Collection of Prayer & Encouragement
description: Ignite-LA, a Southern California young adults ministry shows support for those at Virginia Tech by holding a special memorial service for those who lost their lives on April 16th. This is image of a collection of personal notes of prayer and encouragement, written by individuals in the congregation, that were later sent to Virginia Tech along with a banner that had similar notes written on it. Photo: Raul Moreno Jr.
creator: Raul Moreno Jr.
date: 2007-07-03
contributor: Raul Moreno Jr.
language: eng

'We Are One': C.U. Community Reflects on Va. Tech Tragedy
description: By Lisa Grossman Sun Staff Writer Apr 20 2007 Students, faculty, staff and members of the Ithaca community gathered in Sage Chapel yesterday afternoon to remember and reflect on the recent tragedy at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Despite the fact that the service was held at 12:30 p.m., when many students and faculty are in class, the chapel was packed to capacity, with people pressed against the walls and in doorways. The assembly fell silent as Prof. Annette Richards, music, opened the service with a melancholy and discordant organ solo. The mood remained hushed and somber as W. Kent Fuchs, the Joseph Silbert Dean of Engineering and father of Eric Fuchs, a junior at Virginia Tech, began the speaking portion of the service. Fuchs focused on the connections that Cornell shares with Virginia Tech as a major university, saying that Cornell and Virginia Tech are "part of the same family of students and faculty and staff." Words of hope.Words of hope."The tragedy is particularly difficult to comprehend because ... of the contrast to the love and care demonstrated by the students and faculty at that university. The tragedy is also an enormous contrast to the common mission that we have and that we share in: the joy of learning and study," he said. Fuchs spoke with emotion and even a little humor, saying that "from Eric, I've come to appreciate what it means to have a turkey for your mascot, and to call yourself a 'Hokie,' which my son does with enormous pride." President David J. Skorton echoed Fuchs' emphasis on family and unity, repeating, in tones that might be used to recite a poem, "We are one." "We are one — one community, one people, one planet. We are here today to affirm that oneness," he said. "We share the same sorrow and the same need for comfort and reassurance ... We will stay together, we will go forward together, we will never forget our loss. We are one." Provost Biddy Martin was in Virginia, her native state, visiting her mother…
creator: Sara Hood
publisher: Cornell Daily Sun
date: 2007-07-02
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Jonny Lieberman <jdl46@cornell.edu>, <lieberman.jonny@gmail.com>
language: eng

Reflections on Virginia Tech
description: By Billy McMorris Apr 17 2007 John Manetta Once Told Me In early modern Europe the infant mortality rate was astronomical. Crude medical practices led to a high casualty rate for mother and child alike. In many cases, new mothers would be forced to rely on lying-in-maids to handle maternal responsibilities, while they recovered from the exhausting and traumatic experience of child birth. Lying-in-maids were generally post-menopausal widows, who were unable to mother children themselves. If new- born children were to become sick or die, grieving mothers, in some cases already afflicted with post partum depression, would look for some sort of explanation for why their child did not survive infancy. In some cases, the dazed and depressed mother would come to a genius conclusion: the lying-in-maid was a witch. Accusations were launched against close family friends and next door neighbors ... even the child's grandmother could find herself burned at the stake if she did not make sure that baby survived until the mother could fulfill her maternal role. These infertile women could not use their feminine power to care for the infant, and instead chose to use sorcery to bring about harm. Apparently all one needs is a scapegoat to survive the grieving process. America, however, is no different than these mourning mothers. Any major tragedy is immediately followed with a blame game of epic proportions. Calls for inquiries, hearings, firings and resignations are launched before words of condolence are even expressed. When we as a culture engage in this sort of "dialogue," we take the event away from those who are affected by it, and try to center it around our own vanity. It is perhaps the most despicable thing about our culture; it's even more revolting than a cult following of Paris Hilton. But still, everyone is chiming in on Virginia Tech. The student activists are complaining that, "if it wasn't for Charlton Heston or the 'gun nuts,' this would have never happened." Can't …
creator: Billy McMorris
publisher: Cornell Daily Sun
date: 2007-07-02
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Jonny Lieberman <jdl46@cornell.edu>, <lieberman.jonny@gmail.com>
language: eng

