Bomb threat deemed no hazard
description: By: Zak Kazzaz Posted: 4/23/07 Early Friday morning, Duke University Police Department received an anonymous bomb threat for Bell Tower Dormitory and another building, which does not exist. The threat-received through a telecommunications device for the deaf-was not found credible by the police, but they investigated the dorm to ensure there was no hazard, said Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs. Bell Tower residents were not evacuated and received an e-mail about the threat several hours later. The incident added Duke to a list of schools and universities across the country that have received security threats since the Virginia Tech shootings a week ago. Although some universities have chosen to evacuate buildings and cancel classes in response to the threats, others have opted to continue normal activities. "Threats are made over the course of the year, and [the police] exercise a judgment," Moneta said. "They have expertise in determining that something's credible or not." He added that DUPD is currently investigating who called in the threat. Some Bell Tower residents said they were wary of how the situation was handled. Freshman Jordan Rice said he saw a police officer searching the dormitory Friday. "We asked him if he needed any help, and he said no," Rice said. "He looked to be in no hurry." Rice added that he was unsure whether or not evacuation would have been necessary. "They deemed it was not credible," he said. "I trust that, but then again, you really don't want to make the same mistake the Virginia Tech administrators made in not closing down classes or, in this case, evacuating a dorm." Joe Gonzalez, associate dean for residential life, wrote in the e-mail sent to the residents that there was no reason for students to feel unsafe. "We do not believe Bell Tower residents have any cause for concern at this time, but we wanted to make you aware of it and encourage extra vigilance on your part," he said. In addition to Gonzalez's e-mail, Mo…
creator: Zak Kazzaz
publisher: Duke Chronicle
date: 2007-06-24
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: David Graham <david.graham@duke.edu>
language: eng

Council hears Duke safety plans
description: By: Eugene Wang Posted: 4/20/07 Executive Vice President Tallman Trask spoke about Duke's emergency response system and Jo Rae Wright, dean of the Graduate School, reported on the future of the school at the Academic Council's meeting Thursday. Paul Haagen, chair of the council and professor of law, said he asked Trask to speak about Duke's preparation for "extraordinary safety-related events," in light of the massacre at Virginia Tech Monday. Duke has the plans, equipment and notification systems in place to respond to emergencies, Trask said. He added, however, that a response system alone may not have been able to prevent the tragedy. "In the current circumstances, I can assure you we have taken all prudent preparatory steps to deal with the circumstances," Trask said. He added it is impossible for the University to notify everyone instantly in the case of an emergency. "We don't know of any communication systems that can get a message to 27,000 people in three minutes," Trask said. He also noted that although the electronic door locks can be instantly disabled, there is no way of instantaneously restricting entry to Duke's campus. "We don't even control access to our campus... there are almost 20 different roads anyone could ride down to get into Duke," Trask said. Some members asked why no mass message was sent to the students and their parents after the massacre at Virginia Tech. "We deliberately decided not to send a message to all parents... because none of us really know what to say, none of us know the facts," Trask said. Council members also discussed if Counseling and Psychological Services has the capacity and strategies to deal with students' mental health issues. "We need to be clearer in instructions about what faculty can and cannot do," Trask said. The council also listened to a presentation by Wright on the "strategic plan" for the Graduate School and the state of the school's finances. She said her goals for the future are like a "three-legged st…
creator: Eugene Wang
date: 2007-06-24
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: David Graham <david.graham@duke.edu>
language: eng

Put grief on the front page
description: By: Anthony Galanos Posted: 4/20/07 The media coverage of the tragedy at Virginia Tech is rewarding insanity and complicating grief. But there are 32 families, and an entire university who are grieving. Not sad, not upset, not disgruntled... but GRIEVING. And how we treat them in this critical period will determine how they cope now and what the legacy of this past week will be for them. Almost as sad as the loss of life is that this American culture acts like it knows not what grieving is. You want to see grieving, find any child 10 years of age or younger and watch them after their dog or cat dies. It is not a profound concept; it does not require a degree in philosophy or theological training. It is a natural process, common to all humanity. Why we ignore it or complicate it, I do not know, but to accent anything at this raw moment but the grief of the people involved is to confuse them-no, is to use them and to make their journey more complicated and more traumatic than it already is. If my 18-year-old daughter were shot and killed in her dorm, and the only way it was described by her college president was as a "domestic situation" because they thought she had dated the shooter, I would be outraged. I would wonder why this man or woman was on TV and not acknowledging my loss. I would wonder why a famous news anchor is blaming him for police matters (my assumption is that most college presidents know little, if anything, about police work) when I just lost my daughter. And, if the task of losing my child were not difficult enough, then I would have to cope with the media, stating without any evidence whatsoever, that perhaps my daughter's life "could have been spared". Now, and forever, that "what if" question would dominate me. It was not random or the product of psychosis. It was someone's fault, or so say the pundits. What would have been a normal grieving process, is now complicated. I was not afraid to grieve, but my grieving may have no end point. As a clin…
creator: Anthony Galanos
date: 2007-06-24
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: David Graham <david.graham@duke.edu>
language: eng

