Collegiate Times

With just a week until the one-year anniversary of the tragic shootings on this campus, I would like to take the time to say how happy I am to be a member of this Virginia Tech community and to thank each and every one of you for your poise and strength through this trying year.

Since the tragedy, Tech has been honored with offerings of generosity from people and organizations around the world. Of the many gifts, the most memorable have been the Concert for Virginia Tech in September of last year, the Yankees exhibition game this past March, and the "Virginian of the Year" awarded to the entire Hokie Nation for 2008.

I believe we have received these honors with dignity and deep appreciation.  While talking to people outside of the Tech community, I was pleased to hear their compliments on the university's aplomb during the incessant media coverage last spring.

They commented that the students interviewed spoke eloquently and brought the tragedy into perspective - it was a horrible incident, but it could have just as easily happened on some other campus (as it already has, sadly).  When I am home from school, I get a lot of looks when I wear a Tech shirt, but I smile pleasantly as I am representing my beloved school.

I want everyone to know how proud I am to be a Hokie, even outside of Blacksburg. It seems to me that we all are unofficially obligated to represent our school as if we were the university's public relations representatives, and I am more than happy to do so. We are a dignified and acclaimed university that unfortunately will forever be remembered as a site of unspeakable violence.

It is our job to help the public look beyond our past and recognize us for our academic accomplishments and community involvement. Over Thanksgiving break, I was flying from Atlanta to Richmond. It was the day of the UVa game, and I proudly wore the brightest orange Tech shirt I own, anxious to get to the airport bar in Richmond to catch the game on the big screen.

On the airplane, many people approached me and timidly asked if I was "there" when "it" happened. I will not forget the looks of horror when I told them I indeed was there that semester, but I made sure to tell them how great the university is, how supportive the administration, faculty and staff are, and how proud I am to be a student here. I repeatedly assured them that the campus was (and still is) a safe place to learn.  While the debates about gun laws and concealed carry continue (and will continue for a long time to come), there's one issue that is not debatable: students should feel safe at their school.

I feel safe at this school, and it is not because the residence halls are locked 24 hours a day, classroom doors now lock from the inside, and VT alerts have been introduced in this short year since April 16. I feel safe because I trust the university. I still believe in the nurturing environment of the classroom and the communal support of my fellow students. I do not question my well being each time I sit in a classroom.

And now that the one-year mark is quickly approaching, we will once again be in the limelight. The gun debates will be back on the front burners, spurred by the coverage of our year of growth. Television crews and reporters will be invading our campus to capture our private moments of remembrance, honoring and rejoicing.

We handled it well once, and I know we will handle it well once again. Students for Concealed Carry on Campus at Virginia Tech has already proved its respectability by refusing to protest or comment about its movement next Wednesday in honor of the victims. This is a wonderful gesture. My fellow Hokies, just remember your poise, your eloquence and your fallen 32, and make the Hokie Nation proud.