Monday, April 16, 2012 Print Edition

april 16, 2012

Time stood still each time Kristina

Anderson heard about another traumatizing school shooting.

Anderson, who was injured in her French class in Norris Hall on the morning of April 16, 2007,

feels a little bit of that pain return each time another shooting terrorizes another school.

“You were immediately taken back to your own experience even though they might be in Illinois or Finland or Ohio,” Anderson said. “Still, you can immediately relate to what happened, and you’re

kind of in disbelief. At first, I started to feel a little bit of fear again. I felt, again, unsafe and scared

and sadness and grief. It’s almost like you relive the Virginia Tech tragedy every time it happens.”

Five years ago, in America’s most deadly school shooting, Seung-Hui Cho took 32 lives on Virginia Tech’s campus and altered many more. Anderson’s was one of them. As the recovery wore on and the

shock subsided, a group of people bound by grief found solace in each other and in a collective mission — making sure others don’t have to experience their pain. by zach crizer

story continues on pages two & three

page two

april 16, 2012

leaving a legacy Many of the families affected by April 16 have channeled their energy into ensuring that others do not have to experience the same pain

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e don’t have a name for ourselves. But caused their daughters’ deaths. when we do come together, that’s what Between the time the suits were filed in April 2009 we talk about,” said Suzanne Grimes, the and last month’s trial, many family members expressed mother of injured survivor Kevin Sterne. concerns about the information the university released “It’s a common bond we share — to make sure nobody about the shootings, and some even said they regretted has to go through this again.” signing the settlement.

The collection of people affected by the shootings They watched anxiously as the families of Erin very rarely meets in any official way. Some families Peterson and Julia Pryde saw the case tried. On March and survivors have chosen to move on with their lives 14, a jury found the university had a responsibility to apart from the shootings. But still, many have become warn students of the danger and ruled in favor of the vocal activists on diverse topics related to the shootings families.

— ranging from gun regulation to mental health and “That whole trial became so important to everybody campus safety laws. and of course we were so very, very grateful for everyGrimes, who in 2008 and 2009 pushed to correct a thing that was done by the Pryde and Peterson attorstate report that contained errors in the timeline of neys,” Pohle said. “We were so grateful for them not events on the morning of April 16, 2007, said the group buying into the charade that those who settled bought appreciates anyone who is trying to make a difference. into.”

“Everybody is very supportive of each other in what Karen Pryde, Julia’s mother, said following the verdict, they are doing, no matter what it is,” she said. “No mat- she and the other plaintiffs were hoping to draw more ter what it is that they’re doing, I applaud their efforts, information about the tragedy out for the public and the because it takes a lot to go out there and do things other families affected. pertaining to April 16 because you relive that day or “We kind of felt like this was really for all of the famiyou realize why you’re doing that. Once you realize why lies, all of the victims and the survivors,” Pryde said. “It you’re doing it and hope it could prevent it, it’s just so was a small victory for them to know the truth got out rewarding.” there.”

The families’ most prominent collective advocacy Many families were interested in the two-week trial, effort is the VTV Family Outreach Foundation. Ken which was heard in Christiansburg, but couldn’t travel Fulmer, the foundation’s executive director, has spent to the area for that length of time to watch the proceedmost of his career working for foundations benefitting ings. But Andrew Goddard, whose son Colin Goddard military veterans. He called the April 16 victims’ fami- was wounded in Norris Hall, attended every day of the lies and survivors “profiles of courage.” trial, taking detailed notes and sending dispatches with “Psychologists say the loss of a loved one is truly life’s his recollections and interpretations to the family memgreatest stress and trauma,” Fulmer said. “It’s something bers over an email list. that just goes on for life. And of course the challenge is “Andy Goddard was a godsend because of the inforto somehow readjust and carry on. mation he provided to all of us,” Pohle said.

“These 175 men and women have overcome extraordiNearly 20 families debriefed each other after the trial nary losses, and they’ve endured this personal suffering. in an hour-and-a-half conference call.

