Column: National lie-in protest honors the memories of fallen Hokies There is no "right" way to remember the Virginia Tech tragedy.

Our own personal inclinations will lead us to spend this day of remembrance in the manner we find best, and if your decision that day is to go to the events the university has planned, that is absolutely wonderful. But this is not the only way to remember the victims — because just remembering the names and faces of the fallen is not enough. Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it; if we blot out the terrible events of what happened that day, and why it happened — because a mentally ill person brought a gun to school — we serve only to allow this to happen again.

The leader of the protest that is being held on the Drillfield after the official ceremonies is Alison St. Onge, the best friend of my German classmate, Nicole White. I am in awe of Alison's strength and bravery in leading this protest, on a day she might have chosen to spend in quiet mourning with her best friend's family. Instead, she is willing to make that sacrifice and stand up for what she believes must be done, paying her respects in the best way she knows how. She is truly doing what her best friend would have wanted.

In hopes to prevent further harassment from those who oppose protesteasyguns.org, I am writing this letter as a response to the letter, "Protest Easy Guns Not Welcomed On Our Campus," (CT, March 28) on behalf of Alison. I was shocked at how grossly misinformed it is, and I do not want CT readers to be misled by its obvious lack of knowledge of the protest itself and what protesteasyguns.org is really all about.

How can it be deemed anything but appropriate to protest at the site where this tragedy occurred, especially when so many people in the Blacksburg community are recognizing the need for a change to occur now, so that no other community finds itself shocked to its core by gun violence? Many family members of my lost classmates have thanked me for speaking out for tighter gun control and are glad to see that I will be co-leading the National Lie-In Protest in Washington, D.C. Some of these same family members have led the protest in the past, and some will attend the National Lie-In Protest on this anniversary. How can anyone possibly say that their voices should not be heard?

Working for change in our gun laws so that another Cho will not have access to guns, working to prevent another Tech or NIU tragedy from happening, is a markedly different approach to spending this day of remembrance, but I can think of no greater honor to those who have been lost than to work towards change to save lives in their names. With each passing day without tighter gun control laws, there remains the very real threat that another family will have to suffer the pain of gun violence that we have known.

We the survivors, the families, and the friends of the victims would never wish that pain and suffering on even our worst of enemies. We have felt that pain deeper than anyone, and this is why we are standing up together to support tighter gun control and speaking out at the National Lie-In Protests.

There seems to be a great misunderstanding on the part of the author of the article, "Protest Easy Guns Not Welcomed On Our Campus." The author seems to think that protesteasyguns.org simply wish to push an agenda and use the tragedy at Tech to further its cause. This is absolutely false.

Let me explain to you who stands behind protesteasyguns.org. They are concerned Americans who are tired of gun violence in America, who want a change in current U.S. gun laws that make it far too easy for dangerous individuals to purchase guns. They are amazing, peaceful people with lives and families of their own, many of whom have not been touched by gun violence and yet care so much for the safety of all of us that they stand together to do something about it. And there are those of us who have been touched by the violence, who know that pain, and will stand with them in hopes to keep it from touching any more lives.

This social movement is completely grassroots, non-profit, non-partisan and completely composed of everyday people who are not against our Second Amendment right to own guns, but simply want to make sure that those with the potential to rain tragedy on our communities never have the access to easy guns.

It is unfortunate, but the Virginia Tech massacre will always be a point of political contention, with different factions trying to use the tragedy that happened here to their advantage. However, attending this peaceful protest is apart from that — it is not in any way "pushing an agenda." Rather, it is a way for all of us to come together and heal, remembering the victims and fighting so that we can stop another tragedy from occurring. There will be lie-ins in over 80 communities in 34 states across the nation that day in honor of the Tech victims.

Attending the protest on the Drillfield will not at all diminish the spirit of remembrance for victims on that day, or any of the 365 days of the year. Instead, it will serve as a meaningful commemoration. They will be honored and remembered with each life saved by the laws passed in their names.

What is the point of remembering without trying to correct the mistakes of the past? That's not remembrance; that is forcefully forgetting how and why the victims were lost. We will move on with our lives, pretending that we are safe, until once again we are shocked into reality by another shooting spree claiming more innocent lives, something that is bound to happen if we don't try to change the current gun control laws.

Let's all be mature, and come together in a spirit of peace. Let's respect one another's choice as to how to remember the victims of April 16 without attacking each other. It is my hope that you will join Alison and the Virginia Tech victims' families and friends on that day, as we work together to prevent another tragedy from tearing apart another community.

Elilta Habtu is a victim and survivor of the April 16 shootings.  She graduated in May '07 with a degree in psychology.