Remembrance Vigil Crowd

A crowd grows on the drillfield prior to the start of a candlelight vigil on April 16, 2008, A Day of Remembrance.


Photo by Brent Jesiek.

Licensed under Creative Commons
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Brent Jesiek

2008-06-06

Kacey Beddoes

Brent Jesiek (bjesiek@vt.edu)

eng

Preparing for the Remembrance Vigil

Candles are distributed prior to the start of a candlelight vigil on the evening of April 16, 2008, A Day of Remembrance. Norris Hall is visible in the background.


Photo by Brent Jesiek.

Licensed under Creative Commons
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/">Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0</a>

Brent Jesiek

2008-06-06

Kacey Beddoes

Brent Jesiek (bjesiek@vt.edu)

eng

Gathering for the Remembrance Vigil

Crowds gather on the drillfield prior to the start of a candlelight vigil on the evening of April 16, 2008, A Day of Remembrance.


Photo by Brent Jesiek.

Licensed under Creative Commons
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/">Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0</a>

Brent Jesiek

2008-06-06

Kacey Beddoes

Brent Jesiek (bjesiek@vt.edu)

eng

A Day of Remembrance Vigil

Candlelight vigil held on 4/16/08, A Day of Remembrace.

Photo by Kevin Cupp.

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Original Source
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevincupp/2420319380/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevincupp/2420319380/</a>

Kevin Cupp

2008-05-07

Kacey Beddoes

Kevin Cupp (k@vt.edu)

eng

A Day of Remembrance Vigil

Candlelight vigil held on the drillfield on 4/16/08, A Day of Remembrace. Burruss Hall seen in the background.

Photo by Kevin Cupp.

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Original Source
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevincupp/2419501565/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevincupp/2419501565/</a>

Kevin Cupp

2008-05-07

Kacey Beddoes

Kevin Cupp (k@vt.edu)

eng

Anniversary Candlelight Vigil

A candlelight vigil held on 4/16/08, A Day of Remembrance.

Photo by Roger Gupta.

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Original Source:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spector1/2457788161/in/set-72157604566974642/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/spector1/2457788161/in/set-72157604566974642/</a>

Roger Gupta

2008-05-02

Kacey Beddoes

"Gupta, Roger" <ragupta@vt.edu>

eng

The intangible bond between two broken hearts

The post title isn&#39;t an exact quote (because it would&#39;ve been damn hard taking notes while trying to hold a lit candle (and, more importantly, given the windy conditions this evening, keeping it lit) from the remarks of NIU President John G. Peters at tonight&#39;s candlelight vigil at Northern Illinois University to honor the memory of the Hokies who lost their lives a year ago today. But they&#39;re a close approximation: I know he used both phrases in his speech, though I can&#39;t swear that they were that closely connected. Nevertheless, it&#39;s a good description for the relationship that will forevermore exist between our two campuses, our two communities.

We&#39;re both members of a club that nobody wants to join--and would to God that NIU and Virginia Tech were the last two ever given the opportunity to join it. We speak each other&#39;s language: a language that neither of us was looking to learn, and one that both of us would rather we hadn&#39;t had the opportunity to learn at all. But we have learned it, and having learnt it, we cannot--and should not--forget it.

The image is the design of the T-shirts that were handed out to the first 900 people who came to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commons. I&#39;m happy to report that there weren&#39;t any shirts left that I could see, meaning we had at least that many people at the event.

Among them, God love them both, were two Virginia Tech students. They gave up the opportunity to be with their compatriots in Blacksburg at their own vigil today so they could come and support us--even as we tried to show our support for them and their fellow Hokies. Their presence is just the latest in a long line of expressions of support that Virginia Tech and its campus community have offered to us in the wake of our own tragedy two months ago--support for which we are eternally and profoundly grateful, and which we can never truly repay. Somehow, though, I don&#39;t think my Hokie brethren and sistren will mind.

Tonight&#39;s vigil was a concrete and physical reminder of a spiritual reality that my faith tradition has taught for centuries: that we are all one body, one family--and our destiny is to help one another along the road we each must travel from cradle to grave. Yes, Virginia, you are your brother&#39;s keeper--as I am yours. Or, as Jesus told his disciples in Matthew&#39;s Gospel:

