She knew six

I found out late Tuesday evening that my sister in California, a double alumna, knew six of the victims of Monday's shooting at Virgina Tech.

Two things she said to me that just cut me to the quick:

"Lizzy, that RA (resident advisor) was just going to help one of his residents.

I WOULD have done when I was an RA."

And this, when they'd identified just 23 of the victims . . .

"There are nine more. I just hope I don't know any more."

Because of that, my heart aches for her. Because of that, I miss her immensely this week. Because of that, I wish I could hug her. Because of that, I sent her flowers on Friday, the only day of the week she hadn't cried yet.

Because of that, I decided today was the day I'd finish my grieving for the Virgina Tech family. I watched the convocation and wanted to see a video of the candlelight vigil they held on the drillfield. This is the best one I've seen.

And I continue to be moved by Nikki Giovanni's speech and her closing words: "We are Virginia Tech. We will prevail. We are the Hokies."

Friend speaks my mind.

Striking Fear in My Heart

It might have been 10 a.m. this morning when I first saw the link on the News & Record's website about Virginia Tech. My first thought was, "Thank God my sister and her fiance aren't
students there anymore." My second thought was of my friend's sister who currently IS. Still, my first call was to my twice-alum sister of the fine university and I was frustrated when I got her voicemail, but happy to know that she was in California, thousands of miles from the horror.

My second is to confirm that my friend's sister truly is at Va Tech and that I haven't confused it with UVA. Two calls later, I find out that I'm right. I make the call, knowing that she's probably not going to be answering the phone and knowing that she probably has no idea of what's happening, but I think that if I were in the situation, I'd want someone to at least leave me a voicemail - which is what I did.

We find out later that the sister is fine; not even on campus. Praise God.

Later, when I hear from my sister, I find out she was in Virginia until late last night for a wedding, but she's now in California again. I'd had no idea - and I'm instantly grateful that I'd had no idea. Yes, she does still know people at the University.

I spend much of the day streaming the live coverage that WDBJ TV-7 is providing, letting it play in the background. The body counts seem to be the only thing that really comes through - and I continue to be shocked at the fact that it keeps going UP. Regardless, I somehow get lots of work done - maybe more than I've been able to for sometime.

I manage to escape from the media frenzy long enough to go teach a swim lesson, but it's not five minutes into my drive home before I pull up WVTF, the Virginia Tech-based NPR station, completely sucked in again. I learn on the way home that there are now 33 dead, not just 31 and there are 15 more who've been wounded. I hear the commentators say that it seems like the officials are now backtracking on the theory that the two shootings were committed by the same, now dead, perpetrator.

Fear strikes again. The shock continues to assail me. I remember visiting my sister when she lived in West Ambler Johnson. I remember visiting her lab in Norris Hall. I recognize so many of the landmarks on campus in the television footage, and yet, I can feel the persistent beauty and peace that I've always felt on that campus.

Now I sit watching Larry King Live, listening to the students who speak to the media. Their pain and persisting confusion is evident.

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On a related note, I must say that Associate Vice President for University Relations Larry Hinker, President Charles Steger, and the members of the VT faculty and staff family seem to have done what may not be the best job, but perhaps the best under the circumstances. Knowing what I do about crisis communications, Hinker's done a good job about dealing with amazing uncertainty and a media cache that's amazingly antagonistic given the enormity of the massacre.

Having also been on the administration side of an institute of higher education, I can say with certainty that the "powers that be" want to be as sure as they can before they make major decisions, even though it may not turn out to the best decision. Yes, they'll probably regret not closing campus sooner, but don't forget that they also had significant logistical challenges to overcome: communicating such a message to over 25,000 people who would have been traveling to, and already arriving at, campus.

And there's really only one way to end a post like this:

"O Divine Presence, In the trials of life that send me to my knees,

I discover anew you are with me, too."

Friend speaks my mind

This week, I learned that the statement above is a common response in Quaker worship that shows those in the audience agree with the speaker. I'd bet that I would never have learned this phrase except that a small Quaker college in Greensboro (Guilford College) has found itself embroiled in a media frenzy because of a sad and troubling incident on campus.

It appears that several of the college's football players attacked three Palestinian students - two from Guilford College, and one from NCSU. What makes the violent act even more disturbing is that it seems unprovoked, it happened on a campus that claims a pacifist heritage by being Quaker, and it could be deemed a hate crime.

Certainly, that an incident like this should happen is upsetting to everyone involved and to the community as a whole. However, there are gifts inherent in this problem. After the dust settles and the smoke clears, Guilford College will almost certainly go through a period of mourning and re-evaluation. They will begin building an even better campus community - perhaps one of the best. This gives Guilford and all of their stakeholders a chance to critically assess and transform campus attitudes. Although it will be hard work, it will be well worth it.

Dean for Campus Life Aaron Fetrow and his media staff have done quite a good job - almost completely by the book - of dealing with the challenges inherent in dealing with such a crisis. One point of disagreement, however: Fetrow was quoted on NPR's Morning Edition as saying that this sort of thing "happen at campuses all over the nation, all of the time."

I couldn't disagree more. Yes, such violence does happen on other campuses, but if this happened on every campus, all the time, it wouldn't be such a big deal (heaven forbid that ever happen). People would be apathetic to news like this and if that were the case, Guilford College wouldn't be receiving the media attention which they have now. Thank God that this sort of violence does NOT happen frequently - and we can only hope that such things never happen again, anywhere.

Guilford College President Kent Chabotar says this at the beginning of his statement regarding the incident: "This is a sad time for Guilford College. This is a sad time for the students, especially the students who were injured on Saturday morning. Our sympathy and prayers are with them and their families."

Friend speaks my mind.