1 20 2 Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Brent Jesiek Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gary Downey Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-04 Description An account of the resource Friends, Since a number of you asked to receive further installments, I decided to send this out to everyone who wrote to offer support. I have greatly appreciated it, profoundly so. Yesterday I used the basketball court for stress relief and to connect with another group of friends. One friend, a productive scholar, said he had just arrived at the point of beginning to plan what he might try to accomplish next week. That pretty much described my head as well. I may add entries in coming weeks as thoughts and feelings spiral, but I don&#39;t know. For now I&#39;m done. I look forward to following up individually with each of you. Warmly, Gary Friends, I&#39;m getting too many messages to respond individually. I&#39;m grateful for your concern. Below is a series of messages I&#39;ve been sending out to those who have contacted me. Monday afternoon I and my family are ok. I was in my office 3 buildings away when the mass shootings took place, about 9:45. I didn&#39;t hear the shots. I learned of the lockdown from a loudspeaker announcing an emergency. The 2nd floor of Norris Hall is home to the engineering science and mechanics dept, as well as the dean&#39;s office for the college of engineering. I have many friends in both. I don&#39;t believe anyone in STS teaches in that building. No names have been released. I&#39;m holding my breath. This is beyond comprehension. Love, gary [Note: much later I was reminded that I have taught in Norris Hall many times, in the big lecture hall, on the other end of the building from the shootings. I know the building well.] Tuesday AM: One of the professors killed was my friend, G.V. Loganathan, an Indian man from civil engineering. Last year he won the University&#39;s top award for teaching. His students had written passionately about the lengths he had gone to help them, both in the classroom and beyond. He was in his classroom. I also knew the German instructor, Jamie Bishop, a delightful, unassuming young man. He also taught courses in web design. I was enrolled in one last year as part of what is called here the Faculty Development Institute. Dr. Librescu held the door shut in his classroom to give his students time to jump out of the window. The loss is devastating. Tuesday PM: At the convocation today, a father nearly collapsed and the proceeding stopped while he received care and was helped out of the Coliseum along with his family. Nikki Giovanni, the poet, concluded the event with a wonderfully stirring call for persistence and community--but to me it&#39;s not time yet. All those families. Wednesday AM: I awoke thinking about how what happened here on Monday happens every day in Iraq. The sensationalism in U.S. news coverage is becoming the story. This country seems to know what it is only when it has an enemy. Virginia Tech has lost its innocence. It&#39;s now the object of a broader search for self-definition. Today the word Columbine means one thing. Is that what&#39;s happening to Virginia Tech? Wednesday PM: I&#39;m watching two things, both in others and in myself. On the one hand, a genuine sense of questioning about the decision not to announce that a gunman was at large. I&#39;m glad President Steger asked the governor to appoint a commission to investigate what took place. That strikes me as the right course of action. On the other hand, a sense of being attacked by the deluge of coverage and an urge to join together to fight it off. The intrusion makes it difficult to conceptualize a new sense of community, let alone build it. Thursday AM: My resistance to intrusion has grown. The relentless demands for clarity in the national media have become overwhelming to me. A nation uncertain about its identity lusts for the clarity of evil, identified and exorcised. Those who were complicit must be punished. But for the nation to gain its clarity and regain its self-assurance, we have to be torn apart. I&#39;m watching decent people being challenged to admit fundamental failure, so others elsewhere can relax and resume. For me, the only way out is to accept the ambiguity. I&#39;m just not sure how. Note: Yesterday I deleted an expression of anguish from Monday about the 2 hour delay. At the time, the anguish was my own. But by Wednesday, it had been appropriated by the machinery of external demands for clarity. I had lost possession of it. It no longer said what I meant. It took me till today to understand that. I sent a letter to the Roanoke Times affirming that Virginia Tech is part Korean. Many people feel similarly. Race may not become an issue. Thursday PM: I didn&#39;t want to go to a Department gathering at noon. I thought we might have difficulty coming together. We didn&#39;t. It was a meaningful experience. We helped one another. They are my people. We&#39;re going to gather again on Saturday. I was wrong when I said STS teaches no classes in Norris. One of my graduate students, an international student, teaches a Friday discussion section of Engineering Cultures in 206. That was G.V.