Collegiate Times

The Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund has been both lauded and lambasted since its implementation following the April 16, 2007 shootings.

And though some would argue that it is a glimmer of light in a sea of darkness, others, including the families of injured and murdered students, still feel deceived and frustrated.

Almost immediately following the April 16, 2007 shootings that left 32 Virginia Tech students dead and another 17 injured, university treasurer Ray Smoot said the university was contacted by a tremendous number of people wishing to help through monetary contribution.

So much so, that in the fiscal year 2006-07, which ran from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007, Tech funding saw a $148.9 million increase in net assets, a value that was an increase of $109.5 million from the year before, and an overall percentage increase of 377.91 percent, according to a document obtained by the Collegiate Times.

In the three years prior, Tech’s differentials in annual net assets increase were negative 32.99 percent in 2005-06, negative 3.92 percent in 2004-05, and positive 6.99 percent in 2003-2004.

The Virginia Tech Foundation, which receives, manages and disburses private gifts to Tech programs, saw similar increases, though not quite as staggering.

In fiscal year 2006-07, VTF saw a $132 million increase in net assets, up $51.1 million from the year before and a total percentage change of 63.16 percent. In the three years prior, VTF had net asset increases of $80.9 million, $57.6 million and $56.9 million, respectively.

The 2006-07 fiscal year shows an exaggerated increase in funding entering into the university and brought up questions as to whether or not funds raised by Virginia Tech during the period from April 16, 2007 to the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2007, should be deposited in the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund account or the university’s general purpose funds.

Mike Pohle, whose son Michael was killed in Norris Hall, expressed frustration over how the influx in funding was handled.

“Through some decision making process they determined what was intended for the families and what was for the school, but that was never communicated to us,” Pohle said.

Pohle said that in August 2007 the victims’ families were presented with a document stating how the funds that had been collected would be distributed to the families, who in turn planned to create scholarships, among other things.

“They gave a rough idea, saying there was about $7 million in the fund,” Pohle said. “In reality, Virginia Tech had taken in close to $100 million dollars at that time. We were rushed to fill in a piece of paper and submit it back to them; the deadline was September 15, 2007. After the disbursement, we found out that the school took in more than $100 million.”

And while Pohle suggests that the university kept more than $100 million worth of funds intended to be paid out to families to fund scholarships and memorial efforts for itself, Smoot disagrees.

The final total funded for the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund was $8.5 million, said Smoot, who claims the contributions were put in whichever fund the donor indicated they wished to support.

“It is possible to not specify, but I can tell you that about 1 percent of all the funds to come in are unspecified,” Smoot said. “Anything that came in that the donor indicated was for April 16 went to that fund.”

University spokesman Larry Hincker said anything not designated within the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund was given “back to the people most severely affected by the events of April 16,” including the families who lost loved ones and surviving victims.

“Then the rest of the money was given to us for specific purposes,” Hincker said. “In almost all instances, it was for scholarships. So the monies were used for the purposes the donor intended them to be used, or if they were unrestricted, then the university made the decision to turn around and give it to the victims or the families of victims.”

And while Pohle remains skeptical and sees the situation as one in which the university “took advantage of the kindness and good heartedness of people, and profited very handsomely,” all parties agree that the scholarship funds established through these endowments are, in some way, shape or form, beneficial.

“What I did see was there are some families who were destroyed, and this helped them,” Pohle said. “There are still families in serious shape though. I have heard that the leftover funds were converted into scholarships, which is good.”

William O’Neil, father of slain graduate student Daniel O’Neil, said the memorial fund in Daniel’s name has helped four students pay for college. O’Neil has two scholarship funds in place; one at Lincoln High School in Lincoln, R.I., and the other at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., where Daniel O’Neil received his undergraduate civil engineering degree.

“It’s one of the few good things to come of (the tragedy),” O’Neil said. “Not just our two scholarships, but in the group there are quite a few memorial scholarships and memorial funds set up. Everyone has reached out and tried to get something positive after this.”

Three years later, O’Neil has yet to return to Tech and has no intention of doing so. Pohle is part of a group titled Tech Victims Outreach, composed of a board of eight family representatives and four state appointees.

Pohle’s vision for the group is for it to focus on advocating safety on campus as well as providing support to victims of campus crime.

Pohle added that his family has never lost love for the school as a whole and desires to reconnect with the university in this way.

A version of this article appeared in the Apr 16 issue of the Collegiate Times.