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VA Tech students back to school

by Kaitlin | August 20, 2007 at 09:54 am | 521 views | 1 comment | 10 recommendations

After a summer of mourning the shootings which took 31 students, Virginia Tech reopened doors to students today. The fall semester begins on a hopeful note; this in spite of the news that five VA Tech students, all female, are in critical condition in hospital following an incident of carbon monoxide poisoning in their apartment complex. Eighteen other people have been treated for the poisoning as well, which has been attributed to a broken water heater. Optimism prevails.

Matt Rebholz (REBB'-holz) of Pittsburgh said the shootings had brought students closer. Rebholz, a sophomore electrical engineering student, says there's "a lot more of a family atmosphere" at Virginia Tech.

Sophomore Zachary Baker of Richmond says it feels good to be back at school. He calls it "as normal as it can be."

Although getting back to normal has been the priority, so has remembering--yesterday marked a dedication to the murdered students and staff.

The memorial is series of individual stones engraved with the name of each of the 32 students and university professors and staff shot by student Seung-Hui Cho.

The engraved stones will replace the makeshift memorial that students had arranged on Virginia Tech's main lawn soon after the killings.

As students head back to class, a panel studdying the shootings is preparing to present its findings in the weeks to come, first to parents and staff of teh university, then to the general public.

Kaine said last week that he wants to see specifics of how accountability broke down in dealing with gunman Seung-Hui Cho (sung-wee joh), who exhibited many signs of mental illness before the shootings.

Virginia Tech officials are looking to the report for guidance on how colleges and universities can better handle students like Cho.