Collegiate Times

Vigil center

Members of the Virginia Tech community congregated outside War Memorial Chapel Thursday night in remembrance of two Hokies found murdered last week.

Hokies United organized the vigil in honor of sophomores David Metzler and Heidi Childs. It was held on the Drillfield in front of War Memorial Chapel. Those in attendance were invited to speak, and male a cappella group Juxtaposition performed.

Paul Fletcher, a junior member of CRU, spoke at the vigil. He said the pair would want its memory to encourage others to find comfort in campus ministries.

"Through getting close to David and Heidi, I just knew what was important to them, and that was their faith," Fletcher said in an interview with the Collegiate Times. "I felt that if we want to remember them in the right light, then we should share that. That's what they would want to come from this."

Ed Spencer, vice president for student affairs, attended the event and said it helped the community honor two members of the university community.

"I think when you have a chance to gather together, you really get to express a sense of community to each other and I think that's what we saw tonight," Spencer said. "It's just an opportunity for people to share, and to remember that we've lost two of our own and we'll never forget them."

Fletcher said the vigil displayed an encouraging university unity in the face of recent tragedies.

"I think it was great," Fletcher said. "Honestly, the Tech community has been rocked with some horrible things over the past two years, and we've really come together, especially after (April) 16. This just shows that people care about each other and that's a beautiful thing."

Kristina Hartman, undergraduate representative to the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, helped organize the event, and led the ceremonies at the vigil.

"We realized after their deaths that we needed to do something to remember and celebrate the lives of the Virginia Tech students that passed on while they were here and also to show that we're a family and we want to honor the members of our family," Hartman said.

Spencer said the university's student organizations came together admirably.

"I'm just very proud of our student leaders for pulling this together tonight, because it was entirely a student-organized event," Spencer said. "Given that it was in memory of two of our students, I felt that was very fitting."

The university also offered a different reaction to the deaths Thursday, offering a $10,000 reward for any information that helps the Montgomery County Sheriff locate the person responsible for the homicides.

"It was an idea that President Steger himself came up with and discussed with members of the administration and the Board of Visitors this weekend," Spencer said. "We felt that, given the nature of this homicide, it would be important for us to help in any way we can. And it is my understanding that the money is coming personally from the Board of Visitors."