Asians fear alienation, scrutiny
description: By: Anna Lieth Posted: 4/20/07 Days after the Virginia Tech shooter was identified as a Korean-American male by national media outlets, members of Duke's Asian Students Association gathered Thursday night to discuss the possible backlashes the Asian-American community may endure as a result of the gunman's actions. During the discussion, which was sponsored by Counseling and Psychological Services and ASA, students addressed concerns about how aspects of Asian-American culture may intensify frustrations and pressures with which many students struggle on a daily basis. Senior Kevin Fang, outgoing president of ASA, said the event was intended to give students on campus "an opportunity to process all that is going on." "A lot of Korean students at Virginia Tech have gone home," he said. "Although they know that the shooting had nothing to do with race, they feel that there might be some repercussions." The six students present also discussed the national media's coverage of the incident, questioning their decision to identify the race of Cho Seung-Hui, the shooter, and debating the relevance of this information in attempting to understand the motive for his actions. They discussed whether or not the shooter's actions could be explained through his cultural and social identity, and talked about how situations like the one Cho faced can be prevented. Some students shared experiences about other Asian-American students they knew who experienced pressures and feelings of cultural disconnect which led them to lives of isolation and depression. Gary Glass, senior coordinator for outreach and developmental programming for CAPS, said his objective in helping to organize the discussion was to "provide an arena for things to get voiced that aren't often voiced-at least not in any formal capacity." He added that he saw a variety of reactions expressed during the discussion. "If there are voices that if they were more heard would further enrich the campus, then let's create a spac…
creator: Anna Lieth
publisher: Duke Chronicle
date: 2007-06-24
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: David Graham <david.graham@duke.edu>
language: eng

Documentary news?
description: By: Sarah Ball By now, there isn't a soul in the United States who hasn't seen the greasy, glinting forehead of Cho Seung-Hui, the gunman responsible for what broadcast news and the blogosphere are terming "the Virginia Tech Massacre." His grease and his glint are everywhere, above every fold, at the top of every segment of every news program on every channel. Every anchor and every rural Virginia stringer for every paper have started every story this week with that grease, and that man. Then, invariably, they turn it over to us-to the cell phone cameramen, the bloggers, the Facebook status changers. The era of the citizen journalist, age 19, has arrived. This week, in this new era, I watched major news programs become veritable footage Crazy Quilts, with those same borrowed phone shots and MySpace stills casually inter-cut with traditional anchor shots. In establishing a timeline on that fateful Monday, journalists did not simply seek help from the intrepid reporters at Tech's paper, The Collegiate Times. They posted interview requests to message boards, requested footage to be e-mailed or uploaded to websites, scoured community sites like Facebook and MySpace for leads. Fox News, which has outdone itself with glossy infotainment segments and dirge-like piano soundtracks, ran an entirely viewer-constructed package called "You Report" on the day of the shooting. You Report was comprised of cell videos of police cars and evacuating students, as well as transcribed posts from sites like Fark.com and MySpace. When not plumbing the citizen journalist pool for pre-made reporting, Fox itself reported on other ways students were using Internet tech-kids notifying their families of their safety via Facebook, for example, when cell phone lines were clogged. In the absence of order, the cyber chaos both reported the news and was the news. All this is perhaps unremarkable, given the prevalence of digital communication in collegiate life, and the ways in which crisis tends to u…
creator: Sarah Ball
publisher: Duke Chronicle
date: 2007-06-24
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: David Graham <david.graham@duke.edu>
language: eng