And the first thing they did after Pohle said the ultimate legathe settlement was to say they cy of advocacy for the families wanted to create an endowment would be to end school shootfor the betterment of humanity Once you realize why ings, to “make sure nobody has in colleges and universities in to endure this.” you’re doing it and hope it “It’s a very lofty goal,” he said. this country.”

When the families sat down may be an impossible goal, could prevent it, it’s just so “It with the state to discuss a settlebut it is right. It is right. And the ment in 2008 — a settlement unfortunate reality is that where rewarding. nearly all of the families ended we had talked after Virginia up accepting — S. Daniel Carter, — hoping that a thing Suzanne Grimes Tech a longtime campus safety advolike that wouldn’t happen again Mother of a survivor, on advocating — we realized it’s simply a matcate who is joining VTV as a for campus safety. ter of time, because they’re just staff member, said the families immediately asked to create a going to continue. We want to foundation that could work to be there for people to help them prevent future school shootings. as best we can.”

“I’ve been honored to work with the families since Anderson is one of the survivors trying to be there. very early on in their process of coming together,” While always eager to help, the 2009 graduate was iniCarter said. “I remember one of the first things they tially unsure whether she wanted to immerse herself in were all talking about when we started to get them the waves emanating from the Tech shooting. together was that they wanted to have a lasting legacy in “I’ve been doing speaking engagements since senior memory of their loved ones, and the survivors wanted year at Tech, and after each one there was really great to have a legacy as well. One of the things they said they positive feedback from people,” Anderson said. “And wanted to be able to do was to come together as a group I felt very empowered with the story, and I felt very to form a foundation that would encourage campus positive about it, but that would kind of go away as life safety initiatives.” went on.”

Michael Pohle — whose son Michael Pohle Jr., was Lingering effects of the shootings — such as a fear of killed in Norris Hall — is striving to make college dark rooms and closed doors — still made unwelcome campuses safer. His idea to give students a chance to appearances in her daily life. But Anderson went on to be informed consumers about campus safety is a major create the non-profit Koshka Foundation to improve upcoming program for the VTV Foundation. school safety, empower students to be activists and The program, which would be known as the National build a network of survivors. And over the past year, Campus Safety Index, or 32NCSI, is the foundation’s Anderson said she has devoted herself to the cause. way of “fostering campus safety improvement,” accord“I’ve grown up a little bit more, and I’ve realing to Carter, who will direct the program in his new ized I do want to make this more of my life and role at VTV. my work, in a more open fashion than before,” she “When they told me about the 32NCSI project, it was said. something that got me very excited because it has the When three students died in a February shooting at significant potential really to continue the significant Ohio’s Chardon High School, Anderson was in the propolicy changes we’ve seen since April 16, 2007, with cess of creating a new program for her foundation. The colleges and universities continuing to strengthen their plan, which isn’t yet in place, would help families who commitment to the safety and well-being of their cam- have to travel suddenly as a result of a violent incident. pus communities,” he said.

Anderson initially considered creating a fund to help Meanwhile, Pohle and his family are also working the families financially, but also thinks a traveling supwith U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez — of Pohle’s home port group of survivors like her may be in store. state, New Jersey — to create a proposal that would VTV also leapt into action after the Chardon shootstrengthen and re-focus the powers of the Clery Act — a ing shocked a small town outside of Cleveland. federal law that requires universities to provide students Colin Goddard, who was injured in Norris with timely notices of on-campus crimes. He said he Hall, recently visited survivors of the shooting in is empowered by the support of the other families and Ohio. survivors.

Anderson, Goddard and several other Tech survivors “Quite honestly, it would have been extremely difficult also spent time with surviving victims of the 2008 to really continue forward without the help of everyone Northern Illinois campus shootings, building relationelse, without the input and ability to talk to everybody ships with peers who had experienced similar trauma else,” Pohle said. “We couldn’t have made it without — relationships she said persist today. them.”

