As many of you are aware, a devastating tragedy occured at Virginia Tech on Monday, April 16, 2007. A 23 year-old English student, Cho Seung-Hui, shot and killed 32 people then himself. It was the deadliest shooting rampage in United States history.
As details continue to come forth, the biggest question everyone is asking is, "Why?" Why did this young man take so many innocent lives? It is a question that may never fully be answered, an even if it is will not bring conciliation.
Sadly, this is not the first time such a tragedy has occurred. The horrific events of the shootings at Columbine are still fresh to a lot of us. The images of that day were burned into our memory. Many believed evil like that would never surface again, especially at a place like Virginia Tech. But it did, and now 33 people are dead and a campus is left to mourn.
Information on Cho Seung-Hui is slowly being brought to light and it is unfathomable. In short, he was a troubled young man who had many anger issues and showed various signs of violent tendencies. Many people have said they tried to reach out to him and befriend him, but he kept to himself. It makes us wonder, could someone have helped him, and could this terribly tragedy have been avoided?
As some of you know, I am actually from Virginia and am a devoted fan of the Hokies. My brother is an alumni and I can't even count the number of times I have been to that campus. Being only 23 myself, many of my friends still go there. Virginia Tech is a beautiful place, with warm students and wonderful professors. It saddens me that this exemplary school will go down in history for such a terrible event.
Since I am in California, I was not made aware of the shootings until midway through my work day. I received an email from my sister and my stomach immediately dropped. I feared for my friends and prayed for them and their families. Luckily, the people I know are safe, but unfortunately many were not as lucky.
As the campus tries to resume its daily life, and as the families and friends of those mourn, I encourage you to keep your thoughts with all of them and reach out however you can.
In the weeks to come, the news coverage will switch to the politics surrounding the shootings. While it is very important to discuss all aspects of what happened that day, I hope you will remain respectful for the victims and their families.
This tragedy effects our entire nation, and it is up to all of us to take a stand and make sure that something like this never happens again.
Hokie love forever,
AMae
