Just another reason to love Virginia Tech.
Well, this and they beat the stuffing out of Miami. Mwahahahaha!
Showing posts with label Hokies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hokies. Show all posts
Next week will be better, right?
I'm bringing LMK some lunch this afternoon. He can't wear his Hokie wear at The School, but I can.
LMK won his game last night. Yaaay! He was so excited. The girls were so excited. It was a good win for them.
This weekend is Parent's Weekend, so we're going to be super busy.
Don't forget. Moment of silence today at noon.
I am subbing today for the first time in Small County. I'm excited and terrified. I'm also glad that I will be out of the house and unable to focus on the news and media. My heart and my thoughts are in Blacksburg, but I will not stop living because of one crazy person.
I clicked on the webcam last night to see if I would be able to view the vigil. The picture is what I what I saw. It's sadly beautiful.
LMK is doing better. He's wearing his Hokie tie.
Last night, I decided I needed to do something...so I did this.
Someone finally sent me Nikki Giovanni's poem.
We are sad today and we will be sad for quite awhile. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.
We are Virginia Tech.
We are strong enough to know when to cry and sad enough to know we must laugh again.
We are Virginia Tech.
We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did not deserve it but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, but neither do the invisible children walking the night to avoid being captured by a rogue army. Neither does the baby elephant watching his community be devastated for ivory; neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy.
We are Virginia Tech.
The Hokier Nation embraces our own with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid. We are better than we think, not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imagination and the possibility we will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears, through all this sadness.
We are the Hokies.
We will prevail, we will prevail.
We are Virginia Tech. "
As in many households across the world, our home has been filled with talk of the shootings at Virginia Tech. As names of the fatalities trickle out, LMK and I check the list for people he knew/worked with or had while he was at Virginia Tech. So far, he knows 2.
I watched the Convocation over the internet today while I subbed for LMK. The entire situation is surreal. I'm looking for a copy of the poem Nikki Giovanni wrote and read at the end of the ceremony. (Search for We Are Virginia Tech) After a little searching, I found the footage on Fox News. Ms. Giovanni's poem was perfect in my opinion. I don't think I was the only one who got chills when all of Cassell began chanting, "Let's go, Hokies!" As Ms. Giovanni said, "We will prevail".
At a teacher message board I frequent, one poster is railing against the administration's handling of the situation. As much as statements like these sadden me, they infuriate me even more. Could it have been handled better, certainly. Were mistakes made, probably. However, no one thinks it will happen to them. Looking back, we see signs we didn't see before because we KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR.
It's so hard to describe Virginia Tech to someone who has never been to the school. It's a huge school with 26,000 students. Huge. However, I never felt like I was attending a huge school. My department was small and very close. LMK's department was smaller than mine and even more close knit. We never felt unsafe. The worst thing you had to worry about was someone flying around the drillfield when you stepped out to cross the street. I never worried about my safety or LMK's safety. Now, to have that sense of safety shattered so violently has thrust us both into shock. Things like this don't happen in Blackburg.
Another thought I have been struggling with is the reports of a professor that died trying to protect his students. What a wonderful man he must have been. As a teacher, I find myself wondering if I would do the same thing for my future students. The truth is, I don't know. Would I die so that they may live? I hate that I don't immediately say yes. LMK would. He's just that kind of guy. But me? I can't say that I would. Does that make me a bad person? A selfish person?
I read this this morning and she describes what I cannot describe so well."When you go to Tech, it’s in your blood. I think of the kind of camaraderie and the pride -- they call it “hokie pride.” It sounds corny, but it is how proud the students are of their school."
But I’m really hopeful because out of the worst tragedy, you watch people rise up. And it will happen on the campus of Virginia Tech.
"
Those students will rise up. I’ll bet on that."
Last night, I put out our Virginia Tech flags. I'll wear my maroon and orange and I'll know - they really do match.We are Hokies. We are strong. We Are Virginia Tech!
Oh. My. God.
I lived in West AJ my freshman year. LMK's department was located in the building next to Norris. He had all kinds of classes in Norris.
The reality of how lucky we are sets in from time to time. The whole situation makes me ill. What kind of world do we live in?
I'm afraid the administration is going to have some hard questions asked of them when this is over. Two separate shooting incidents in one year. They better get a handle on this quickly.
Please keep all the students on campus in your thoughts.
**Updated to add: 30 reported fatalities. LMK called at lunch and I burst into tears. How can people be so awful.