The tragedy has led to many unexpected relationships The families have often used their extensive network for Anderson and the others whose lives changed in a to communicate about topics relating to April 16. Two whirlwind of terror five years ago. At the time, they were families that didn’t accept the state’s settlement sued bound by a hallway and a class schedule. Now, they are a the university, alleging university officials’ negligence family of families forged by the ultimate human sadness.

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We will never forget.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE 32

april 16, 2012

page three

forging a family Living with experiences few can understand, April 16 survivors and victims’ families find comfort in each other, move forward together

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ichael Pohle considers the injured surviThat chat with Clay Violand, the only person vors of the Virginia Tech shootings his who was not shot in Jocelyn Couture-Nowak’s children.

French class, helped show Anderson the healing “As parents, we’re very con- power the survivors and victims’ families held for cerned for them,” he said. “We know we won’t each other. be around forever. They’ll be around much “I don’t think I even fully understood longer. And we think about every one of how helpful it was,” she said. “But that was an them.” instant connection, and he helped me get And Lori Haas could see it in his face when she told through that. We’re friends now, but we had him big news regarding her daughter, injured survi- nothing else in common besides being in that vor Emily Haas. room.”

“I can remember telling him that Emily The French class also brought Anderson had gotten engaged and was getting mar- another unexpected connection — Jerzy ried this summer, and how emotional he was Nowak, the husband of her professor who died over that news — how excited he was for Emily,” in the shooting. Nowak, who led the creation of Haas said. “I know that all those parents whose the university’s Center for Peace Studies on the kids were killed are happy that Emily and the other very floor where Cho took his wife’s life, asked survivors are alive and would do anything for Anderson to be president of the student group them.” that was founded alongside Students for Haas said she has seen the family members Non-Violence. who lost loved ones openly embrace and care She said the two of them have formed a for the students who were injured that day. She bond, and although they have never specifialso pointed out the determination of the survi- cally discussed the shooting, she enjoys hearvors — all of whom returned to Tech and earned ing about Nowak’s daughters and the family’s degrees. life.

“They’re constantly asking me, ‘How’s Emily?

Anderson, along with John Welch, started SNV How’s she doing? What does she need?’ They’re when she returned to Tech to complete her degree. so kind and considerate During that time, she had and thoughtful of the surviseveral classes with felvors,” Haas said. “It’s really low survivors and began to remarkable.”

I don’t think I even fully see that they understood She said bonds between her pain. understood how helpful it “If someone came in late, those affected on April 16 formed immediately. Joe was. But that was an instant we would just pause and look Samaha — whose daughter at each other and just take a connection. We’re friends step back,” Anderson said. “If Reema Samaha was killed in Norris Hall — felt compelled was a loud noise outnow, but we had nothing there to organize a way for the famiside — whether it be construclies to do right by their loved else in common besides tion or just someone cleanones. ing up the McBryde Hall being in that room. floor.”