Ὅταν δὲ ἔλθῃ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ καὶ πάντες οἱ ἄγγελοι μετ&#39; αὐτοῦ, τότε καθίσει ἐπὶ θρόνου δόξης αὐτοῦ· καὶ συναχθήσονται ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, καὶ ἀφορίσει αὐτοὺς ἀπ&#39; ἀλλήλων, ὥσπερ ὁ ποιμὴν ἀφορίζει τὰ πρόβατα ἀπὸ τῶν ἐρίφων, καὶ στήσει τὰ μὲν πρόβατα ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ, τὰ δὲ ἐρίφια ἐξ εὐωνύμων. τότε ἐρεῖ ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῖς ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ· δεῦτε οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ πατρός μου, κληρονομήσατε τὴν ἡτοιμασμένην ὑμῖν βασιλείαν ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου. ἐπείνασα γὰρ καὶ ἐδώκατέ μοι φαγεῖν, ἐδίψησα καὶ ἐποτίσατέ με, ξένος ἤμην καὶ συνηγάγετέ με, γυμνὸς καὶ περιεβάλετέ με, ἠσθένησα καὶ ἐπεσκέψασθέ με, ἐν φυλακῇ ἤμην καὶ ἤλθατε πρός με. τότε ἀποκριθήσονται αὐτῷ οἱ δίκαιοι λέγοντες· κύριε, πότε σε εἴδομεν πεινῶντα καὶ ἐθρέψαμεν, ἢ διψῶντα καὶ ἐποτίσαμεν; πότε δέ σε εἴδομεν ξένον καὶ συνηγάγομεν, ἢ γυμνὸν καὶ περιεβάλομεν; πότε δέ σε εἴδομεν ἀσθενοῦντα ἢ ἐν φυλακῇ καὶ ἤλθομεν πρός σε; καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐρεῖ αὐτοῖς· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐφ&#39; ὅσον ἐποιήσατε ἑνὶ τούτων τῶν ἐλαχίστων, ἐμοὶ ἐποιήσατε.

Whenever the Son of Man may come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon the throne of his glory: and all the nations will be gathered together in his presence, and he shall divide them one from another just as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep upon his right hand, and the goats upon his left. Then will the Ruler say to those upon his right: "Come here, you who are blessed of my Father; inherit the realm that was prepared for you before the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; thirsty, and you gave me to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked, and you clothed me. I was ill and you looked after me, in prison, and you came to me."

Then the just will reply to him, saying: "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?"

And the Ruler will say to them in answer, "Amen I tell you, as often as you did it for one of these the least of my brothers or my sisters, you did it for me."

--Matthew 25:31-40, my translation from the original Greek

The campus community of Virginia Tech has lived out that Gospel pericope. Tonight&#39;s vigil was one small downpayment on NIU&#39;s attempt to do so. It will not be the last, I&#39;m sure. Nor should it be.

22:13 in NIU, Personal | Permalink

Story by Michael Spires.


Licensed under Creative Commons
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Original Source:
<a href="http://musing85.typepad.com/blog/2008/04/the-intangible.html">http://musing85.typepad.com/blog/2008/04/the-intangible.html</a>

Michael Spires

2008-04-19

Kacey Beddoes

eng

Tragedy sparks memories and change

By Jeff Gilbride/Daily News staff
Daily News Tribune
Posted Apr 15, 2008 @ 12:43 AM

WALTHAM —

A year ago Wednesday, Kalynn Cook&#39;s childhood friend was killed when Seung-Hui Cho opened fire on the Virginia Tech campus.

To mark the first anniversary and to remember her friend, Erin Peterson, the Brandeis freshman from Sterling, Va., planned a candlelight vigil for tomorrow night.

"I&#39;m from northern Virginia and I came up here for school. When it got to be April I knew that the one-year anniversary would be coming up. I looked at the Brandeis calendar of events and I noticed there wasn&#39;t anything scheduled," she said. "I decided to talk to some of my friends who happen to be involved in student activism. They suggested I host an event myself."

Cook said she contacted the student organization Democracy for America, which helped organize the event.

Starting at 7 p.m. tomorrow, students will read a biography of each person killed in the massacre, hold a prayer service and conduct an open forum to discuss the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history.

Cho cut down his victims in two attacks two hours apart before the university could grasp what was happening and warn students. The bloodbath ended with the gunman committing suicide.

Thirty-two individual flames will be lit, one for each of the victims.

"(Democracy for America) handles activism. I went to one of their meetings and they decided to sponsor me. I got some materials from them and I got some advice," she said. "I spoke to Father Walter Cuenin (a Brandeis chaplain) and he&#39;s going to be speaking at the vigil ... it doesn&#39;t just affect the Virginia Tech community, but college communities all over the nation."

Since the killings, Brandeis University officials adopted a number of precautionary measures to ensure the safety of students.

"Certainly Virginia Tech marked a very significant turning point for us wanting to look for as many measures to help best inform people on campus on what to do in the event of an emergency," said Brandeis spokesman Dennis Nealon "It&#39;s all a work in progress to address emergency warning issues."

Nealon said Brandeis officials instituted a number of precautionary communication measures under what is now referred to as the Brandeis Emergency Notification System.

One step was to place towers around campus that serve as warning sirens in case of an emergency.

"The intention of the sirens is to tell people to go indoors and to proceed to get whatever information they need about what the particular emergency is," Nealon said. "Another step was that every land (line) phone on campus was equipped with a small video screen."

Nealon said the video screens can display a written notice or audible message in case of an emergency.

"We&#39;ll inform people that an emergency situation has developed and we&#39;ll tell them what steps to take," he said. "We also have an 80 percent voluntary response from students to our initiative to gather as many cell phone numbers as we could. The university now can send text messages directly to people&#39;s cell phones."

