Lights shining bright

It was amazing to see how many people had been touched by what happened the year before.

-Johnna Duncan, Photographer

A Guiding Light

The vigil was stunning. Seeing so many people come out to honor those who perished this time last year is just amazing. The sight of all those candles tonight would have restored even the Grinch’s faith in humanity.

It seemed as if the entire city of Blacksburg came out to Drillfield. Even after seeing the amazing unity and support among the residents, it still blows my mind how together they are.

The students and residents were so much more eloquent than I could ever hope to be, especially after such as terrible tragedy. Nothing I could say tonight, or ever, could do the Hokie spirit justice.

-Katie Jones, Staff Writer

The 32

The vigil began tonight at 8:20 p.m. in the Drillfield, a massive field in the middle of campus. Hundreds upon hundreds of people came in maroon and orange to honor those who died. As the sun set, everyone picked up candles from the nearby tables and moved towards the memorial site. As the ceremony began, a hush fell over the crowd. A short inspirational speech took place and then each name of the 32 who died was read aloud to the crowd as a candle was lit for them. The candles were then passed around in complete silence, until the entire crowd had a burning flame. I was in utter shock of so many things at this point. Up until then, I had been so stressed and busy that I honestly didn’t have time to take it all in. They showed such compassion, dignity, respect, and grief, that I was truly in awe. The candles lit together with the perfectly clear, perfectly starry night….it was absolutely breathtaking.

As the music ended and everyone raised their candles to salute and started chanting “Go Hokies,” it made me think about a lot. It made me think of everyone in my life and how you should never wait to tell someone how important they are or how much you love them. It made me think how life is short, and as cliche as it is, to make sure to live it up. It made me realize that I should truly not take a moment for granted, because I can’t control what’s going to happen, so I might as well make the best of it. But more than anything, it made me have even more respect, which I didn’t think was possible, for the Hokies of Virginia Tech.

-Liz Segrist, Assistant News Editor

United

A sea of maroon and orange…united in memory of those lost a year earlier.

-Johnna Duncan, photographer

From Tragedy, Comes Unity

I’m sitting in front of the Virginia Tech student union working on an article. An event just ended, one of many, commemorating the students and faculty lives that were lost one year ago today.

Hundreds of people are walking by me, I would say 95% of them are in maroon and orange. Babies and elderly people are here, along with all the students. Some people brought along their dogs.

It is an amazing show of solidarity and community. It’s a sad fact that it is often a tragedy that brings people together.

It’s hard to imagine the chaos that was occurring here one year ago today.

-Katie Jones, Staff Writer

The One Year Anniversary

We wake up, slightly later than expected after an exhausting day, to begin day two of our trip. Here it is: the one-year anniversary of the tragedy. As we settle in at a local breakfast nook, it becomes apparent that the students don’t have school today. Already, there are many people gathering, decked out in their orange and maroon. Some are laughing, some look somber, and some are consoling others. More media trucks are appearing, and we are anticipating the thousands upon thousands of people who will attend to mourn, to report, and to heal.

-Liz Segrist, Assistant News Editor

A New Experience

A week ago I wasn’t sure if I was going to be going on this trip. Heck, a few days ago I still wasn’t sure. My name is Ed Cahill. I am here putting together some video work for everyone to see back home. It was important for me to come because I feel that seeing some moving images might help everyone connect with what’s going on here better.

I definitely know that actually being here on campus has given me a new feeling for what these people had to experience just one year ago. It is amazing to see the fire that is still in people’s eyes when they talk about the shootings, where they were, and what they did. I talked to one guy today about the freshman who came to school this year. He said they will never know what it felt like to be there on that day, and we too will never be able to understand what those students and their families went through on that day.

I hope that some of the information we are sending back to you can help you realize what these students are still going through. Today, as we were a year ago, we are all Hokies.

-Ed Cahill, producer of Capital City Sports

Norris Hall

by Johnna Duncan, staff photographer

Unexpected Atmosphere

As we arrived here at VT, I was expecting to see sadness on everyone’s faces and people willing to share their stories. What we found is that most people appear to be fine and have moved on, and they feel that we should do the same. At the entrance to the campus there are student-made signs that say that the media is not welcome.

As we walked around the VT campus we came upon Norris Hall, where the shootings had occurred in a year before. The students we saw coming out of the building didn’t seem to be fazed at all. As I walked through the walkway of Norris Hall I expected to feel sad but I didn’t. Maybe the mood of the campus affected me in a way that said all was alright now.

—Johnna Duncan, photographer

Media Overload

For the next several hours, we walked around attempting to navigate our way around the massive campus.

As we approached Norris Hall (where many of the shootings took place), we all became quiet and were shocked to see classes going on inside the building. However, we were not allowed to enter.

During the walk around campus, we worked on getting as many interviews, video clips, and photographs as possible. However, I personally found it very, very difficult to get interviews. I would ask everyone in sight and it was almost as if they rehearsed their answers in advance for what they would say to me as they saw me approach, obviously about to ask for an interview.

Whether this was due to being burnt out on interviews, understandably resenting the media’s takeover of their campus, or simply wanting to forgo rehashing the incident: it was difficult. But, some people were very eager to share their experiences and it was extremely interesting to hear what they had to say about that fateful day.

-Liz Segrist, Assistant News Editor