“We know intuitively that our children, profesSince graduation, Anderson sors and survivors, would Kristina Anderson has often found herself meethandle adversity differentA survivor on how bonding with her ing up with fellow survivors or ly,” he said. “There were two families in cities along classmates helped her recovery. victims’ choices. To succumb to our the East Coast. grief or take action in it. As “Lately, I have remembered families of those lost and survivors, we chose the our meeting in Baltimore last October,” she said. “Some latter.” of us went out for dinner and drinks. And that’s when On April 19, 2007, when Samaha and his family left I felt the strongest connection because I look over Blacksburg, he took with him a handful of names and and people are dancing, people were celphone numbers, and using them organized one of the ebrating each other and celebrating knowing first family meetings — 13 family members attended — each other. on June 10, 2007. Samaha is the president of the VTV “They were friends. They were famFoundation. ily. That’s when I felt the strongest. We were In addition to advocating for campus safety and together in the same city and hanging out, working to prevent future tragedies, the foundation catching up.” has offered a place for family members to pour their In addition to celebrating weddings, graduations memories. and advocacy success, the While this family of people April 16 families and survivors bound by tragedy doesn’t live recently faced the loss of a key under one roof, they are buildWe all were so very member. ing a cookbook of family reciRoger O’Dell, father of extremely sad because injured survivor Derek O’Dell pes. Each of the foundation’s monthly newsletters features an active board memhis father, Roger, is one of and a recipe dear to the heart of ber of the VTV Foundation, a victim, survivor or family our family. We do consider died following a battle affected by the shootings. leukemia. Pohle said ourselves truly like family. with “The whole idea of famhe felt deep sympathy for ily bonding and communiAnd we were so, so terribly Derek, who was in German ty sense of pride is a really class with his son five years sorry when we found out. wonderful thing and someago. times doing something as “We all were so very extremedown home and folksy as sharMike Pohle ly sad because his father, Roger, ing a good recipe that your Father of a victim, on the death of is one of our family,” Pohle child enjoyed is a really sigsaid. “We do consider oursurvivor Derek O’Dell’s father, Roger. selves truly like family. And nificant thing to do,” Fulmer said. we were so, so terribly sorry Still, grieving and adjusting to life when we found out. That was a very sad moment for after the tragedy is anything but everybody.” organized.

And while Haas said the April 16 families are part “One thing the families are good at is allowing of a club nobody wants to be in, the family members everyone to be on their own individual path to heal- roundly appreciate the support they have found in ing and showing support when it’s necessary,” Haas each other. said.

“I’d rather know them than not,” Anderson said.

Anderson resisted talking about the shootings for As classes churn on this year, very few Virginia a while, but part of her recovery involved bond- Tech students remain who were on campus in ing with another student who had been in her April of 2007. The shootings changed the direcFrench class that morning during a chance meeting tion of hundreds of lives, but Anderson said the at Gillie’s. family forged in tragedy here is moving forward “On my first trip back to Blacksburg, I ran into together. somebody in my classroom — a survivor — who “Five years later, there are still moments where I was working at Gillie’s at the time, and he basi- think about the shooting and being involved in that.” cally told me that he was afraid and kind of felt Anderson said. “There’s still disbelief that someone taken back every time he heard pots clanging,” she came in and shot my classmates and then someone said. “And I was thinking, ‘Wow, me being afraid shot me. of the dark or being afraid of closed doors isn’t so “People are still grieving, but we’re not here in sadweird.’” ness now. We’re here in solidarity.”

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april 16, 2012

Virginia Tech leads campus safety revolution ZACH CRIZER editor-in-chief When Virginia Tech Police officer Deriek Crouse was shot on Dec. 8, 2011, a police dispatch officer notified the campus community of the incident within 10 minutes.

As students and faculty remained locked in place for several hours, memories of the April 16, 2007, campus shootings rushed back.

But while the feelings of fear and loss may have been similar, the university’s safety procedures during the incident were not. Tech’s reaction during the Dec. 8 shooting reflected a worldwide revolution in campus safety.

“April 16, 2007, was a transformative event — not only for the families of the victims, not only for Virginia Tech, but for campus public safety nationally,” said S. Daniel Carter, a campus safety advocate who starts today as a staff member of the VTV Family Outreach Foundation.

The shift that began five years ago with the tragedy at Tech, and continues with the university on the leading edge, put the spotlight on the safety of university students.

“It became a priority for institutions across the country,” Carter said. “It became a priority for Congress. It became a priority for state legislative bodies. It was something that profoundly transformed the national dialogue on campus safety. And, as a result, the attention focused on campus safety issues. Following April 16, campuses across the country have taken significant steps to become safer.”

— Early on the morning of April 16 five years ago, Seung-Hui Cho shot two students in West Ambler-Johnston Hall. The university, after convening a meeting of top officials in Burruss Hall, notified the campus community of the shootings just minutes before Cho began firing his handguns next door, in Norris Hall.

Cho killed 30 more students and faculty members on the second floor of that building before taking his own life.

