Monty Korpe, a junior philosophy major and Andy Koch, a senior management major, wrote and presented the SGA's House of Representatives with the legislation.

"An extremely traumatic event happened here at Virginia Tech that affected most, if not all of us," Korpe said. "We will all be feeling it; it's going to be on all of our minds, and I think that this is the best way for the community as a whole to deal with it."

The resolution is now out of their hands, and will be placed in front of SGA President Adeel Khan. If endorsed by Khan, it will then be approved as the official voice of the student body, and be forwarded on to the university's administration for final review.

The legislation specifies that the Tech administration should label April 16, 2008, as a campus-wide day of memorial, where no classes, meetings, or organized events should meet, unless deemed directly related to the tragedy, in honor of the victims.

However, Koch said this memorial is not planned to simply give students a break from academic work.

"We hope that people will do service on that day and participate in memorials," Koch said. "It is going to bring back a lot of memories for people. To Monty and I, the vision is not a day off, but a day of remembering those lost through our service."

Korpe noted that the legislation was first drawn up last year, towards the end of the spring semester, but did not have enough to time to pass. Since its original authors are no longer members of the SGA, Korpe decided to reintroduce it after making several changes to its language. The original resolution called for an annual April 16 holiday, whereas Korpe's bill only specifically mentions April 16, 2008.

"I thought it was pretty important," Korpe said. "I realized that when we do things at the end of the semester they tend to collapse because of all the people moving through. I asked the speaker of the house earlier this year, and took it up after he said we didn't need a sponsor."

After Korpe had drawn up the idea and gained the support of Koch, a survey of approximately 1,000 students was conducted.

"The results showed 1,000 people for it and 70 against it," Koch said. "It took a while for us to pass it, because some say it could be better for us to go to school and be with people and move on."

Though these results are lopsided, Koch noted that legitimate concerns were presented through the comments of the 70 opposed. He expects the administration to express similar apprehensions.

"They could think this will just be another day off for students to go do whatever they want," Koch said. "A lot of people are going to remember with us, though some have said they would rather have class on that day and deal with it. Others feel we should go on and not admit defeat. We are looking at everyone's interests."

Meredyth Kenney, the SGA's public relations representative, said that the SGA as a whole is in support of this legislation.

"The SGA feels strongly about making April 16th a school-wide day of remembrance," Kenney said. "That cold and tragic morning will always remain a vivid memory in every Hokie's mind, and in the minds of the people around the world. By declaring April 16th a day to recall and celebrate the lives of the unique friends we lost, we will further ensure that their spirits remain alive in each of us."

As for the financial aspect of their legislation, Koch and Korpe agreed on trying leave it out of their resolution.

"The main financial constraint is the cost of closing the school down for a day," Koch said. "With something like this though, I don't think you should consider the financial aspect.

Chase Williams, a freshman, engineering major offered a similar view on the benefit of having April 16, 2008 as a day of memorial.

"People need to take the day off to remember and reflect upon the tragedy," Williams said. "It will show reverence and respect for those who were lost, and for the ongoing community."

As for the future of April 16, Korpe will leave future students in charge of whether or not to push for an annual day of remembrance.

"My goal is to do something relevant and important to Virginia Tech," Korpe said. "I think it would be appropriate and I would like future student bodies to consider it, but the meaning of it might be diffused with the larger holiday we make it. I'm not trying to impose that idea."

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