STAFF REPORTS
Published: April 17, 2008

Wednesday was the one-year anniversary of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and wounded two dozen others at the Blacksburg college, before killing himself.

This event has become a defining one in not only the Virginia Tech community, but in the state as a whole.
It is strange how tragedy can become a rallying point for a diverse group of people, and strange how death draws us together and makes us forget what divides us.

Joined by the common peril that is our tenuous hold on life, we have faced the fear of the unknown, which was so clearly represented by the meaningless tragedy at Virginia Tech. 

To memorialize that day and as an expression of the pain that we all felt, and still feel, some wore the maroon and orange colors of Virginia Tech to support the school. Others said a prayer for those lost and still others, found ways to remember those who died.

Granted, these are small memorials to those who suddenly found their lives transformed nearly a year ago, but it has helped us all join together in remembrance.

Last year we were all Hokies. And on this anniversary, we have all become Hokies once again.

We were able to put aside our differences for the day and remember that there are more important things.

All of us were affected in one way or another by what happened at Virginia Tech. And though the impact of that event is no longer so clearly displayed on our faces, it has sunk deeper inside of us to make a firm imprint on our hearts.

Hokies unite!