The time that passed between the initial shootings and the university’s warning sparked a federal investigation and civil suits against Tech.

On the fifth anniversary of the

tragedy, neither legal battle is settled.

The Department of Education’s investigation was based upon the Clery Act, a federal law that requires universities to provide students timely notifications of crimes on campus. The investigation found that Tech did not comply with two provisions of the law on April 16 and fined the university the maximum $27,500 for each violation.

However, the university appealed, arguing it was being held to a more strict standard that wasn’t clearly defined in April 2007. Earlier this month, a judge ruled the university did not have to pay the fines. Still, the process is expected to continue with an appeal from the department.

The civil suits, filed by two victims’ families that refused a state settlement, alleged that the actions of university officials on the morning of April 16 were negligent and caused the deaths of their daughters in Norris Hall. In March, the families of Julia Pryde and Erin Peterson won their case in Montgomery County Circuit Court. A jury awarded each family $4 million, but state law caps the amount for each family at $100,000 pending appeal. The university and Virginia Attorney General’s office indicated they will likely appeal the case to the Virginia Supreme Court.

But despite continued legal wrangling over the past, the university has made significant changes to its campus safety procedures since 2007.

The police dispatch officer who warned the campus community of the shooting on Dec. 8 used an emergency notification “dashboard” that the university implemented after April 16. Dispatch officers and university officials use the system to activate the VT Alerts system. University spokesman Larry Hincker — a member of the group that wrote the eventual notification on April 16 — said the dashboard allows for faster notifications because it holds prewritten messages for more than a dozen different emergency situations.

“That was our godsend on Dec. 8, that the police dispatchers were able to send that so quickly,” Hincker said. “The first two alerts on Dec. 8 were sent by police dispatch, remaining for alerts came through my office.”

All the officer had to do was

fill in the location of the incident. Then, they sent the message over the VT Alerts system, which includes text messaging, emails, telephone messages and other methods of reaching people who have signed up for the emergency notification system service.

“One of the principals of emergency alerts is you’ve got to have multiple communication channels,” Hincker said. “We have pretty much always had that, but not to the degree and sophistication that we have today — nobody did.

It’s important to point out that nobody had these sophisticated ENS networks that we have today back on April 16, 2007.”

Tech also employs another form of safety system that few universities had prior to the April 16 shootings — a threat assessment team charged with identifying and preventing dangerous situations. Carter previously worked for Security On Campus, an advocacy group focused on campus safety. He said Tech’s team, led

by VT Police Deputy Chief Gene Deisinger, has set the model for other schools.

“This was something that prior to 2007 was a relative rarity on campuses,” Carter said. “Most major four-year residential colleges and universities across the country now have some type of threat assessment or intervention team. It may not be as robust as what Virginia Tech has, but they have something. And that is a perfect example of how, as a result of April 16, campuses are safer.”

Even though Hincker says Tech is already meeting any potential new standards, the result of the civil suit trial could set a precedent in Virginia requiring more of universities when their students face potential danger.

Judge William Alexander’s decision to instruct the jury that universities have a “special relationship” with their students and must take ordinary care to ensure their safety was a turning point in the trial. Over the objections of state attorneys defending the university, the judge said Tech officials had a duty to warn students of any “foreseeable risk” of danger on campus.

Helen de Haven, a professor at John Marshall School of Law who has written about the responsibility universities have to protect their students, said the idea of a “special relationship” already exists in many states, but this case

FILE 2011 / SPPS

On Dec. 8, 2011, officer Deriek Crouse was killed. An alert to the community was released within 10 minutes. sets the precedent in Virginia. She said this legal concept requires certain institutions, such as store owners or landlords to take reasonable care to advise residents or customers of potential danger. “‘Sometimes,’ the court said, ‘You’re like a business invitee,’” she said. “There is a basic fundamental duty of reasonable care in that situation, because I invited you into my store.”

She said all college students likely fit into either a resident role with the university as their landlord or they are “invited” to the campus each day for class. The law professor pointed out that a business such as a hotel could be held liable for a woman being assaulted in the parking lot if there had been a string of assaults in the lot and the hotel did not warn its customers.