Duke's response to VaTech tragedy lacking
description: Editorial Posted: 4/19/07 When news of the Virginia Tech massacre broke Monday, to say that students across the country were on edge is an understatement. The horror and randomness of the event forced students to take a step back and examine their own campuses and ask, "Are we safe?" And members of the Duke community began to question what the safety and notification protocol would be if something of this magnitude occurred here. Many wondered what, if any, steps Duke was taking to tighten security Monday. Those with friends and family at Virginia Tech asked what resources were available for them here on campus. But answers to these queries were virtually impossible to discern. President Richard Brodhead released a statement to The Chronicle late Monday night, which was also published on the Duke News website. In the statement, Brodhead expressed his condolences to the Virginia Tech community and announced an interfaith vigil that would be held Tuesday at the Duke Chapel. But nowhere in the statement was there mention of Duke's own security status. Moreover, while Brodhead said Student Affairs was trying to contact "every student with Virginia Tech connections," there is no way they could identify every student with a "connection." As such, those students with friends or acquaintances at Virginia Tech who the administration did not know about-as well as those simply overwhelmed by the tragedy-were told only that Religious Life staff and the Chapel were available for support. There was no mention of other, non-religious resources, such as augmented, emergency Counseling and Psychological Services, that could benefit all concerned students regardless of religious orientation. Most troubling, however, was the fact that Brodhead's statement was not sent to the Duke community. It was published in The Chronicle, but no one could read it until Tuesday morning, nearly 24 hours after the massacre occurred. And while technically online, the statement was buried on the Duke Ne…
creator: Editorial Staff
date: 2007-06-24
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: David Graham <david.graham@duke.edu>
language: eng

Security, Duke response raise some concerns
description: By: Zak Kazzaz Posted: 4/18/07 Two days after the Monday massacre at Virginia Tech, students nationwide remained on edge Tuesday as more details of the tragedy emerged and additional security threats occurred on several other college campuses. A bomb threat at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville Monday, just hours after the Virginia Tech shootings, caused university officials to evacuate two buildings there. Another threat received Tuesday at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, prompted the university to evacuate buildings and dormitories and cancel the entire day's classes. Although many Duke students said they are not worried about a similar catastrophe in Durham, several said that there are safety concerns for which the University cannot account. "What terrifies me, and what I'm sure terrifies most people, is that it was random," freshman Kate Van Buskirk said. "He just went in and started killing people." Some parents of Duke students also said they have been gripped by fear and anxiety regarding the issue. "I don't know what can happen or what can be done," said Ruth Azimi, parent of a Duke freshman and a Virginia resident. "On campus, everybody can get in, nobody asks for IDs, and now that's kind of scary." John Burness, senior vice president for government affairs and public relations, said Duke is currently evaluating all of its security and response practices. He added that the University is considering a system that can send out a mass text message to all students in case of an emergency. "Let's remind people what's going on, and dust [the emergency systems] off, and make sure they still work," Burness said. Junior Paul Slattery, the incoming president of Duke Student Government, said that text messages, however, might not fully address the issue. "What if a student doesn't have service or doesn't have their cell phone?" Slattery said. The shooter's student status at Virginia Tech makes such an incident very hard to predict since universities pl…
creator: Sara Hood
publisher: Duke Chronicle
date: 2007-06-24
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: David Graham <david.graham@duke.edu>
language: eng

Distraught, Duke asks questions
description: 2 days later, campus still rattled by tragedy By: Kristen Davis Posted: 4/18/07 More than a hundred students, faculty and administrators bowed their heads in silence at 2 p.m. Tuesday, as the Duke Chapel bell tolled 33 times-once for each casualty of the Virginia Tech shootings. The interfaith vigil-which was organized by Craig Kocher, assistant dean of the Chapel and director of religious life-was held at the same time as a memorial service in Blacksburg, Va., to display solidarity between Virginia Tech and Duke. In his reflection, Dean of the Chapel Samuel Wells spoke about the "fragile beauty" of human life and prayed for all those affected by the tragedy. A Buddhist chant of compassion was offered, and Carlisle Harvard, director of the International House, urged students to be sympathetic to Korean students' possible anxiety over the ethnicity of the shooter, who was identified Tuesday. Many Duke students-including some of the more than 500 undergraduates and graduates who call Virginia home-said that in the past two days they have felt the effects of the tragedy in a variety of ways. "Being at Duke, we usually don't have time to deal with personal issues, so it was good to have time to release and vent and have a moment of silence," said Tiffany Scott, a senior from Virginia who added that she was relieved to learn that none of her friends at Virginia Tech had been hurt. Alan Combs, a third-year Divinity School student who is also from Virginia, said his brother-in-law, a freshman at Virginia Tech, used his cell phone to take one of the pictures that appeared on CNN.com. Combs' brother-in-law was not injured in the shootings, but at least one of his friends was killed. Combs, along with several other students, said the events encouraged deeper self-reflection. "[The massacre] reminds everyone of the contingency of our lives, which is not necessarily something to be fearful of, but more of a reminder that I don't control my own life," Combs said. Many students a…
creator: Kristen Davis
date: 2007-06-24
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: David Graham <david.graham@duke.edu>
language: eng