&#39;s room. Friday PM: Yesterday I gave a long interview to the Toronto Star. He wanted to discuss the increase in mass shootings. I said it was about increased audience. In part because of the expansion of communications technologies. But mainly because of the dependence of national renewal on finding an enemy we can all share. Doesn&#39;t happen in Canada. I think Montreal was different. They were all women. Today I am at UVA with my son, Michael, hosted by Admissions. Having two kids go here split my identity between my institution and its rival. Today is different. Orange and maroon everywhere. A memorial site where many students are writing letters to Tech students. All stop at noon as the Chapel bell slowly tolls 33 times. I read that many of the candles at Tuesday&#39;s vigil came from UVA. Every time I see the Hoos for Hokies sign, I cry. And I&#39;ve never considered myself a Hokie. I&#39;ve learned this week that I am indeed Virginia Tech. Higher education can no longer be called sanctuary. Virginia Tech is of the world. Our theory must catch up. Saturday One of my daughters, Megan, has flown in. Telephone, email, and obsessive reading had not been enough. She needed to be here. The father of the Blacksburg girl who died wrote an open letter to the community inviting us to cherish the memories we&#39;re creating with our loved ones, for one day that&#39;s all we might have. I bought a Virginia Tech tshirt for the first time. Marta and I hosted a gathering for STS families. Megan, Leah, and Michael did all the work while Marta and I attended the memorial service for G.V. His graduate students called him Gobichettypalayam Vasudevan, his name. We shared the food all had brought. The youngest kids chased our cats. We talked. We laughed. We discussed what to do in class the first day back. Sunday Last night I was told that after killing G.V. and the woman sitting closest to the door, the shooter ordered the civil engineering grad students to put their heads down on their desks. He then put three bullets into each head. In the French class, the shooter left and came back. The wounded teacher tried to hold the door shut with a table, unsuccessfully. I signed the petition supporting Charles Steger and Wendell Flinchum. Tomorrow is the oral defense of a Ph.D. qualifying exam. I&#39;m on the committee. Thursday My biggest difficulty has been accepting the ambiguity. My career is about pursuing ambiguity, confronting ambiguity, wrestling with ambiguity, interpreting ambiguity, constructing narratives about ambiguity. But always ambiguity as object, external challenge, something to figure out. The deep, abiding acceptance of ambiguity is another thing altogether. I&#39;m not so good at that. It came to a head for me yesterday at the crowded memorial gathering for the two faculty and fifteen students in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. Fifteen kids extending themselves past their boundaries, learning another language, led forward by teachers with relentless, sometimes infuriating, enthusiasm. Yet the acceptance of ambiguity just may be serving as the vehicle of new community around here. I&#39;ve always defined community as sharedness that is the product of work, sharedness that assumes initial difference. This week the regular boundaries among us have blurred, if only temporarily, and everyone everywhere seems to be reveling in the joys of simple encounters, recognizing and acknowledging their privilege. A staff member brings her toddler and her dog to the office, to the celebration of all. A dean and a provost feel liberated to openly express and share emotion. The horror is starting to become a thing. It&#39;s not going away, nor will it be explained. Sharedness seems to lie in our diverse struggles to accept. Friday I played basketball today. Lost all three games. It was wonderful. Language A language of the resource eng Title A name given to the resource some thoughts (April 16-27, 2007) account faculty journal reflection story Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jane Lehr Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jane Lehr Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007-05-04 Description An account of the resource On 4/16/07 12:21 PM, "jlehr@vt.edu" <jlehr@vt.edu> wrote: Subject Line: DO NOT COME TO CAMPUS All, please do not attempt to drop off the paper that is due today. I will send an update. BE SAFE. I AM SO SORRY. Please be safe. I hope that you are all okay. Jane Lehr -- Dr. Jane L. Lehr Department of Science & Technology in Society Virginia Tech, Mail Code 0247 Blacksburg, VA 24061 IM/IChat: