Virginia Tech shootings site of 'second home'

Wednesday was the one-year anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech.

After all was said and done, 33 people lost their lives in what ended up being the deadliest school shooting in American history.

For college students around the country, the events of that day struck a nerve and hit close to home.

Never before had a college campus been victim to such a gruesome act of violence. College students, administrators and professors across the country were left wondering, “Could it happen here?”

For me, the events of April 16 were particularly painful.

During the summers of 2004-07, I spent my time in Blacksburg, Va., the home of Virginia Tech. I worked as a lab assistant in the engineering department for my uncle, a professor at the university.

During those three summers, I got to know the town of Blacksburg and the university well. It became much like a second home to me.

While working in the engineering department, I ran errands in Norris Hall, the site of the shootings. I met Liviu Librescu, the engineering professor who barricaded his door shut to save his students’ lives and in the process lost his own.

Needless to say, when I heard about the massacre that took place, I was stunned. Blacksburg is the last place you would expect something like that to happen and Virginia Tech the least likely of campuses.

The days that followed were full of emotion as I spoke with my relatives in Blacksburg who lost friends and coworkers.

A year later, the events of April 16, 2007, are still painful to think about. As a freshman in college, I have even more perspective now on how horrifying it must have been for students at Virginia Tech.

Even now, a year after the massacre and only two months after the deadly shooting at Northern Illinois University, events like these are hard to stop. MSU and colleges across the country are implementing new and improved methods to deter and prevent similar tragedies like this. However, sometimes there aren’t warning signs or a way of stopping someone determined to carry out a destructive act.

MSU administrators acknowledged that the one-year anniversary and refocused their efforts on preventing another massacre by stressing the importance and initial success of the university’s emergency text-messaging system that debuted in the fall.

To me, however, the one-year anniversary is a time to remember those lost that day.

Thirty-two families and countless friends, classmates and coworkers have to live with the pain of what happened a year ago. And although the healing process has begun at Virginia Tech, a year is hardly enough time to repair the damage inflicted on the town and the university.

I went back to Blacksburg last summer, about four months after the shooting. Norris Hall was being renovated and a makeshift memorial was in place while a permanent one was in the works. Although I had spent countless hours walking the campus years before, this trip was unlike any other. The emotion was overwhelming.

I can’t begin to imagine how emotional walking past Norris Hall must still be for those who were in Blacksburg a year ago.

As college students, we’re often busy with work, school and our social lives. Sometimes we forget to appreciate those who are truly important to us.

If the events of April 16, 2007, have taught me anything — and I don’t care how cliché it sounds — it’s that you can’t take anything for granted.

So in this time of remembrance, take just a second to think about the people important to you and maybe give them a call or let them know how you’re doing.

Because unfortunately in life, tomorrow is not a guarantee.

Justin Harris is a State News staff writer. Reach him at harri763@msu.edu.

Published on Wednesday, April 16, 2008