Column: Moving forward from devastating tragedy
Jacob Caporaletti, CT Regular Columnist
April 18, 2007
Columbine, Nickel Mines and Bailey are all famous for conjuring up images of school violence. Now our own Blacksburg joins that list as the greatest of them all with 33 of our fellow colleagues dead, including the gunman. We were all present that fateful day and there is no question the memory will stay with us for the rest of our lives. As witnesses to the greatest mass murder in American history, we were all humbled by what happened on the morning of April 16, 2007.
I live right across from West Ambler-Johnston in Cochrane Hall. I even lived in West Ambler-Johnston during my sophomore year. To know that such a bloody episode began where I once resided is sobering. And all those who were at or near the scene face even greater hardships. But this tragedy extends much further than the memories of that day.
From now on, Virginia Tech will no longer be known as the home of the Hokies, runners up in the 1999 National Championship and ACC Champions of 2004. Our prestigious engineering school and sports program will no longer be what people think about when they think of our history school. From now on we are Virginia Tech, home of the worst school shooting in history. No matter what we achieve from this point forward, that label is going to stick with us until another tragedy of greater magnitude supersedes it.
We all know what will happen next. There will be a huge public outcry from parents and politicians alike. High emotions will rule the day as everyone pushes for answers in hopes of preventing a tragedy like this from happening again. But sadly, no recourse from the school or the state can ever bring back the 33 lives that were lost. No gun law or security measure can stop a determined shooter from doing such heinous acts. There will be a lot of finger pointing. Everything from Satan to rap music will be blamed for this tragedy and nothing will come of it. No one will ever know why the shooter did what he did. There are just some things we can't predict.
We are powerless. We can only know what happened. The bigger questions like why and what if are forever lost to us. Nothing made the shooter commit these acts. He made a choice and we all have to live with it. It's only natural we would seek a fitting explanation. Unfortunately, no major tragedy is that simple.
So where do we go from here? If we can't know the reasons or make the changes that will prevent this tragedy from ever happening again, what can we do? First off, we can stop pointing fingers. Casting blame won't give us the answers we want. Secondly, we can stop asking why for just one moment and pause in remembrance of the victims. They are the ones who need our support most right now. They are the ones deserving of our emotional outpouring. We must always remember the people who were hurt, not the disturbed individual who took their lives.
For the next few weeks, many students and staff will be scared. Every one of us could have just as easily been the victim that fateful day. But it is useless pondering what might have been. All we can do now is look at what has happened and learn from it. Some will call for radical change, but these changes will always fall short because they create an illusion that there is a simple fix.
This was one incident out of countless days of peace this community has enjoyed. Living in fear is too high a price to pay for an event such as this. Nobody knows what the next day will bring. All we can do is make each day count and never forget what we lost that day.
No matter how tragic, the sun will rise again over Blacksburg. We'll go to classes, make the grade and live our lives as aspiring students of this historic institution. Our identity has been forever tarnished by this tragedy, but the future is clear for us rebuild. Next year, Lane Stadium will cheer a little louder. Next year, Cassell Coliseum will rock a little harder. The eyes of the world have fallen upon our sleepy mountain town. We all have something to prove now. It is up to us to show everyone that we are more than just a tragedy. We are and always will be Virginia Tech, home of the Hokies.