Bentley College in Waltham also uses a similar campus alert system, through a program called "Connect-Ed." Bentley spokeswoman Michelle Walsh said the school collected cell phone numbers from almost the entire college community to send out a text message or voice mail message in case of an emergency.

Walsh said Bentley College had taken most of these precautionary measures before the Virginia Tech massacre. He said the incident caused campus officials to review existing communications and security.

Bentley College has a crisis planning team comprised of staff and students that meets twice a month. The team holds "tabletop drills," in which they map out scenarios of potential emergencies and discuss how to deal with them.

"The crisis planning team meets twice a month and has been well before the Virginia Tech tragedy. Following the tragedy was a review of what would happen if we had an equivalent situation," Walsh said. "I think the most important thing is our crisis planning team works closely with the campus police ... you learn from every school (tragedy). If a school meets regularly, the better prepared they are, no matter what the situation."

Unlike their counterparts at Bentley, Brandeis University Police officers are unarmed, a practice that is expected to change this summer. Last year, Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz announced he accepted a recommendation of an eight-member university firearms panel to equip Brandeis Police with guns.

"An advisory committee (was) formed initially of faculty and students to look at the issue in light of the Virginia Tech tragedy," Nealon said. "That committee gave a yes-vote to the president (that the police should be armed)."

Nealon said the tragedy reignited the topic of arming Brandeis Police, which was discussed randomly in previous years.

"The Virginia Tech tragedy did spur that discussion again," Nealon said. "About 20 officers have been undergoing field and psychological training. ... They are all being certified at the state police academy in Massachusetts."

Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com


Licensed under Creative Commons
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/">Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Generic</a>

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Original Source:
<a href="http://www.dailynewstribune.com/homepage/x818433112">http://www.dailynewstribune.com/homepage/x818433112</a>

Jeff Gilbride

2008-04-19

Kacey Beddoes

eng

NIU to Va. Tech: &#39;We understand what you&#39;re going through&#39;

By Chris Green
RRSTAR.COM
Posted Apr 16, 2008 @ 11:00 PM
Last update Apr 17, 2008 @ 07:38 AM

DEKALB —

Northern Illinois University senior Sonia Salazar said Virginia Tech students put their feelings of sorrow on hold to help the students at NIU heal.

And on Wednesday, Salazar was joined by nearly a thousand other NIU students and staff who wanted to return the support for the students at Virginia Tech.

NIU students and University President John Peters recognized the one-year anniversary of the shooting deaths at the Virginia Tech campus with a candlelight vigil in the Martin Luther King Commons, an outdoor venue in the center of the campus near the student center. One year ago Wednesday, a gunman took the lives of 32 Virginia Tech students and faculty before taking his own. It was the largest such campus massacre in the history of the country.

Peters recalled the initial hours and days following the Feb. 14 slayings at NIU, when five students were shot and killed by Steven Kazmierczak, who also took his own life. He said the entire campus felt "isolated."

"We simply couldn&#39;t imagine that anyone else could understand what we are going through."

Then the phone calls and e-mails came in.

"We understand what you are going through. You are not alone."

Peters said a "collective hand of support" was extended from Blacksburg, Va., to DeKalb.

"They shared openly and lovingly."

The two universities are linked not only in their empathy for one another, but also by an unnerving coincidence.

Green Bay gun dealer Eric Thompson told authorities his Web site, topglock.com, sold two empty 9 mm Glock magazines and a Glock holster to Kazmierczak on Feb. 4, just 10 days before the 27-year-old opened fire in a campus classroom.

Another Web site run by Thompson&#39;s company, www.thegunstore.com, also sold a Walther .22-caliber handgun to Seung-Hui Cho, who shot down 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus before killing himself.

Peters added, "One day, two Virginia Tech students came by my office and surprised me. They gave me a hug. I needed it."

Nolan Owen, 19, a freshman on the university&#39;s football team recruited from California, said he could relate to the surprise visit from the Virginia Tech students.

"After the shootings here, I flew home. I had all my NIU gear with me, and people at the airport and on the plane hugged me. They cared."

David Duma, 22, an NIU senior, said attending Wednesday&#39;s vigil was the least he could do to pay respect not only to the students who lost their lives, but to the Virginia Tech Hokies who are forever united with the NIU Huskies.

"They came all the way from Virgina to be with us."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Staff writer Chris Green can be reached at 815-987-1241 or cgreen@rrstar.com.


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Original Source:
<a href="http://www.rrstar.com/communities/x480408142">http://www.rrstar.com/communities/x480408142</a>

Chris Green

2008-04-19

Kacey Beddoes

eng

VT Candlelight Vigil 4/16/08

Candlelight vigil held on one year anniversary of 4/16. On the drillfield with Burruss Hall in background.

Photo by Roger Gupta.

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Original Source:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spector1/2419674035/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/spector1/2419674035/</a>

Roger Gupta

2008-04-18

Kacey Beddoes

Roger Gupta <ragupta@vt.edu>

eng