Hokie Pride

I'm back from Tech, and what a sombering experience this was. But it made me very proud to be a Hokie. And one person said when asked "what is a Hokie" - the response was "I am." How true that is.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I drove down there. There were some signs up along the way. On an overpass at JMU were maroon and orange ribbons. All of the trees on the Drillfield have either orange or maroon ribbons on them. Most of the posts downtown have ribbons. Everyone was wearing ribbons, showing support.

When I got to the Drillfield, I was amazed at how quiet it was. I've never heard so much silence. There were signs, memory boards, flowers and candles out, in memory. The chapel was open 24/7, with the cadets standing guard. In front of Burress were 33 Hokie stones, and baskets, more flowers and candles. 33 remembrances. I tried to look at all the names. I didn't see the one I was looking for. I think they had to do that - there would have been an outburst if his name was there.

There was police tape all around Norris Hall. I walked all around it and was able to see the windows of the classrooms where this happened. Many people were just staring at the building, which is guarded by 2 police at all times as the investigators handle this. But it was very strange to look at this. I had classes in that building. Many of my friends had classes in that building. I heard stories of people who were in the 3rd floor, or who should have been in one of those classes but overslept or chose not to go to school. And I wondered what they would do to the building.

There is so much more I can say about the weekend. I could talk about the many rememberences that people were leaving behind, the many candles that were lit each night, the flowers that were brought in from Roanoke because Blacksburg and Christiansburg were out of them. I could talk about how many of the local restaurans brought food on Satnrday night as there was a gathering for people to reflect on what happened. On how the stores were selling Hokie shirts like crazy. We waiting in line for quite some time to buy some shirts and no one complained. We waited for over an hour to get our lunch on Saturday and we didn't complain. Because we realized that many of the students weren't there, and these were the people who worked at these places. So we gave respect to the town.

My friend Bill and I talked to the Chief of Tech Police. He was very somber and very polite. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, which he hadn't. He called it he-double hockey sticks. And he thanked us for coming. We gave him our support and said we would stand by them. The police and the authorities did what they could in that situation. And after he left us, he walked away in tears. I know those weren't the first ones he had shed over this.

We heard stories of how people tried to keep doors shut. We heard about Mr. Librescu, who saved the lives of many as he tried to keep the door closed to his classroom. At one of my friend's synagogue, a member wrote this poem. I wish I coud have met him.

My Stand
A Tribute to Liviu Librescu
By Philip C. Selz

In the darkest times we’ve seen, I was sent into the camps
As I smelled the stench of burning flesh, I knew my kin were gone
Survival was my only thought, I knew I must come through
But I didn’t know the reason that my living must go on

And when the war had ended, liberation finally came
And I grew to be a man and shortly after took a wife
And we raised our kids in Israel and we did the best we could
And we lived for those who died and worked to make a useful life

Then a teaching job came to me in America one day
And I thought that building new young minds was destiny for me
So I traveled to Virginia and I made a brand new start
And I taught engineering in this homeland of the free

Now I hear the hallways screaming as shots are fired there
And I hear the terror in the screams and understand their plight
So I bar the door from danger and I tell my students “Run!”
And as the bullets breach the door I know that I must fight

And in these final moments as my life is seeping out
I think back over 60 years and finally understand
My own salvation now makes sense as children flee and live
I was saved that day to save this day, I’ve finally made my stand.



I'm still trying to come to terms with all of this. I know the members of the Tech community will prevail. They don't want to let their 32 friends lives not mean anything. It's going to be a tough road. My friends and I are trying to find ways that we can help. But I'm having a hard time with forgiveness. I know that we should forgive. But how can that be done in this case? Even though he didn't do anything to me personally, he hurt my school, something that means so much to me. When we talk about Hokie Pride, it means something. Spending my college time at Tech taught me about how a community can rally together and be supportive.

I hope that something good will come out of this. If every person can talk to 1 kid and make them realize that we don't have to have this behavior - the way this man was. If we can help stop the ridiculing and the teasing of kids when they are young, maybe they will learn that just because people are different doesn't mean that it is bad. Imagine what it could be like if we could help just one person not feel so lonely in school and resort to thoughts of death. Imagine how that person would feel if someone would sit next to them in class, or ask to eat lunch with them. Can we save lives that way?

As Nikki Giovanni said in her speech

We are the Hokies.
We will prevail.
We will prevail.
We will prevail.
We are Virginia Tech.