Chabad Responds to Tragedy With Mitzvah Drive: "Hearts to Hokies" Campaign to Begin Friday
description: Joshua Runyan Chabad.edu As a university and nation began the transition from shock to mourning one day after the deadliest shooting attack in American history, the network of more than 100 campus Chabad Houses declared a "Week of Goodness and Kindness" as a way to honor the memory of the slain. The goal of the effort, according to organizers, is simple: to translate the pain of grief into the healing of positive action. Beginning this Friday, Chabad on Campus representatives will be handing out "Hearts to Hokies" pledge cards at the campuses they serve. Students will be encouraged to pledge a good deed in the merit of those lost; the collected cards will be presented later to the students of Virginia Tech. Students and others can also complete an online "pledge card" at www.Hearts2Hokies.com. "This tragedy hits uniquely close to home for college students across America," stated Rabbi Yossy Gordon, executive director for the New York-based Chabad on Campus International Foundation. "Our campaign provides a tangible way to react in a substantive manner. It reminds that grief can be channeled into positive action, and highlights the concept that many small acts add up in a meaningful way." According to Gordon, "we look to our traditions for solace and direction. We recognize the essential human need to do something, to make something good result from tragedy, to attempt to somehow bring balance into the world by increasing in 'senseless' acts of goodness and kindness." In the immediate aftermath of an apparent rampage by a Virginia Tech student, two Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries from elsewhere in the state - Rabbi Yossel Kranz, executive director of the Richmond, Va.-based Chabad of the Virginias and Rabbi Shlomo Mayer from the Chabad House at the University of Virginia - traveled to the site of the attacks to assist with the needs of the students and faculty. And as Mayer and Kranz were busy on Tuesday coordinating the care of a victim's body in accordance with Jewish …
creator: Joshua Runyan
date: 2007-07-02
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Sholom Charytan (SCharytan@Chabad.edu)
language: eng

Reflections of Virginia Tech
description: 06/08/07 Manny Frishberg • JTNews Correspondent On the morning of April 16, Dr. Liviu Librescu, a 76-year-old Holocaust survivor and aeronautical engineering professor, blocked the door of his classroom in Norris Hall at Virginia Tech so that his students could escape through the windows. One month later, on the shloshim of his death, the University of Washington Chabad brought Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe to the UW campus for a memorial lecture in Librescu's honor that looked at, among other things, how his actions should be viewed through a Jewish lens. Shlomo Yaffe serves as rabbi at Congregation Agudas Achim in West Hartford, Conn. and the founding director of the Institute for Jewish Literacy and the founder of the Connecticut Symposium on Contemporary Legal Issues and Jewish Law in Hartford. He is well known for his ability to make Jewish mysticism accessible to people to make use of it in daily life. After studying rocket science and WWII history, Yaffe turned to Talmudic law and Hassidic philosophy. He has written and lectured on the Judaic perspective of contemporary, legal, scientific and social issues. Rabbi Yaffe is also an expert on secular law and legal ethics who serves as a legal consultant and lecturer for the New York Legal Assistance Group. Rabbi Yaffe began his talk with the question: "From the standpoint of Jewish ethics and law, did [Prof. Librescu] do the right thing? He put himself against the door, which someone could, and did ultimately, shoot through and kill him. Was he really supposed to give his life for others? "This is not such a simple question," Yaffe explained, "because if someone's life is no less valuable than your own, then it's certainly no more valuable than your own." He promised to answer that question, but first took an hour-long digression that began with the question of how German society, with its long traditions of scientific and philosophical leadership, could emerge in the 1930s as the author of the Holocaust, one of the most…
creator: Manny Frishberg
date: 2007-07-02
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Joel Magalnick - JTNews (editor@jtnews.net)
language: eng

https://www.april16archive.org/index.php/items/show/652
description: The memorial at the Drill Field near Burress Hall and Norris Hall. Photo Courtesy of Dana Burman
creator: Dana Burman
date: 2007-07-02
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission: Dana Burman dana74@dwburman.com
language: eng

https://www.april16archive.org/index.php/items/show/651
description: Major media outlets interview students, faculty, and staff. Photo Courtesy of Dana Burman
creator: Dana Burman
date: 2007-07-02
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission: Dana Burman dana74@dwburman.com
language: eng

https://www.april16archive.org/index.php/items/show/650
description: Norris Hall has been sealed off as the police conduct its investigation. Photo Courtesy of Dana Burman
creator: Dana Burman
date: 2007-07-02
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission: Dana Burman dana74@dwburman.com
language: eng

https://www.april16archive.org/index.php/items/show/649
description: Message boards filled with comments are stationed on the drill field. Photo Courtesy of Dana Burman
creator: Dana Burman
date: 2007-07-02
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission: Dana Burman dana74@dwburman.com
language: eng

