2008 Woodie Awards
Virginia Tech students reflect on tragedy a year later
By Megan Hupp and Kellie Bramlet
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- Virginia Tech sophomore Charlotte Savercool tells her story
- "Last year our campus grew closer than ever and sometimes I found it hard to grieve with the media around. Becoming so close as a community during that time definitely helped us get through the tough time.
- As for the upcoming anniversary, my friends and I are a little nervous about how that whole day is going to be. It is a weird feeling to know that when I wake up this Wednesday morning, my whole day is going to be really sad. The university has set up many events around campus throughout the day. I will probably go to campus in the morning with friends for the commemoration. My sorority is also organizing us all to go to the candlelight vigil together later that night. I still think Blacksburg is a very safe town. I feel very safe living here.
- Of course I think about the tragedy that occurred here, but it is not on my mind constantly. I have definitely thought more about it in the days leading up to the one year anniversary.
- When I am home, I feel like people will still stare unintentionally if I am wearing a Virginia Tech sweatshirt. It is hard when you notice this, because you know they are only thinking of the horrible tragedy that occurred at your school. But I love Virginia Tech and I am so proud of where I go and the people I go to school with."
On the anniversary of the tragedy, three students featured in last year's Tribune article, share their stories — the experiences of both triumph and sadness that have marked the past year.
'I am a Hokie. I am a survivor' Kelly Davis wants a tattoo on her foot. "Super omnie superstites" — a Latin phrase Davis said means, "Above all we are survivors."
One year ago, Davis, a sophomore at Virginia Tech, left her 8 a.m. chemistry lab as Cho Seung-Hui began his shooting rampage.
Now, the spirit of survival is one Davis said permeates campus. A larger force than simply school spirit, Davis said being a Hokie carries a different meaning for her.
"I am a Hokie. I am a survivor. I will prevail because I cannot be broken," Davis said. "It's like everyone says that to themselves every morning when they wake up and you can feel it on campus."
Reminders of the tragedy are scattered across campus. There is the memorial on the Drillfield in the center of campus. There is Ambler Johnston Hall — Davis' freshman-year dorm where the tragedy began. And there is Norris Hall — where the worst of the rampage occurred.
"Norris Hall may serve as a haunting reminder of what happened that day but it is also a symbol of how we have been able to rise above everything and continue to be a community," she said.
But when the memories flood her mind, Davis admits she personally struggles to maintain her composure.
"Anytime it is even mentioned I can feel tears building up and I get that feeling of pressure in my throat that I'm about to cry," she said. "I don't think about it on a daily basis and often not even on a weekly basis. But when I do remember it, it stays for a while."
In the coming days, Davis said she knows those in the Tech community will handle the anniversary in the only way they know how.
"We are just going to have to be there for each other," she said. "We all know that everyone is going to hurt and feel the pain all over again. We all know it's never going to be the same."
'I don't expect others to understand'For Brad Shapiro, Wednesday will be a day of personal reflection. The now senior at Virginia Tech wants to spend April 16 with the people he loves and keeping those lost in his thoughts.
Over the past year, the university's administration has made changes to campus safety. Shapiro said he immediately noticed additional keycard swipes at building doors and a text messaging system to alert students of potential threats to safety.
"I think the most important and helpful measure taken has been increased attention to reports of mentally unstable students," he said. Physically however, Shapiro said he believes Blacksburg to be "one of the safest places in the world."
The tight-knit university has been the greatest security to students who survived the tragedy, Shapiro said. Shapiro spoke to his mother for only a few minutes on April 16 before she realized he wouldn't leave campus. He wanted to stay, he told her, "with my Virginia Tech community."
But in the days following the shootings, he was frustrated by probing and intrusive questions.
"These are some of the most horrifying moments of my life," he said. "I'm comfortable sharing that with those I'm close to."
Despite occasional insensitivity, Shapiro said the general public has been largely supportive.
"They recognize that it was and is a big deal, but that I don't really want to share it with them," he said. "I don't expect others to understand. I don't think they should even try to understand. Just don't take for granted the ones you love."
'Something we all have to learn to live with'Laura Gill considers herself lucky. In May, Gill graduated from Virginia Tech, leaving behind classes and exams, leaving behind weekly fall football games and sorority formals, and leaving behind a student body that was forever changed by last year's tragedy.
"I couldn't imagine spending a whole year or more with the entire campus as a reminder of that awful day," Gill said. "But at the same time, the students who remain on campus all have each other to keep them strong."
Gill now lives in Washington, D.C., working as a hotel sales coordinator — a lifestyle that can hardly compare to her days as a busy sorority girl. But she can't forget that life and the tragedy that occurred one year ago and changed it all.
She sees it on TV, splattered across newspapers and posted on the Internet. All these reminders are with her constantly. They bring on the flashbacks: The phone call from her dad, waking her from a night's sleep and pulling her into the frightening reality. The panic when she discovered her roommate was trapped in a Norris Hall classroom with the door blocked by the teacher's desk, keeping the gunman out. The sadness of the days that followed as she attended vigils and services. With a mind crowded by all the memories, sometimes Gill can't sleep at night.
The media won't let her forget, but Gill won't let herself forget either. She wears her Virginia Tech colors proudly, as often as she can. When she started her new job, she told her polite and careful co-workers they shouldn't be afraid to ask her about it. She's not afraid to show them that she's strong — that her life has continued. Nor is she afraid to show that she isn't always OK. She said she often turns to them for support when she's feeling down.
"The tragedy is something we all have to learn to live with for the rest of our lives," Gill said. "I think we have grown a lot from last year regarding the tragedy and will continue to grow stronger as time goes on."
Published: 4/15/08 Section: News
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