Grace Cathedral Memorial San Francisco Tuesday April 24 2007

During a service in remembrance of the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech, the Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus spoke about how his time at the university. informed his understanding of God. Andrus and his wife Sheila attended graduate school at the Blacksburg, Virginia, campus.

The noon service on Tuesday April 24 2007 at Grace Cathedral was attended by about 70 people, including 20 or so Virginia Tech alums.

Ben Long

2007-05-11

Ben Long

eng

[Untitled]

There are times when the three hour time difference between the East and West coasts is significant in ways one could never imagine. On April 16, this time difference meant that when I arrived at work at 8:00 am the events at Virginia Tech had already occurred, although it would be some hours until a more complete picture about the magnitude of the tragedy became clear. In the days since I have again felt myself to be part of that unique family that is Hokie nation. I have been in contact with roommates, friends, and teachers that I had not spoken with in years. And I have thought a great deal about the meaning and implications of the shootings.

In many ways, this is just part of my normal activities. I work for a research center that examines how forces of global change are transforming security threats that confront states and their citizens. I often spend much of my day thinking about threats and vulnerabilities from terrorism, crime, and infectious disease. But the events of April 16 have presented me with a challenge as I consider the events not only from a security studies perspective, but also as someone who lived in Blacksburg for five years and earned two degrees from Virginia Tech.

A few years ago, the center I work for conducted a project on school safety and emergency preparedness. One of the lessons I came away from the project with was an understanding that school shootings occur in places that seem unlikely, most often suburban and rural areas. In this way, Virginia Tech is like many of the other campuses - California State University at Fullerton, the University of Iowa, San Diego State University, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Virginia Appalachian School of Law, the University of Arizona Nursing College, and West Virginia Shepherd University�that have been victims of shooting incidents. None of these schools are located in areas that spring to mind as particularly dangerous or crime ridden.

Another lesson I came away from our project with is the understanding that school shootings are like many other forms of modern crisis in that they are often over before first responders arrive. In such instances, the real first responders to incidents are whoever happens to be at the location of an incident. The stories that have emerged about April 16 show a remarkable amount of heroism and selflessness. When faced with an unexpected danger, teachers and students responded, often with very little time to consider their situation, to help others and try and reduce the danger they faced.

In the aftermath of the events of April 16, 2007, many people have been trying to make sense of what occurred and asking about the lessons that can be learned from the events. One lesson that seems clear is that geography is no real protection from these sorts of tragedies. As someone who studies security threats, I can see that the events at Virginia Tech make it clearer that on the changing security landscape on which we now find ourselves, people and organizations at all levels of society must ask what they can do to prevent and prepare for events like these. But as someone who spent an important and formative part of my life at Virginia Tech, I am deeply saddened that Virginia Tech will now be among the events we discuss, and that many people's memories of Blacksburg will be of the scenes of tragedy they saw unfold on April 16.

Bryan McDonald
B.A. English (1997)
M.A. Political Science (1999)

Bryan McDonald

2007-05-02

Bryan McDonald

eng

TechSportsBlog.com reaction to tragedy

The following article was originally published at HokieHaven.com: <a href="http://virginiatech.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=664661">http://virginiatech.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=664661</a>

It is also available at TechSportBlog.com:
<a href="http://www.techsportsblog.com/2007/04/17/virginia-tech-tragedy/">http://www.techsportsblog.com/2007/04/17/virginia-tech-tragedy/</a>

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It&#39;s been awhile since my last blog post. Nearly a month, in fact. As a fan, I put a lot of time and energy rooting for my Virginia Hokies on the football field, then on the basketball court, and I needed a break. To get things going again, I was planning on a blog post title "The Off-Season" about how Hokie fans spend their time during the spring and summer before football starts anew in the fall.

Instead of writing about our fans and our football team, I am instead attempting to write about the tragedy that occurred yesterday on the campus of Virginia Tech. This is just a mere attempt, because it is very difficult to find the words to describe the feelings I have experienced since I learned of the magnitude of yesterday&#39;s events.

When I learned of the first shooting, and only one person was reported to have died, my initial thought was that some one got mad at his girlfriend. I was surprised, because shootings just don&#39;t happen in Blacksburg, but I wasn&#39;t shocked, because domestic violence happens all too often.

When the death toll went from 1 to over 20, I am not exactly sure what I felt. I was shocked, but I was also numb. During the early and mid-afternoon hours, it was a very surreal experience watching the story unfold on the internet. It was unfathomable to think that Virginia Tech would be the site of the deadliest shooting in U.S. history.

I went home from work at about 4pm, and I turned on the television. When I saw the images and heard the sounds of yesterday&#39;s events, it started to sink in. One image in particular hit home - it was a picture showing shocked students standing behind the glass doors of one of the entrances of McBryde Hall. I used to work for the Department of Computer Science at Virginia Tech, and my office was on the first floor of McBryde. I used to walk in and out of those doors on a daily basis. It was disheartening to see students watching the tragedy unfold from behind those very same doors.

Last night, my thoughts began to drift back to my days at Virginia Tech, both as a student and as a staff member. There was never a time where I felt unsafe walking around campus or around town. There was never a time where I felt unsafe inside a classroom. For today&#39;s students, they will not feel safe anywhere they go for a long time. I simply cannot imagine what it is like to be a student, faculty, or staff at Virginia Tech right now, let alone to be one of the wounded or one who knows a victim.

College campuses are special places. I like to think that the campus of Virginia Tech is extra special, but everyone feels that way about their alma mater. When I walked around Virginia Tech and Blacksburg during football or basketball weekends, I was reminded of so many good times I experienced during my time there, and I felt a disconnect from the strife of the "real world". There is a youthful innocence that pervades college campuses. It touches everyone there, from the 17 and 18 year old freshmen, to the 60 year old professors who only know life in academia.

Yesterday, that innocence was ripped from the hearts of every Hokie, and it was stolen away from anyone who has spent more than a minute on a college campus.

Since the hours that innocence was taken from us, the Hokie Nation has experienced disbelief, deep sadness, and anger. Many of us are still in shock, and it has started to sink in for others. For too many Hokies, a friend or loved one has fallen.

However, in every cloud there is a silver lining. We have seen an overwhelming outpouring of support from members and fans of other universities and colleges. I have been deeply moved by the well wishes I have seen on our Rivals.com HokieHaven board, TechSideline.com&#39;s Lounge board, as well as TheSabre.com&#39;s The Corner board. I am sure there are many other internet message boards that have similar threads voicing support for the Virginia Tech community.

On behalf of Virginia Tech and the Hokie Nation, I&#39;d like to say "thank you" for keeping our community in your thoughts and prayers. It is comforting to see the kinder and gentler side of the human spirit after such a horrific event.

Vincent Rivellino

2007-04-29

Vincent Rivellino

eng