The School Shooter PR Agency
description: Archived with permission of the creator. Original Source: Slowpoke Comics by Jen Sorensen http://www.slowpokecomics.com/strips/shooterPR.gif
creator: Jen Sorensen
date: 2007-07-01
contributor: Brent Jesiek
rights: Jen Sorensen (jen@slowpokecomics.com)
language: eng

Never Again?
description: Lessons learned on the 8th anniversary of Columbine. -- Diane Edbril and Daniel Loeb Yet another American gun massacre, and though the scale is more horrific, it is not surprising. The Virginia Tech massacre is not unlike the Amish schoolhouse shooting in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, late last year. Both of these, while unbearably sad, are hardly unexpected in this country. Our weak gun laws make it a certainty that the United States will continue to suffer recurrences of such preventable tragedies. There is a crying need for Americans to understand - It's about the guns! Phil Goldsmith, President of CeaseFire PA, said "Since the Columbine shooting tragedy it has become even easier to obtain guns, as well as high capacity ammunition magazines. Many states, including Pennsylvania, have passed pre-emption laws that have undermined the ability of local governments to enact stricter gun laws. (Pennsylvania has preempted local regulation of firearms for over a decade.) Concealed carry laws have multiplied. In addition, for the last six years, the US Department of Justice has required the destruction of gun purchase background check records after just 24 hours, a measure that has prevented a comprehensive review of those who may have acquired guns despite falling into a prohibited category." Currently: Most of our states do not require gun owners to be licensed and for guns to be registered. Most of our states have not closed the gun show loophole, so thousands of guns are purchased without background checks. Most states impose no limits on the number of firearms one individual can acquire, making it easy for illegal gun traffickers to supply the criminal element. Many of our states do not update criminal history databases in a timely manner, making it easy for criminals to obtain firearms. Imagine how much worse this tragedy could have been if Cho Seung-hui had been in possession of a military assault weapon as is his "right" now that Congress has allowed the Assault Weap…
creator: Diane Edbril and Daniel Loeb / The Philadelphia Jewish Voice
date: 2007-07-01
contributor: Adriana Seagle
rights: Daniel Loeb (daniel.loeb@verizon.net)
language: eng

Intermediate April 16 memorial planned
description: Tech students are happy with proposed design By: Bryan Schamus (June 7) Virginia Tech released its plans today for an intermediate memorial for the victims of the April 16 shootings, one day after announcing that Norris Hall, the site of 31 of the 33 shootings, would reopen on June 18. The memorial site will be located on the Drillfield, in front of Burruss Hall, where a makeshift memorial sprung up after the shootings. "The university community, and particularly the students, has become attached to this location. It seems only appropriate that we continue this tradition with something more substantive while we begin the process of looking elsewhere on campus for a permanent and fitting memorial to honor the memory and lives of our fallen students and faculty," Tech President Charles Steger said in a press release. Thirty-two small, upright Hokie stones - each etched with the name of one of the victims - will be installed in crushed gravel and surrounded by a semi-circular walking path. Construction is expected to be completed by the time students return for fall semester. Students walking around campus today seemed content with the decision when they saw an artists' rendering of what the memorial would look like. "Wow, that looks nice," and "Very cool" were their reactions when I showed them a copy of the design pictured above. "I personally really like the design," said Sumeet Bagai, a coordinator of Hokies United, the group that helped erect the first temporary memorial on the Drillfield. "I think it affirms the university's commitment to what students want and is more of a permanent version of what Hokies United did." The intermediate memorial and its location were chosen by a committee of about half a dozen Tech community members, including four students. Vice President of Alumni Relations Tom Tillar chaired that committee. Part of the temporary memorial currently on the Drillfield is a 33rd stone with Seung-Hui Cho's name next to it. That stone was not placed …
creator: Bryan Schamus
date: 2007-06-27
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Chris Winston <Chris.Winston@biglicku.com>
language: eng

The Matawan Ribbon Campaign for Virginia Tech
description: When the events of April 16 happened, I was sitting in school, not aware of what was going on. As soon as I got to my eighth period class, which was English 4 with Mr. Lloyd, I sat down and was looking for my pen. A friend of mine walked into class late because he was talking to a teacher. He said, "Something happened at Virginia Tech. 22 people were killed." I looked at him and the entire class looked at me because I am the only one from my high school attending VT in fall 2007. I was upset, but held it together until I got home. Once I got home, I put CNN on and sat down, processing everything that I was seeing on TV and hearing. My world turned into a big blur. I had to do something to make myself feel better. Two hours after I got home, I went to Michaels and bought enough ribbon and pins to make 30 ribbon pins to hand out to anyone who would take them. Two days later, I ran out of ribbons and had to go to Michaels to buy a lot more. I had people asking me for ribbons. Thursday of that week, my school principal authorized me to sell them as a fundraiser, and he bought the first one. I ended up selling or handing out over 100 ribbons and the money totaled $200. I had my school district cut the check and send it down. When I tell people about my fundraiser, it makes me feel good, because I can say that I did my part to help.
creator: Kaitlin Johnsen
date: 2007-06-27
contributor: Kaitlin Johnsen
language: eng

