Students search for answers

BLACKSBURG — On a day that would prove to be the worst in their school’s 135-year history, many Virginia Tech students awoke and went to class oblivious to the events unfolding just buildings away. But as the day wore on, their realization of the tragedy itself and then of its extent would leave them shocked, angry and searching for answers.

...They checked news of the events online and talked with family and friends over the Internet and on their cellphones. Many harked back to the first day of classes in August, when the school was shut down as authorities searched for escaped prisoner William Morva, who is now accused of fatally shooting a security guard and a sheriff’s deputy that day. Others referenced a pair of bomb threats over the past two weeks that temporarily shut down portions of campus.

...But as the day progressed and the death count rose, feelings of fear and panic seemed to grow more pronounced. Informed by news updates and calls from family members, students began to talk about what the day’s events meant to them, their friends and their school.

“I don’t feel safe anymore,” said Michael Kiser, a freshman from Lebanon, Va. “Honestly, we’ve had two people in the campus area with guns [including Monday’s events and the Morva incident], two bomb threats in two weeks. I feel safe when I’m in my room and in my office, and that’s it.”

...on a campus with 26,000 students, everyone expected to be personally touched by the tragedy.

...Senior Liz Hart is one of many students helping to organize memorials for the victims, including a candlelight vigil tonight on the Drillfield.

About 7 p.m. on Monday, she said some students were already pulling out of the initial jolt and looking toward some of the long-term challenges they face.

“We’re at the point where the shock is beginning to wear off and we’re starting to realize that this is a very real situation that we need to get through,” she said.

photo & story courtesy roanoke.com, 04/17/07