"April 16th Virginia Tech Remembers" is about the 31+1 students who were killed during a campus shooting rampage in 2007.
The first third of the book is a 'oral history' format. Hokie journalism students at the time of the shootings assembled witness accounts, their first hand testimonies, and major media stories - into a linear telling of the events of April 16, and the media chaos in the days that followed.
The middle third of the book contains a memorial to each of the victims. Reflections and reminiscing tales collected from a wide variety of sources - interviews with students' parents to Facebook postings - woven to offer personal glimpses at the lives of each of the slain.
The final third is the impact to the University and the challenge to the Engineering department as a result of the location of the killings . . . Norris Hall, also home to numerous high tech laboratories.
"April 16th Virginia Tech Remembers" is very easy to read; often contradictory as view points of events are shared from different perspectives; and highly emotional. I had everything from damp eyes to streaming tears for at least 270 of the 324 pages.
I have been left with a few clear impressions. First, excellent job by a group of students - how tough it must have been, as their world was erupting around them into chaos - to stay focused and provide 'real' information. And even more impressive was the ability to talk to friends and family about their losses while preparing the various memorial bios. Second, the book has a feeling of catharsis. There will be those who may not like how the book is written, the fact that it doesn't attack somebody or attempt to assign blame, but as simply as possible, lets the story be told and how it is told is how it should be. Finally, as a Virginia Tech alum, it is with great pride and no surprise to read how the Community pulled together. Go Hokies!
The first third of the book is a 'oral history' format. Hokie journalism students at the time of the shootings assembled witness accounts, their first hand testimonies, and major media stories - into a linear telling of the events of April 16, and the media chaos in the days that followed.
The middle third of the book contains a memorial to each of the victims. Reflections and reminiscing tales collected from a wide variety of sources - interviews with students' parents to Facebook postings - woven to offer personal glimpses at the lives of each of the slain.
The final third is the impact to the University and the challenge to the Engineering department as a result of the location of the killings . . . Norris Hall, also home to numerous high tech laboratories.
"April 16th Virginia Tech Remembers" is very easy to read; often contradictory as view points of events are shared from different perspectives; and highly emotional. I had everything from damp eyes to streaming tears for at least 270 of the 324 pages.
I have been left with a few clear impressions. First, excellent job by a group of students - how tough it must have been, as their world was erupting around them into chaos - to stay focused and provide 'real' information. And even more impressive was the ability to talk to friends and family about their losses while preparing the various memorial bios. Second, the book has a feeling of catharsis. There will be those who may not like how the book is written, the fact that it doesn't attack somebody or attempt to assign blame, but as simply as possible, lets the story be told and how it is told is how it should be. Finally, as a Virginia Tech alum, it is with great pride and no surprise to read how the Community pulled together. Go Hokies!