Holocaust Survivor Slaughtered On Yom Hashoah
description: The Jewish community mourns with Virginia Tech. -- Daniel Loeb The deadliest campus shooting in the history of the US occurred on Monday, April 16 at Virginia Tech. The tragic shootings at Virginia Tech happened on the day Jews all over the world observe Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and which is marked in Israel with two minutes of silence, prayer and reflection. The United States Congress has called for a minute of silence on Friday, April 20 at noon, to remember Monday's victims, as well as the millions of other men and women around the world who have died at the hands of armed madmen and criminals. Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and injured 29 more before taking his own life. Ironically, one of the Virginia Tech victims, aeronautics professor Liviu Librescu, was a survivor of the Holocaust. He died while barricading his classroom against the gunman, saving the lives of several of his students through his sacrifice on Yom Hashoah. Librescu, born in 1930 in Ploiesti, Romania, survived the Holocaust in the ghetto of Focsani while his father was interned in the Transnistria labor camp. After the war, he studied Aerospace Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest and Fluid Mechanics at the Academia de Stiinte din Romania. He distinguished himself as a researcher at the Institute of Applied Mechanics, Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Aerospace Constructions of Academy of Science of Romania. However, then Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu did not allow him to emigrate to Israel, however, until Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin personally intervened on Prof. Librescu's behalf in 1978. After making aliyah, Librescu served as a Professor of Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering at Tel-Aviv University. In 1985, he joined the faculty at Virginia Tech where he distinguished himself as the Virginia Tech professor with the greatest number of publications. At age 76, Professor Librescu held the door of his classro…
creator: Daniel E. Loeb / The Philadelphia Jewish Voice
date: 2007-07-01
contributor: Adriana Seagle
rights: Daniel E.Loeb (daniel.loeb@verizon.net)
language: eng

Lektion über die Angst
description: Gregor Hens 20.04.2007 00:00 Uhr Anzeige Während der Übung piepst ein Telefon. Ich werfe einen genervten Blick in die Richtung, aus der der Ton gekommen ist. Es piepst noch einmal - derselbe Student. Ich sehe jetzt, wie er seine SMS liest, und bitte ihn, das Handy auszuschalten. Er sagt, es ist etwas Schreckliches passiert. Er geht raus. Ich mache mit dem Unterricht weiter. In der Pause dann die Nachricht, auf die wir alle irgendwie längst gewartet haben. Dass ein Massaker an einer Universität verübt worden ist, die Rede ist von 28 Toten. Später erfahren wir, dass es mehr sind. Es war nur eine Frage der Zeit, sagt jemand. So etwas musste ja mal passieren. Stille. Irgendwie scheinen wir sehr gefasst. Keiner rührt sich. Aber nein, sagt eine junge Frau in die Stille hinein, diese Amokläufe in den Highschools hatten etwas mit dem Alter zu tun. Mit fünfzehn, sechzehn, da kommt man vielleicht auf solche Ideen. Wegen der Pubertät und so, den Ängsten und Obsessionen der Jugend. Aber an einer Universität, damit konnte niemand rechnen. Ich möchte einwenden: Ihr seid ja selbst noch so jung. Ihr wirkt wie Jugendliche auf mich. Was weiß ich, was in euren Köpfen vorgeht, worüber ihr redet, was ihr für Filme schaut, wie es um eure Hormone steht. Eure Welt ist mir sehr fremd. Ihr riecht wie Kinder. Diesen Gedanken behalte ich lieber für mich. Vielleicht, schlägt jemand vor, sind die Schüler, die vor ein paar Jahren in den Highschools gewesen sind, jetzt einfach im Studium angekommen. Und bringen die Gewalt mit. Eine Art Generation Columbine, die erwachsen geworden ist. Es hat schon mal sowas gegeben, in Texas, sagt einer, der sonst nie etwas sagt. Nichts Vergleichbares allerdings. Ein Typ klettert auf einen Glockenturm, legt an und spielt den Scharfschützen. Fünfzehn Tote. Aber das ist schon lange her. Langsam entsteht so etwas wie ein Gespräch. Der Student mit dem Handy ist wieder da, er hat Freunde an dieser Uni, sagt er. Niemandem scheint etwas passiert zu…
creator: Gregor Hens
date: 2007-07-01
contributor: Adriana Seagle
rights: Gregor Hens (hens.1@osu.edu)
language: deu