Robert Hall, the families’ attorney, argued during the trial that students expected a warning in a situation similar to the one that occurred on the morning of April 16. When convict William Morva killed two people during an August 2006 prison escape, he was sighted near the Tech campus and a warning was sent. Days before April 16, two bomb threats led to campus lockdowns.

A gunman who had been on campus and was unidentified,

Hall argued, was an even more dangerous threat.

“As the danger rises, the duty to warn is enhanced,” he said.

Hall used an article written by de Haven in his attempt to persuade Alexander the university had a duty to warn students any time danger was reasonably foreseeable.

“It’s not required that they predict Norris,” Hall said of the officials deciding whether to send a warning. “It’s the reasonable foreseeability that someone on campus with a gun who has already killed two people might put a bullet in someone else. They took one of the possibilities and said that’s it. The blinders went on.”

Hincker said the ruling doesn’t change anything about how Tech protects its students today.

He said the standards have been strengthened since the April 16 shootings and Tech has taken steps to be a campus security leader.

“There are higher expectations of university campuses today,” Hincker said. “Unfortunately you may not know what needs to be communicated.”

Now, Hincker says the university’s policy is communicate first, then think.

“Once there is a definition of a threat, there is a notification

out to the university community,” Hincker said. “You have to have someone make a decision.”

That decision — acknowledging there is a threat — leads to an alert, which Hincker said must contain instructions, like the ones given on Dec. 8.

“One of the things the whole world has learned about warnings is that people want to know what to do,” he said. “Oftentimes, you’re not going to know what your event is, but our standard protocol — unless otherwise told — is to secure in place. And that’s what we did, we told everyone to secure in place.”

Hincker routinely speaks with university safety officials from around the world to offer insights into Tech’s campus safety protocols and the VT Alerts system. Sitting down to speak with the Collegiate Times late last month, he had a handbook nearby explaining the complex emergency notification system that has been put in place since April 16. He said he had just finished detailing the pieces of that system — in an area of Burruss Hall that still lacks air conditioning — over video conference with a university in the earthquakeriddled city of Christchurch, New Zealand.

“People are looking at us, there’s no question about that.”

Saturday’s events

BY BRAD KLODOWSKI | spps

The Contemporary Dance Ensemble performs “Andaloosia” at the Remembrance Through the Arts Showcase. The showcase is held yearly to honor the memory of the 32 Hokies who were killed on April 16, 2007.

Participants in the 3.2 for 32 Run in Remembrance prepare to embark on a 3.2-mile course to honor the 32 Hokies who were killed on April 16, 2007. They released maroon and orange balloons, as well as 32 white balloons for those lost.

We will never forget.

WE REMEMBER We are Virginia Tech

Downtown Blacksburg Remembers Today we are all Hokies

IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE 32

april 16, 2012

page five

Newman builds amphitheater to memorialize victims Religious community constructs place for students to gather and reflect on each others’ experiences NICK CAFFERKY news editor In honor of the fifth anniversary of April 16, 2007, campus shootings, the Newman House will be dedicating a memorial built in its backyard.

The campus Catholic ministry built a memorial amphitheater that will be used for retreats, presentations or just relaxing in the sun.

“The idea of the amphitheater is this is a place of gathering.

When people gather together, there’s friendship and faith,” the Rev. John Grace said. “And the seeds of friendship and faith are of course are acceptance and love. And that’s what this represents. It’s a gathering place for people. It pushes against alienation. It pushes against fear and it certainly pushes against hate.”

Though it’s not the first project the Newman community has undertaken to pay tribute to the 32 that lost their lives, Grace said this one will have a more lasting impact.

“When I arrived here shortly after April 16, to mark the first anniversary we had a CD called ‘Voices of Hope’ that was composed and performed by all of the students that were here on April 16 that first evening,” Grace said. “I’ve always wanted to have a more permanent marker here as far as remembrance that’s also incor-

porated into the life of what we represent.”

