A Student Body Grows Up
By Amie Steele
People say certain events make you grow up overnight. I think that April 16 did that for Virginia Tech.
The world watched the students - and the university - grow up in front of its eyes. A common stereotype of college students is that they are immature and not well-spoken. As cameras were thrust in students' faces, and we were constantly being asked, "How are you doing?" and "Did the university fail its students?" people expected answers such as "Ummm . . . like, yeah, I think [university president] Steger should be fired." Instead, we responded with poise and grace. As we were thrust under a microscope, we transformed from college students to young adults in a few short hours. I strongly believe Tech students broke the mold of stereotypical college students and demonstrated that we are mature adults.
Because of April 16, the student body is much more mature and much more forgiving than it was a year ago. There is a different atmosphere in classes now; students respect their professors and peers more than they did last year. It's also obvious that instructors have much more respect for their students in return.
One of the things that becomes common after tragedies is the talk of people "forgetting." After Sept. 11, you could drive down any road in America, and almost every single house was flying an American flag; every car had an American flag magnet. A few short weeks later, though, the flags and magnets were removed.
Similarly, after April 16, you couldn't drive down a road in Virginia without seeing hundreds of Tech ribbon car magnets. Stores sold out of Tech apparel in record time, and when they got new shipments, couldn't keep them on the shelves. Flash forward a year later, and it's still the same thing. If you walk through any student parking lot on campus, I'd guess that 75 percent of the cars still have ribbon magnets on them. Walking through campus, you see more than half of the student body wearing Tech apparel to class, even outside of game days. I think these outward signs are a testament of the students' maturation over the past year. We are trying to move on, but we have certainly not forgotten.
By Amy L. Kovac |
April 13, 2008; 2:20 PM ET
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Amie Steele
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