time that this photo was taken, virtually all buildings on campus had signs like this on all entrances. Photo taken Friday, April 20.

Brent Jesiek

2007-04-25

Brent Jesiek

eng

VT Tragedy - My Account

Originally posted April 16, 2007, 9:03 PM on bluegnu.livejournal.com
<a href="http://bluegnu.livejournal.com/16802.html">http://bluegnu.livejournal.com/16802.html</a>

The day started normal enough - slogged to campus and got to my office around 8:15 AM, and spent the next hour and a half prepping for the class I was scheduled to teach at 10:10 AM. I wasn&#39;t entirely enthusiastic about teaching, as the cold I had been fighting off over the weekend was still hanging on. Around 9:30 AM I got an e-mail indicating that there had been a shooting on campus earlier in the morning. The first message urged caution, and a second message sent around 9:50 AM indicated: "A gunman is loose on campus. Stay in buildings until further notice. Stay away from all windows."

However, I didn&#39;t get the second message before leaving my building (Major Williams Hall) to head over to class. I collected my stuff, dawdled around a bit, tried to compose myself to teach, and finally left the building just before 10 AM. As I exited my building I encountered a student who was coming in - I let him pass through the door first, and didn&#39;t pay much attention to the anxious look on his face. Students often look anxious. But now I have a better sense for why. As I walked the very short distance to Torgersen Hall, I immediately noticed large numbers of students standing around outside and a fair number of police officers on Stanger Street. At first I thought that perhaps Torgersen had been evacuated, especially after bomb threats had closed the building twice in just over a week.

But then I looked across the clearing toward Holden Hall (located directly next to Norris Hall) and saw a line of students running out of a building. It was clear that some sort of evacuation was underway, and as I walked I found myself unsure of whether to head back to my office or try to meet up with some of my students in our appointed classroom. I decided on the latter, and found roughly twenty students hanging out in the room. We chatted on and off for the next little while, especially as new tidbits of information came through over cell phones and the Internet. After 10 AM the building was entirely locked down, and one of the building managers came through to make sure that the one outside door in our room was secure. Students from other classes slowly trickled in, and at some time after 11 AM one student offered to use his account to display a live CNN feed on the room&#39;s large A/V system (this was a large lecture hall with something like 300 seats). Somehow the time passed along, with some students occasionally stepping out for food or bathroom breaks, others watching movies on their laptops, and still others relentlessly looking for information online.

When the word came around noon that the campus was being evacuated in stages - and that those in our building were free to leave so long as they moved away from central campus - the details we had were quite sketchy. Most reports had confirmed one fatality and as many as seven or eight injuries. Another CNN report was indicating that as many as 17 had been injured.

I wished well to a few students and headed back to my office to retrieve my laptop and my lunch. By this time I felt reasonably safe, as it seemed the worst had passed and the mayhem around the building had abated. I followed a small trail of faculty, staffers, and students as they made their way toward the Schulz parking lot, where I found my truck and started home. Just on the other side of Main Street I heard a report on the local college station, WUVT, that as many as 20 had been confirmed dead, at least according to a press conference. I was skeptical, shocked, and dazed, and after getting home found that this grim report was indeed true. Little did we know that the total number of fatalities would climb to 33 by the end of the day.

At this point, I am not aware of any close friends or colleagues who were in Norris Hall at the time of the shooting. But I have since learned that one faculty member, whose office I regularly walk by, was likely among the victims. I didn&#39;t know him, but it really is profoundly sad to think that I had seen him working away in his office just a few days prior. Tomorrow we will likely find out whether any of the students in our ~120 student class were among the victims. And then, of course, there may be victims among the many former students who I have had the privilege of working with. We are already starting to brace for when we must next set foot in the classroom and dealing with this tragedy. The remainder of the semester will not be easy here.

I know not what lies ahead, but hope that this community can come together and find some way forward, out of this mess. For those outside of the community, please be thinking of us. We need all of the positive energy you can spare.

--

UPDATE for April 16 Archive (4/25/07)

After the names and biographies of the deceased were released, I realized that I did know the German instructor. Jamie Bishop&#39;s office is two floors down from mine, and I first met him a year or two ago when we were both working in Torgersen Hall. In fact, we had many mutual colleagues over there. I didn&#39;t know him well, but I remember him as a kind and friendly individual. Learning that Jamie was among the victims made this tragedy that much more personal for me. My heart goes out to his family and friends.

Brent Jesiek

2007-04-25

Brent Jesiek

eng

[Untitled]

(April 20, 2007) Ribbon affixed to William Addison Caldwell statue. Caldwell was one of Virginia Tech&#39;s first students. Looking toward Norris Hall.

Brent Jesiek

2007-04-24

Brent Jesiek

eng

[Untitled]

Flowers left by Mason students after a vigil in memory of the fallen at VT.

Sheila Brennan

2007-04-24

Sheila Brennan

eng

[Untitled]

Wreath of condolences from Mason to VT.

Sheila Brennan

2007-04-24

Sheila Brennan

eng

[Untitled]

Statue of George Mason dressed in VT colors and t-shirt. A vigil on Thursday April 19, 2007 was held on campus, directly behind the statue of Mason, to express unity with another VA university.

Sheila Brennan

2007-04-24

Sheila Brennan

eng