Tragic Day

Today was one of those days that you remember where you were when you heard certain news. I had the morning off after having end of the year meetings with my 200 college students last night. Ever since 9-11, I have a fear of not knowing, of being uninformed. It doesn't influence every day anymore, but if I have time, I typically read the headlines or check the news before I leave the house. Today, I was saddened by the tragic news at Virginia Tech. I watched this morning, because I've come to realize that although a story will be replayed time and again, as the day wears on, we begin to question human behavior. At least on the ongoing news channels, it starts to become more about who did what wrong. We don't sit in the moment. As of this evening, we still don't even know the names of all 33 individuals and yet we've moved on. Virginia Tech may seem far away to many of us, but today it hit home. I live and work on a college campus. My students sleep in the halls...I am proud of them when they go to their 8am classes...they complain when administration is slow to act...they grieve when their friends are hurt. Today, we grieve with Virginia Tech. We extend our sympathies and our prayers to the families and friends, some who are in the worst part of their ordeal - waiting. I can't help but think of the officers and campus safety who responded and had to make critical decisions, many of which are now being questioned. We grieve with them too and we hope to all learn from this tragic day.