Virginia Tech, our thoughts are with you
description: Editorial Posted: 4/17/07 Horrified silence saturated campuses across the country yesterday, as the death toll at Virginia Tech climbed to at least 32 fellow students. The deadliest mass shooting in United States history can be described only as a true tragedy. To begin, as members of the Duke community we express our sincerest condolences to families and friends of the deceased and wounded and to the entire Virginia Tech campus. Our hearts go out to all of those in the Virginia Tech community and all of the students here at Duke who have been touched by this shocking disaster in one way or another. A tragedy like this makes us pause to reflect upon our own mortality. Days like yesterday-filled with images of bloodied young bodies, terrified faces and drawn guns-bring violence and death close to home. As young men and women now in college, we can only hope (although likely and sadly in vain) to never see a day like this past Monday again. And during such times, there is a very human urge to point fingers-to place blame on administrators for not responding effectively or efficiently. But scenarios like those that played out yesterday are extremely hard to prepare for. Hindsight is 20/20, and we cannot judge the Virginia Tech administrators with the knowledge we now have. We trust they had students' best interests in mind and do so still as they seek to recover from the shock and horror of a day nobody can ever really anticipate. Monday's tragedy does, however, provide an opportunity for Duke's administrators to examine their own emergency response procedures. We depend on Duke administrators to keep us informed when urgent situations arise. Although mass e-mail lists serve great informative purposes, a faster mass communication system must be devised to alert students in times of emergency. Because many students come from differing parts of the country, Duke must also devise a plan to inform families quickly or to make themselves available for inquiries in situations…
creator: Editorial Staff
date: 2007-06-24
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: David Graham <david.graham@duke.edu>
language: eng

32 killed in Virginia Tech massacre
description: 200 miles away, Duke students hold vigil, admins offer support By: Anna Lieth Posted: 4/17/07 After violent shootings shook students and administrators on Virginia Tech's campus Monday, members of the Duke community gathered last night to mourn and come to terms with the tragic events of the day. Just 200 miles southeast of Virginia Tech's home in Blacksburg, Va., Duke students said the news sent a shock wave through the campus. For some, the shock was followed by fear for friends and loved ones in Virginia, but for others fear was displaced by disbelief and worry that a similar event could take place at the campus they call home. And for one group of students, the natural response to the news was to pray. About 30 students gathered on the steps of the Duke Chapel for an emotional vigil and prayer session for the victims of the shooting, their respective families and the gunman Monday night. "[The vigil is] not just to console people, but also to know that there is a community that is here to support people and that as a community we need to act together," said sophomore Ashley Dunfee, who attended the event. "We have a root that we act from and that ultimately should be the source of what we do and where we're going." President Richard Brodhead, in a statement released to The Chronicle, recognized the magnitude of the events at Virginia Tech and emphasized efforts the University is making to reach out to members of both the Virginia Tech and Duke communities who were affected by the tragedy. "This is the deadliest campus shooting in United States history and a profoundly sad day for everyone directly affected-and the nation as a whole," Brodhead said. "On behalf of the entire Duke community, I express my condolences to those who are grieving at Virginia Tech. They are enduring a time of unspeakable loss this evening." John Burness, senior vice president for government affairs and public relations, said Brodhead also reached out following news of the event to Charle…
creator: Anna Lieth
publisher: Duke Chronicle
date: 2007-06-24
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: David Graham <david.graham@duke.edu>
language: eng

Tech in 'riot' mode
description: Shootings stun campus By: Michael Hippchen (11:50 a.m., April 16) While this morning's shootings on Virginia Tech's campus may have come to an end, with one shooter apparently have been captured, things are far from returning to normal on campus. Classes have been cancelled for the remainder of the day and students were told to remain in their dorms with the doors locked. I was walking to my class at 10:10 and I heard six shots fired from the Norris area, which was about 200 yards away. While standing in the middle of the Drillfield, I heard students screaming then running out of the academic buildings across the Drillfield, as well as cops running toward Norris Hall. During the evacuation, the campus was in full-blown riot mode. I did not feel safe at any time that I was out on the Drillfield, as well as when I was walking back to my dorm. My friend, Jordan Littauer, said he didn't know what was going on. "I was sitting in my Econ class, and a girl next to me got an Instant Message saying that cops questioned her roommate about a shooting that happened on her hall," said sophomore Jordan Littauer. "I didn't know shooting was going off at all. I heard students running and screaming all over campus." -- Original Source: Big Lick U - April 16, 2007
creator: Michael Hippchen
date: 2007-06-26
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Chris Winston <Chris.Winston@biglicku.com>
language: eng

