It's time
I haven't really known what to say about all this. It may seem a trivial thing, the university you attend. For most people it is a means to an end, a place to get an education. Virginia Tech does that for its students, but it also nurtures young spirits and minds; is a place of fun and innocence, joy and security. Despite the ever growing numbers in attendance, Blacksburg is still a small town and Virginia Tech still has a very close knit community. When you meet another Hokie there is an instant brotherhood, a shared consciousness that pervades all who have lived there; Hokie Pride. It is much more than remembering the same bars or rooting for the same football team. For years of our lives Blacksburg was our home, Virginia Tech our family. It was the first place that we could be independent and assert ourselves as people. It was here that we all became the people we are today.
Though it has been a while since I have spent more than a weekend there, what I have seen over the last few days strengthens my belief that it is still there; this thing that is deeper and stronger than "school spirit" that ties all those who are Hokies. It is clear as a picture of the killer emerges that he was not one of us. He had no love for himself or others, much less this pervasive spirit that unites everyone who loves our Virginia Tech. Though we may not personally know anyone involved, I know Hokies all over the world feel as if their own family has been senselessly attacked. The healing process will be long but I have no doubt that through even this, we will perservere. Let's Go Hokies!