https://www.april16archive.org/index.php/items/show/381
description: A child attends the Virginia Tech vigil. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/geeknerd99/464192730/in/photostream/ Photo Courtesy of Daniel Lin
creator: Daniel Lin
date: 2007-06-05
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission: Daniel Lin geeknerd99@gmail.com
language: eng

https://www.april16archive.org/index.php/items/show/379
description: Individuals mourn as they attend the candlelight vigil at Virginia Tech. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/geeknerd99/464196491/in/photostream/ Photo Courtesy of Daniel Lin
creator: Daniel Lin
date: 2007-06-05
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission: Daniel Lin geeknerd99@gmail.com
language: eng

Officers waiting for the President
description: Several police officers (both local and state) are visible and present during the convocation. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndicken/464088526/ Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 2.0
creator: Nathan Dicken
date: 2007-05-30
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission Nathan Dicken http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndicken/464088526/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 2.0
language: eng

Class of 2011 still strong after shootings
description: By: Jennie Tal (May 2) Amanda Blevins is just like any other high school senior. She's excited about getting away from home, meeting new people and just enjoying her college experience. But Blevins won't be just any other college freshman. This fall, the Nelson County native will proudly enroll at Virginia Tech, a university that is still recovering from the most devastating school shooting in modern U.S. history. "I'm not going to give up just because something bad happened," Blevins said. "I figure that if it happened there once, it's not really likely to happen again." Only five students have declined Tech's offer of admissions as a direct result of the shootings that happened on Tech's campus on April 16, said Mark Owczarski, director of news and information for the university. Yesterday was the deadline for students to make their admissions decisions. Even though so few students have openly declined admission because of the shootings, it will be difficult to know exactly how the events of April 16 affected prospective students, said Amy Widner, the public relations coordinator for undergraduate admissions. Usually, students who decline an offer of admission do not provide an explanation, Owczarski said. But this year, hundreds of students declining Tech's offer have telephoned to explain that they did not make their decision based on the shootings. Harrison Mohn, a senior at Fort Defiance High School in Augusta County still plans to come to Tech and major in biology. He hopes to study medicine one day. Mohn chose to apply early decision to Tech and said he didn't think about going anywhere else. He liked the school because it is big, has a pretty campus and is in state. He said he's always wanted to attend Tech and that recent events could not have changed his feelings about the school. "I'm not really worried about it at all," Mohn said. "I think it could have happened anywhere. It's not something that Tech did wrong." Since the shootings, the admissions offic…
creator: Jennie Tal
publisher: Big Lick U
date: 2007-06-28
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Chris Winston <Chris.Winston@biglicku.com>
language: eng

Norris Hall reopening is one step toward healing
description: A student perspective By: Bryan Schamus (June 6) I will admit that I once uttered the statement, "There is no way any student should have to walk through that building again." Norris Hall being "that building" - the site on campus at Virginia Tech where 31 of the 33 people killed on April 16 were shot. But now, almost two months later, I just don't feel that way anymore. When the university announced Tuesday in a press release that Norris will reopen on June 18, I was surprised. But after the initial shock wore off (about five minutes), I was not only OK with it, I realized that I am very glad. A lot of fellow students agree. "I think it's a good decision," said Caitlin Czeh, a 2005 graduate who has lived and worked in Blacksburg for the past two years. "It seemed like it just the right amount of time. A decision now will give students and professors who will be working in that building time to acclimate themselves and prepare themselves for being in there. And it gives those students who won't be in there some closure." As announced, the building will open for office and laboratory use only. It once accounted for 5 percent of the classrooms on campus but will never be used for classes again. I understand that not every student will be ready to return to that now-infamous building. But once again, the university is bending over backward to take care of students; other arrangements will be made for those not wanting to return there. Personally, I feel very comfortable with this decision, especially since the engineering faculty themselves requested to move back in, according to the press release. Many of them had laboratory equipment and other materials necessary to do their research that would have been difficult to relocate or replace. "As someone who was here [at Tech] on April 16, I don't know if I could go back into the building, especially so soon," said Jennie Tal, a 2007 graduate and a fellow BigLickU writer. "But on the other side, while this is a little soo…
creator: Bryan Schamus
date: 2007-06-28
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Chris Winston <Chris.Winston@biglicku.com>
language: eng