In lockdown in Shanks Hall
description: By: Shamus Williams (April 16 -- 11:55 a.m.) I am on campus as we speak and am under lockdown in Shanks Hall, which is located on the opposite side of campus from the shootings. But it is still too close for comfort. I was in class, working on a paper, when I got an e-mail saying that a shooting had occurred on campus. It was about 20 to 25 minutes later when we received word that the gunman was loose and we were on lockdown. It is a pretty scary thing, because of the recent bomb threats and the whole William Morva thing that happened earlier in the year. The students in my class have been pretty calm. Everybody is trying to reach friends and family and let them know that we are OK and that nothing has happened on this side of campus. We have all been sending instant messages trying to find information, and there are plenty of rumors swirling. We are all trying to figure out what is real and what is not. There are plenty of different emotions flying around the room. Some people are trying to make jokes to lighten the mood. Others are trying to scour the Web for information (I would fall into that category). Somehow, others are still trying to get their paper done. I'm definitely not trying to do anything associated with schoolwork with this thing going down. I really think that it will be a long time before we are let off campus, and the longer they keep us in here, the more worried we are all becoming. -- Original Source: Big Lick U - April 16, 2007
creator: Shamus Williams
date: 2007-06-26
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Chris Winston <Chris.Winston@biglicku.com>
language: eng

Released from lockdown
description: By: Shamus Williams (April 16) Well, I'm back safe and sound in my off-campus apartment. It has been a very scary and hectic past couple of hours to say the least. We were released at noon, but it was not an assisted evacuation as we were hearing that it would be. I was a little apprehensive that we were not assisted in leaving the campus, and I was constantly looking over my shoulder. I have never seen so many police officers in my life. There were police cars, ambulances, SWAT vehicles and other emergency vehicles lining every street possible that I could see. There were students running to their cars and it seemed every person was on their cell phone trying to call friends and family. It is definitely a scary time on campus. I am usually not one to worry about these things, but this has surpassed anything that the mind can even fathom. This is probably the most scared I have ever been in my life. The police made things seem somewhat safe, but I'm not sure all the police in the world could have made things seem perfectly safe. -- Original Source: Big Lick U - April 16, 2007
creator: Shamus Williams
date: 2007-06-26
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Chris Winston <Chris.Winston@biglicku.com>
language: eng

A day unlike any other at Virginia Tech
description: By: Amrita Raja (April 16) "April is the cruelest month," wrote T.S. Eliot. He might have been right, I recall thinking, as I watched snow land on flashing police lights this morning. There must have been a reason I flopped back onto my bed after turning off my alarm this morning. As a compulsive email checker, I opened my mailbox at least every other minute as I balanced a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats in my lap. I checked the weather, checked Blackboard and grabbed a shower. Yet in retrospect, even my morning rituals seemed a bit off - and that might have been because I was pulling on a jacket and scarf mid-April. I had a 9 a.m. class today. Like usual, I left my dorm at 8:50 a.m. to walk to Smythe, only a five-minute walk since it's on the residential side of campus. During class we heard sirens wailing around the Drillfield in between the wind's howling, but I chalked it up to another day on a college campus. I lingered to talk to my professor, ignoring the fact that I might be late to my 10:10 a.m. class, all the way across campus. As we stepped outside, the sirens got louder. I smiled at the student walking beside me. "This campus is going crazy," I said. "And I don't think it's just the weather." He grinned and shook his head. Approaching the Drillfield, I couldn't help but note the absurdity of the scene that presented itself. There was the calm, with large flakes floating to the ground, and there, too, was the fear - students running in herds toward the residence halls, backpacks flapping. "There's a guy with a gun on the other side of campus," someone said. "He was in AJ this morning." That was the first I'd heard of it. I needed to get to GBJ, I was meeting a friend there to pick up notes. My cellphone had only a few minutes left to its battery, and I gave him a call. "I don't think I'm going to make it to that side of campus. The cops are yelling at us to get back to our dorms," I rushed to tell him the news. "Let me know if you hear anything." When I go…
creator: Amrita Raja
date: 2007-06-26
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Chris Winston <Chris.Winston@biglicku.com>
language: eng