Plans for making this kind of monument have been talked about for a while, but Grace decided to choose this completion date because of its significance.

“The fifth year is just one of those numbers people mark in a special way as far as remembrance,” he said.

“Now, we had the resources and the energy to do this and so we aimed for the fifth anniversary.”

Students volunteered their time during the past month to dig the amphitheater into the steep slope of the hill in which it is built. For students like Mike Bylund, the memorial represents the strength of the community — the very thing that convinced him Tech was the place for him.

“After 4/16 happened, I didn’t want to come here less, I wanted to come here more because I saw the way the community responded,” Bylund, a firstyear graduate student, said.

“That’s what this is all about.

This is a place for us to gather.

Faith, family, love and community — that’s the only way you get through something like that.”

Volunteers placed the finishing touches on the project this weekend, and the Newman community will officially dedicate the memorial today.

MARK UMANSKY / SPPS

Sophomore Nicholas Acosi (left), senior Alex Obenauer (middle) and graduate student Mike Bylond (right) help build the Newman House memorial in the Catholic ministry’s backyard. The amphitheater will serve as a place for people to join together, relax and look back on life.

April 16, 2012 Schedule of Events 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. @ Holtzman Alumni Center Memorial Exhibit and Slide Show

Midnight @ Memorial: Ceremonial Candle Lighting

Noon - 2:30 p.m. @ Norris Hall: Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention Open House

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. @ Johnston Student Center Hallway: Elizabeth Wallace Pastels of 32 Hokies lost

7:30 p.m. @ Memorial: University Commemoration and Candlelight Vigil

10 a.m. - 9 p.m. @ Perspectives Gallery: “Healing Through Art”

11:59 p.m. @ Memorial: Extinguishing of Candle Ceremony

April 16 classes stir debate among Hokie community Today, for the first time in four years, Tech classes will resume; some show support, others disagree CHELSEA GUNTER features editor For those outside the Virginia Tech community, April 16 is another Monday.

Every April 16, most Americans wake up and perform their daily routines — just as they would on a typical day.

And for the first time in four years, the university community will follow suit.

Today marks the five-year anniversary of the April 16, 2007, campus shootings — known to the world as the “Virginia Tech massacre.” Early on that Monday, Seung-Hui Cho, a 23-year-old English major, opened fire on campus, killing 32 people before taking his own life.

Moving forward Each year since the shootings, the university has canceled classes on April 16 for the Day of Remembrance — the day off served as a time for people to honor those lost.

Last year, April 16 fell on a Saturday, so the tradition of no classes continued. But this year, the tradition ends. Students, faculty and staff return to work — striving to return to normalcy, while ensuring they “neVer forgeT.” “You want to be able to remember, but you don’t want to leave a permanent bad scar on the face of the school,” said Colin Goddard, a Tech alumnus and April 16 survivor.

On April 16, Goddard woke up and went to his French class in Room 211 of Norris Hall, along with 16 other students. After hearing gunshots and commotion, Goddard dialed 911 on his cell phone. As Cho entered the room and opened fire, he shot Goddard three times.

Goddard was one of 17 people

wounded on April 16. Today, there is a rod in his left leg and bullet pieces throughout his thigh — fragments of April 16 that will remain with him forever.

After recovering from the wounds in his Blacksburg apartment, Goddard moved forward and graduated in summer 2008.

“I was able to conquer that and put it behind me,” Goddard said.

Today, Goddard travels across the nation to share the “Living for 32” documentary — a film telling Goddard’s story and charting the path of how he overcame the challenges of April 16. When he’s not traveling, he works for Brady Campaign, a non-profit organization that lobbies for gun control.

He has attended the candlelight vigil, as well as the 3.2Mile Run in Remembrance, every year with the exception of a spring semester he spent abroad in France. This year, Goddard will be spending April 16 in Washington D.C., but the events in Blacksburg will be on his mind.