janengcult On 4/16/07 7:57 PM, "jlehr@vt.edu" <jlehr@vt.edu> wrote: Subject Line: today&#39;s events Students, I am very worried about you all. If you have a moment, and if I have not already spoken with you by IM/phone/email, I would very much appreciate it if you would send me an email letting me know that you are alright. I very much hope that you all are. I wish there were something I could do. And if you wish to talk, etc., if I can be of any assistance, feel free to call at the number below. JL ----- Blackboard Announcement [Posted by Jane Lehr at 1:55 pm] Mon, Apr 16, 2007 -- Papers, etc. Students, your primary responsibility today is to yourselves, your friends, and your family. Please do not come to campus to drop off your papers. You can turn in hard copies on Thursday in class (assuming classes are not canceled). I understand if you are unable to turn in electronic copies by 5 pm. Please just do so as soon as possible. I have spoken with a number of you by IM. I sincerely hope that all of my students are safe, as are your friends. My thoughts are with you. If for any reason you need to speak with me, you can call me at 540-320-5137. You can also reach me by IM/I-chat at janengcult. I also understand that may need to reschedule your online chat. -- Dr. Jane L. Lehr Department of Science & Technology in Society Virginia Tech, Mail Code 0247 Blacksburg, VA 24061 IM/IChat: janengcult On 4/19/07 4:48 PM, "jlehr@vt.edu" <jlehr@vt.edu> wrote: Subject Line: Thu, Apr 19, 2007 -- Procedure for the Completion of the Spring 2007 Academic Semester Dear Students, I can only begin to convey my sorrow and grief regarding the events of last Monday. Like many of you, I have struggled to find words -- and found it a nearly impossible task. My attention is now focused on developing a plan of action for the rest of the semester. You will find a copy of university procedures for the completion of the Spring 2007 academic semester below. I will be posting an updated schedule and list of assignments shortly, for students who wish to complete all or a portion of the Humanities, Technology and the Life Sciences class. Our challenge, as a class, is to determine how, if at all, perspectives and tools we have explored and/or were scheduled to explore in this course can assist us in beginning to imagine the post-April 16th world. We are also encouraged by many to return to &#39;everyday life&#39; and &#39;everyday tasks&#39; -- even though there is nothing &#39;everyday&#39; about the situation in which we find ourselves. Building off of Dr. McNamee&#39;s statement below, I want to emphasize that I recognize that different students will have different needs and desires -- as well as differing abilities to return to campus or to our class. I am committed to a policy and practice of flexibility. I am committed to supporting you in any way in which I am able. I am committed to you and this university. We all are -- amidst all the diversity of this campus and within our course -- Virginia Tech. If you did not attend the convocation, and have not done so already, I strongly encourage you to read the transcript of Nikki Giovanni&#39;s convocation address: http://www.vt.edu/tragedy/giovanni_transcript.php Finally, Governor Kaine has declared Friday, April 20, 2007 a statewide day of mourning for the victims of Monday&#39;s tragedy. In many communities, this will include prayer services beginning at noon. In many cases, these prayer services will be predominantly or fully-oriented within the Christian faith. I recognize that there are some students who either are not involved in a faith community or who do not identify as Christian. I recognize that these students may feel particularly challenged in locating resources or support options. Thus, again, I wish to state that my door is open to all, whether or not you continue in the course; that my door is open to students of all faiths, practices, and philosophies; and that I will work with you to assist you in locating the resources you need, no matter what these are. With much sorrow ... -- Dr. Jane L. Lehr Department of Science & Technology in Society Virginia Tech, Mail Code 0247 Blacksburg, VA 24061 IM/IChat: janengcult On 4/21/07 3:55 PM, "jlehr@vt.edu" <jlehr@vt.edu> wrote: Subject line: Important Update: Humanities, Technology & the Life Sciences Dear Students, In the past day or so, I have begun to reflect on how privileged I am, in a way, that I, as the instructor of 2 Spring 07 classes, have been forced to turn my attention away to logistical considerations. I realize that, to date, I have responded to this tragedy primarily as an &#39;educator at Virginia Tech&#39; -- seeking to track down all of &#39;my&#39; students, feeling immense relief each time I hear from one of you, crying when I read your IM away messages (my poor student from Engineering Cultures who was lab partners with Henry Lee ...), even starting a website for