2008-04-17T13:18:42Z tag:blog.washingtonpost.com,2008:/vatech-one-year-later/388 Copyright (c) 2008, WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive 2008-04-17T13:18:42Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-17:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/a_little_sports_therapy.html

By Joe Kendall Athletics have always been a unifying force at Virginia Tech, and on the first anniversary of the April 16 shootings, they once again filled that role. A near-record crowd filed into the recently-expanded Virginia Tech softball stadium not to mourn the events from one year ago but to escape them and cheer on their team. Lisa Sherman, sister of Leslie Sherman, a Tech student killed in Norris Hall, threw out the first...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac 2008-04-17T13:26:13Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/trying_to_remember_how_to_be_h.html

By Amrita Raja Today felt a lot like April 17, 2007. There was an air of uncertainty: What are we supposed to be feeling? What are we supposed to be doing? We can't be sad forever, so let us try to remember what it was to be happy. Although that seems like a superficial sentiment, I think it was the one thing that made today meaningful. Remembering to be happy doesn't mean ignoring the reality...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac 2008-04-16T22:32:27Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/a_walk_in_the_garden_to_rememb.html

A quiet moment in the Hahn Horticulture Garden on April 16, 2008 (By Suzanne Higgs) By Suzanne Higgs I've done my best to avoid thinking about April 16th, until today. I didn't go to the 11:45 p.m. vigil last night. I just wasn't ready. I couldn't bring myself to go to the commemoration ceremony this morning either. Last April, that day was cold, snowy and windy, one of the windiest days I've ever experienced...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac 2008-04-16T22:16:52Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/memories_of_leslie.html

By Amrita Raja We were walking into our dorm when I said, "So, we should go swimming sometime." "Well, how about tomorrow?" Leslie asked. "Tomorrow?" "Yeah! The pool's still open on Sundays!" That's how Leslie Sherman, one of the 32 killed on April 16, 2007, and I wound up swimming together on weekends. In between laps, we'd talk about everything from classes to running to the article she'd read about that world-renowned musician in Washington,...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac 2008-04-16T21:42:11Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/sad_but_not_defeated.html

By Austin W.G. Morton I wake up most mornings at the usual time, slump out of bed and begin my normal routine: give a good stretch, check my phone, quick shower and it's off to class, meetings, errands, etc. Today my routine is different. There are no classes to attend, no meetings to sit through and no errands to be run. My phone reads "Wed, Apr 16," and I am immediately transported back to my...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac 2008-04-16T18:45:30Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/a_day_of_remembrance.html

By Shamus Williams It was a beautiful day on campus: sunny and not a cloud in the sky. It is a far cry from the cold and snowy conditions that confronted students one year ago. And like the weather, today was a much more beautiful celebration than the one that was experienced a year ago. It was still a solemn day, though, as students, faculty, staff, alumni and everyone associated with the school gathered to...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac 2008-04-16T16:31:35Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/notes_of_encouragement.html

Mementos sent to Virginia Tech after April 16, 2007, displayed in the Holtzman Alumni Center (By Amrita Raja) By Amrita Raja This morning, I woke up to an inbox with a handful of messages, one of which was from a friend I'd met last summer in France. It had been more than six months since I'd spoken to David, and I was surprised to find his e-mail wishing me "Bon courage" pop up on...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac 2008-04-16T16:34:32Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/support_for_va_tech_president.html

By Shamus Williams In the days following April 16, the national media directed a lot of blame at Virginia Tech president Charles Steger. We students did our best to stand behind our beleaguered president during that time, and that support has not faltered since. Beyond his personal actions that day, Steger was criticized for not showing emotion during his school's darkest days, but what outsiders didn't understand is that he is by nature a stoic,...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac 2008-04-16T14:16:32Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/choosing_safety_over_privacy.html

By Amie Steele Among all the political debates that arose out of the shootings - gun control, mental health legislation, the university's response to violent situations - one important issue has been sent to the back burner: student privacy. In the months following the shootings, several panels started to investigate what had happened and tried to figure out how to prevent it from happening again. The panels had difficulty in their first few meetings, however,...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac 2008-04-16T13:31:37Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/reclaiming_april_16.html

By Shamus Williams Earlier this year, the university decided to cancel classes on April 16 in order to honor the lives lost in the shootings and to allow students a day to grieve. The university made the right decision on this issue, and I hope that officials will consider making it an annual occurrence -- that Virginia Tech will never hold classes on April 16 again. That day has such meaning for the school, and...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac 2008-04-16T08:42:58Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/the_campus_newspaper_a_year_la.html

By Joe Kendall During the week of the April 16 shootings The Collegiate Times newsroom was a whirlwind of work and mourning as staff members juggled their responsibilities as both student and journalists. I remember one evening putting together a page dedicated to the victims and being struck by how surreal it all was. Here we were placing the faces of our fallen classmates and teachers on a page, and we were worried about getting...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac 2008-04-15T18:02:21Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-15:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/coming_to_va_tech_after_the_sh.html

By Austin W. G. Morton For most high school seniors, the month of April is a joyful time of college acceptances and preparation for life away from the nest. The decisions to make and options to weigh are countless: The school with the good football team or the school with the best academics? Laptop or desktop? Red towels or white? However, those who had been accepted into Virginia Tech's class of 2011 had a much...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac 2008-04-15T15:48:08Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-15:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/putting_hope_back_into_the_med.html

By Suzanne Higgs As a budding journalist, I found the national media's behavior last April at best disappointing and in some instances downright shameful. Not only did they completely attack our campus and make it nearly impossible to get around campus or Blacksburg without being accosted, many were completely rude or just pushed too hard. I remember several instances that made me sick to my stomach. During the candlelight vigil on the Drillfield the day...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac 2008-04-15T12:35:09Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-15:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/students_need_a_campus_safe_fr.html

By Shamus Williams In the course of the past year, the debate about gun control in the state of Virginia has intensified. On my campus, it has been even stronger, with both sides hotly discussing whether students should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus. Shortly after the Northern Illinois University shooting on Valentine's Day, it came out that the online gun dealer who supplied Seung-Hui Cho also sold Steven Kazmierczak some gun accessories....Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac 2008-04-15T09:11:26Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-15:/vatech-one-year-later2008/04/getting_the_help_we_need.html

By Joe Kendall In the wake of the April 16 shootings, the killer, Seung-Hui Cho, was often described as "evil," "a lunatic" and "psychotic." Although such terms may have been useful in dealing with the initial rage felt by many, they now serve only to draw attention away from a much larger issue: Calling Cho evil marginalizes him in a way that makes us forget that he was just one of the millions of Americans...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Amy L. Kovac