“I think it blends the community. I hope that lives on,” Goddard said.

Impact of April 16 Although the majority of students who experienced April 16 shootings have come and gone, the day remains one of loss and confusion.

The horrific events the Tech community faced half a decade ago have resulted in a negative perception of the school.

However, Hokies — including Sam Riley, a communication professor — beg to differ.

“This is such a quiet and peaceful place. It’s so ironic that we’re famous for this,” Riley said.

“Then after that, we had the guy who cut the girl’s head off and then this senseless shooting of the policeman, so it seems we can’t catch a break.

But still, I’ve never felt unsafe going around anywhere in Blacksburg.”

Bob Holman, a sophomore environmental policy and planning major, echoed this sentiment.

“I think Tech is a pretty safe place actually,” Holman said. “It’s a big school, and it’s unfortunate that some of those things have happened here. Just because of what happened, (Tech) seems to be one of the safest schools around.”

on class,” said Emily Kreer, a junior communication major.

“It’s still pretty fresh in everyone’s minds.”

“

Mixed feelings regarding classes resuming Some students have decided not to return to classes today.

“I can’t say I blame people who would decide to skip out

You want to be able to remember, but you don’t want to leave a permanent bad scar on the face of the school.”

Colin Goddard Tech alumnus, April 16 survivor Kreer will be attending class today, mainly because she has an exam scheduled. However, she didn’t expect classes to ever be held on April 16.

“I think it’s pretty surprising they’re doing it,” she said. “I understand people who were freshmen are not here anymore, but it’s still something that has a major impact on our community.”

After Kreer takes her exam, she plans to attend the candlelight vigil — an event she has not missed since she arrived at Tech.

“I obviously wasn’t here (on April 16, 2007), but I think it’s a really powerful way for everyone in the community to feel connected and comforted in such a hard time,” Kreer said.

Although some students are not ready to face the pressure and emotion of attending class on April 16, others are prepared for the transition.

“I think we should resume,” Riley said. “It’s a good gesture of respect to what they did for a while, but in a sense, if you don’t move forward, the shooter would have kind of won the way I look at it.”

Holman said he supports the university’s decision to resume classes, yet under-

stands why some will stay home.

“It’s been five years, so I guess you have to move on.

I think they should go to class,” he said. “I can understand why you wouldn’t want to come, but it’s kind of like if the whole student body does it together, then it would probably be easier for everyone.”

April 16 will continue to be a day of reflection in years to come, as the Tech community continues to remember and respect those lost, injured and affected — regardless of whether classes are held.

“People are really respectful here, and I really like that about Virginia Tech,” Holman said. “For this next April 16, if everyone recognizes the day — goes on with their day but still recognizes what happened — I think we’ll be OK.”

april 16, 2012

page six

WE REMEMBER Five years ago, the Virginia Tech community lost 32 students and professors who, in various ways, exemplified what it means to be a Hokie. Today, we remember the 32, as well as those who were injured, and embrace our identity as a resilient community.

Ross A. Alameddine

Christopher James Bishop

Brian R. Bluhm

Ryan Christopher Clark

Austin Michelle Cloyd

Jocelyne Couture-Nowak

Kevin. P. Granata

Matthew Gregory Gwaltney

Caitlin Millar Hammaren

Jeremy Michael Herbstritt

Rachael Elizabeth Hill

Emily Jane Hilscher

Jarrett Lee Lane

Matthew Joseph La Porte

Henry J. Lee

Liviu Librescu

G.V. Loganathan

Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan

Lauren Ashley McCain

Daniel Patrick O’Neil

Juan Ramon Ortiz-Ortiz

Minal Hiralal Panchal

Daniel Alejandro Perez Cueva

Erin Nicole Peterson

Michael Steven Pohle, Jr.

Julia Kathleen Pryde

Mary Karen Read

Reema Joseph Samaha

Waleed Mohamed Shaalan

Leslie Geraldine Sherman

Maxine Shelly Turner

Nicole Regina White