other educators entitled &#39;Teaching After April 16th&#39;. While not yet announced, the wiki section of this site will be located at: http://www.cddc.vt.edu/after.april.16/wiki/ This has protected me, I think, from being overwhelmed by my response to these events as a former student -- as someone who spent 8 years here earning two degrees; as someone who surprised herself while living in London by answering that she was "from Virginia, from Blacksburg, from Virginia Tech" ... As someone who was thrilled when the men&#39;s basketball team was invited to play in the NCAA tournament this year ... How surprising to me, a northeast girl who grew up mainly in PA who eschewed Penn State as an undergraduate college because it was "too big," because it was "too football," because it was "too ..." to find that I, in fact, love this university. That said, I am writing with an update on our course. * We will meet on T Apr 24 at our regular time. I encourage all of you, whether or not you believe you will complete any more assignments, to come to class. * Many of you have already submitted Analysis #2 in Blackboard, and I have received a number of hard copies in my mailbox. If you have not done so already, please, if you are able, bring a hard copy to class when you return. If you have not yet completed Analysis #2, it would be fantastic if I could receive these by F Apr 27th -- however, I am also flexible on this, so please get in touch to discuss. * If you decide to not complete any additional assignments, for most of you your grade will be based on: 1) Blackboard Homepage 1 point 2) Class Lead 5 points 3) Analysis #1 (5-7 pages) 5 points 4) Analysis #2 (5-7 pages) 10 points 5) Online Discussion 1 (IM) (2) 4 points 6) Blog: Reading/Class Discussion Responses 15 points 7) Blog: Film Diary 7.5 points 8) Blog: Participation Journal 5 points 9) Blog: Responses to Cohort Members 7.5 points 10) In-Class Participation 10 points That means that, for most of you, 70 points are currently possible. Some of you may have already posted responses in your blog about one or more cultural event(s). Each cultural event is worth an additional 2.5 possible points. Some of you have not yet done a class lead. If you were scheduled to do a class lead after April 15, your total possible points, to date, are 65. * Remaining Assignments: As you know, you have the option of choosing to complete any or all remaining assignments. These include: 1) Class evaluations: 1.5 points 2) IM Chat 2: 3.5 points 3) Feminist/Anti-Racist Sci-Fi Project: 10 points 4) Analysis #3: 10 points 5) Blog: Cultural Events: 5 points Any additional blog postings will only boost your grade. I encourage you, if you wish, to transform your blog into a site of reflection regarding recent events. They are your blogs -- you own them. Do with then what you will. * Sci-Fi Presentations: On Tuesday, you will have the opportunity to talk with your cohort, if you have not done so already, about whether or not you wish to complete this assignment either as a cohort or individually. So far, I have come up with a number of different completion scenarios. These include: 1) You can choose to present in class on either Th Apr 26 or T May 1; 2) You can choose to present to me (and any other members of our class who want to come) on Reading Day (Th May 3) -- off-campus location TBA; 3) You can create a webpage or powerpoint presentation by Fri May 4, that I will make available/link to on our Blackboard site for other people to look at. * 2nd IM Chat -- again, on Tuesday you can discuss with your cohort. * Current grades: I need to go through all of your blogs as soon as possible to determine your current blog grades. If you have been completing all your required postings and responding to your cohort members, your blog grade will be in the B+ to A+ range. I will do this as soon as possible. I also expect that grades on Analysis #2 will be no lower than a B/B- (based on past work) and that a large number of you will receive As, as was the case with Analysis #1. * Updated reading schedule: Please see Blackboard. If you are scheduled to do a class lead, please let me know as soon as possible if you plan to do so. (If you have not yet done a class lead and are not scheduled, yet want to do one, please let me know, too.) Students, you each are so precious -- I can only begin to imagine the pain and grieving of those who have lost someone close. I am so sorry. I very much hope to see each of you again in class. If you cannot come to class, please remember that you are still welcome to come speak with me. I am so sorry. -- Dr. Jane L. Lehr Department of Science & Technology in Society Virginia Tech, Mail Code 0247 Blacksburg, VA 24061 IM/IChat: janengcult Language A language of the resource eng Title A name given to the resource Emails to VT STS 2154 students dated Mon Apr 16 to Sat Apr 21, 2007 class course email faculty messages students teacher