Is there something wrong with Virginia Tech?

After the shootings on 4/16, 2007, though the question was asked, the expected answer was already known: of course not, it was a random act of violence by a very sick individual.

Many times during the last few months a similar scene has played out in my life: I'm at a dinner party with extended family, or back home visiting with the family of an old high school friend. At the end of the evening, someone who may or may not know of my specific connection with the events pulls me aside and quietly asks "So, how is the campus doing?" I explain that while it will never be the same, things are back to the way they used to be. Fall and Winter revolve around football and basketball, but the university community is probably a little closer-knit than it was two years ago, as we all went through this together. The question they don't ask, but that I fear they are thinking to themselves is, "Is there something wrong with Virginia Tech?"

I have vehemently tried to convince myself that that thought is ridiculous, and no, of course there is nothing wrong with Virginia Tech. After 4/16 I had no desire to leave Blacksburg, could not wait to return the following Fall, and hardly hesitated when I was offered the opportunity to stay for graduate school. I love this place.

But two months ago, when gunshots were reported in a dormitory on campus, I did what has given me the most peace and solace since 4/16: I rode home from campus on my commuter bike, got on my road bike, and rode out of town. I remember telling myself that if there really is another shooting with multiple casualties on campus, I wouldn't go back. I've got a degree in engineering; I can go make a life for myself anywhere. I don't have to live like this. That incident, of course, turned out to be some kids playing with a nail gun cartridge or some-such, which I discovered when I stopped for water on that bike ride and decided to return a couple of the many missed calls I had.

This week however, after getting done lifting at The Weight Club, I hear on NPR driving home that there has been a murder at the Graduate Life Center on Virginia Tech's campus. I stopped my car short of the stop light I was approaching and dug around for my phone: sure enough, several missed calls, text messages, and voice mails. The report (Collegiate Times, Washington Post) was that there was a stabbing and a suspect was in custody, so I went home and made chili with a good friend, which she said was therapeutic.

As it was an isolated incident with the suspect immediately apprehended at the scene and identified by witnesses, the next day was not too abnormal. (Have we as a campus become so numbed by violence that a murder within a few hundred yards isn't too abnormal anymore? Is it that both the victim and suspect are of another nationality that allows us to distance ourselves from the event?)

So once again, I fear that people are whispering the question to one-another, "Is there something wrong with Virginia Tech?" Of course not, it was another random, bizarre crime by a deranged individual.

...

My heart goes out to Xin Yang and her family. We know what you're going through, and understand that no consolation will lessen your grief. From Blacksburg, thank you for reading.

Part II
- marathon training and fundraising
- signing up for the ironman

Part III
- ironman 70.3 florida training and race
- summer triathlon season and ironman training
- where we are now

This is the first of a two part series in which I will discuss my experience on April 16, 2007 at Virginia Tech, and its influence on me. Part II will discuss training for the Hokies Memorial Marathon. I will tell the following story as best I recollect it now, 20 months after the event took place.

On April 16, 2007, I was in a Solid Mechanics class taught by Dr. Liviu Librescu at 9:40am. The first indication that something was happening was a series of extremely loud bangs coming from the room next to us. My first thought was that it was a nail gun, or some other classroom demonstration was being done next door. The loud bangs continued, and after a few moments, someone let out a scream. At that point, all 15 or so of us in Dr. Librescu's class were fairly certain that the loud bangs we were hearing were gunshots, and that something was very wrong.

A couple of kids ran out of the room into the hallway, then we closed the door and scrambled around to find places to hide, which was difficult, since the room only had those standard metal desk/chairs found in 1960's classrooms. After what seemed like a minute or so, another student, Jessie, yelled "we can go out the windows." He pulled the screen off one of the windows, pushed it open, and disappeared outside. The classroom was on the second floor, and there was probably a fifteen foot drop out the window to the grass below. I was on the opposite side of the room, and watched as other students made their way to the windows and disappeared out.

Students called and beckoned for Dr. Librescu to come, but he stayed where he had been since we had closed the door, steadfastly planted in front of it. I remember from where I was hunched behind a desk in the back corner of the room making eye contact with Dr. Librescu. Both of us were terrified, as the shots had not stopped this entire time. We both knew what was going on out there, and what would likely soon happen to us. My next thought inevitably saved my life. I thought. "They went out the window, and are safe. They're going to live. I'm still in this room, and I may not." With that, I ran across the room, and peered out the window. A student was lying on the ground, and a couple others were limping away, obviously injured from the fall. I took one more look back at the door, at Dr. Librescu, like a rock, between the door and us. Then I climbed carefully out of the window and started to try to scale down the Hokie Stone wall.

Immediately after I had climbed out and was hanging from the ledge, the shots were suddenly much, much closer. I let go of the window and jumped to the ground. I scrambled around a moment, thinking if it would be best to hide near the building or run. I chose to run, picking the nearest adjacent building, Patton Hall. On the way, I met another student from our class who had the wind knocked out of her by the fall from the window, and together we made our way across the yard to Patton.

The rest of the day, even that week and month are a blur. The one thing that stands out to me is the outpouring of support from my close friends, relatives, distant friends, fellow Hokies I had never met, and the rest of the world. Though I have before, I would like to take this opportunity now to thank everyone for their support, then and now. The strength of others kept me going in those days and weeks, and I hope that someday I can provide that same strength for another.

Links:
Virginia Tech Remembers
Liviu Librescu: Courage Under Fire