An abundance of warmth
description: Local knitters will gather Saturday to make blankets for the affected of April 16 By: Amanda Mullins (June 15) When the owner of Mosaic, a local Blacksburg yarn store, first started talking about Hokie Healing, she probably wasn't expecting the knitting project to take off like it did. Gina Bonomo simply reached out to her knitting community, asking for 8-by-8 inch knitted squares that would eventually be sewn into blankets for the families of those killed or injured in the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech. Well, the response turned out to be overwhelming. To date, she and the ladies at Mosaic have received more than 6,000 squares, hand made by knitters in all 50 states and 18 countries. The patterns, designs and colors vary, but the dual message of hope and healing is the same. And the story continues to spread. When I entered Mosaic this past Thursday, News Channel 7 had also dropped by to interview Bonomo, some of her employees and a few of her customers about the project. All were excited - it's hard not to be when surrounded by piles of maroon and orange squares - and were ready to begin making the blankets. On Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the ladies of Mosaic will host a sew-in, of sorts, and everyone is invited. There, Mosaic employees and other volunteer knitters will piece together the first 32 blankets, which will eventually be shipped to those families whose loved ones died two months ago. From there, the ladies will continue to make blankets for those affected by the tragedy until they run out of squares. Even if you've never held a needle in your life, don't be afraid to come on down to the Inn at Virginia Tech. Local restaurants will provide refreshments, and the first 100 people who arrive will receive a goody bag filled with, well, goodies from Starbucks, the Weight Club and other local businesses. Also, a few lucky knitters will receive door prizes, such as hand-knit sweaters, jewelry and autographed books. Finally, a silent auction, whose p…
creator: Amanda Mullins
date: 2007-06-27
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Chris Winston <Chris.Winston@biglicku.com>
language: eng

Inside Norris Hall
description: More than 20 news outlets toured the April 16 shootings site By: Amy L. Kovac (June 14) The cinderblock walls of Norris Hall's second-floor classrooms and hallway are covered with a new coat of cream-colored paint. The classrooms stand bare, save for some newly installed white boards where blackboards previously hung. New doors replaced the ones on classrooms 204, 206, 207 and 211 that Seung-Hui Cho shot through in his violent fit almost two months ago. But if it were not for the dozens of journalists, with their cameras and notepads, roaming the hallway, that second floor might have looked as sterile and uninhabited as any newly renovated building on Virginia Tech's campus. The news media got their first post-April 16 look at this now-infamous building, starting at 10 this morning. Previously, journalists had been blocked from entering Norris. "A horrendous and heinous and horrific crime occurred on our campus and on state property, and I owe it to you as members of the working press to see this," said Larry Hincker, the associate vice president for university relations. "I simply did not want to subject families to images of Norris Hall at that time," he explained. "It was my decision, and I'll take the heat for closing the building at the time." The university has offered each of the families of the victims - the murdered and the injured - the opportunity to tour the building to help in the healing process, Hincker said. So far, 18 families have walked through Norris Hall with university police escorts. The building, where 30 of the 32 people were killed by Cho on April 16, houses several laboratories used by various engineering departments and will reopen to faculty, staff and students Monday. Three of those labs, including the university's only machine shop, were part of the media tour. "Not being able to get in the building has basically shut down what many researchers on campus used," said David Simmons, the supervisor of the machine shop. "It was a big hindr…
creator: Amy L. Kovac
date: 2007-06-27
contributor: Sara Hood
rights: Chris Winston <Chris.Winston@biglicku.com>
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

Candlelight Vigil for VTech tragedy
description: This photo was captured at the Ohio University vigil for the Virginia Tech victims. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465093635/ Photo Courtesy of Cuong Nguyen
creator: Cuong Nguyen
date: 2007-06-28
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission: Cuong Nguyen http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465093635/
language: eng

https://april16archive.org/items/show/611
description: This photo was captured at the Ohio University vigil for the Virginia Tech victims. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465088664/in/set-72157600093950887/ Photo Courtesy of Cuong Nguyen
creator: Cuong Nguyen
date: 2007-06-28
contributor: Chad Newswander
rights: Permission: Cuong Nguyen http://www.flickr.com/photos/bond159/465088664/in/set-72157600093950887/
language: eng