A Day That Will Always Be Remembered As Tragic...The Massacre at Virginia Tech, My Home

Nearly twelve hours since I became aware of the shootings on campus at VT, it is still a surreal feeling. After driving around campus tonight, the area remains desolate. Only a few cars and a strong police presence fill the atmosphere.

Having your university, your home and the place you love appear on television around the nation and even worldwide is unbelievable. Of all places I would never have imagined that this small town of Blacksburg would experience something so tragic. The most excitement we ever get is ESPN in town for a football game.

This year has proven to be a test of emotions. With escaped convict William Morva's suspected involvement in the murder of two people earlier in the year, the recent bomb threats at campus buildings and now the most tragic killing spree in the history of the United States, it will take a strong community to come through this incident. I believe we can do it.

The list of casualties has not yet been released to the public, so many including myself do not know who has fallen victim. Tomorrow will be a day of tears, consoling, and remembering those whom we have lost. I plan to attend the vigil that is being held tomorrow in Cassell Coliseum, our basketball facility, with many of my friends. This will be an important step towards the healing process. Whether I have lost someone or not, I feel it is important for myself and others in the Virginia Tech community to show their support.

The most unreal part about this for me is, I was on campus when it happened. My class began around 9:00 a.m. It was on the same side of campus as Norris Hall, but near upper quad and not too close to where the shootings occurred. We were able to hear a few shots ring off though. A staff member in the building came to our classroom and told us the building was on lock down. I was there for about four hours until we had heard they had a suspect in custody and it was then that a few of us decided to call our friends to pick us up from a street that was not closed off to the public near the building we were in.

Ironically I was in a Media Writing class and my professor had us all calling around to local authorities, hospitals, students, and many other sources to get updates and information to put on VT's Communication online newspaper, www.PlanetBlacksburg.com. So I was very well informed as to what was going on and as we were sitting under our desks it hit me that this was for real. It wasn't until about 12:00 p.m. that we found out nearly 20 people had been killed. It was then that I realized the seriousness of the incident. We were all getting updates via text, e-mail, instant messenger, and phone calls.

My concern after all of the sorrow begins to lift from the valley here where our campus sits, is that new students, those recently accepted and those considering to attend Virginia Tech in the future, will choose not to come here. Something of this nature could have happened anywhere. Yes, it did happen in Blacksburg in fact, it happened in a dorm room on the exact floor where I lived last year and where my little sister in my sorority and many of my friends live now, but that does not mean that I feel any differently about my safety here at Virginia Tech.

I hope that those who were planning to come to VT before this incident occurred do not change their minds. We have a strong police force here and I always feel safe on and off campus. I fear the national recognition will cause a lot of students to change their mind and that is a mistake. Our 28,000 or so student body may sound large, but in all reality we are a very closely connected community. I would not place any other school above Virginia Tech, nor would I ever consider transferring.

I pray for those who were killed and injured and for their families, this journey has just begun there will be much more sadness tomorrow when the members of the university realize who the victims were. We can only keep them and their families in our thoughts and prayers and wish for the recovery of those whose lives are still at risk in the hospital.