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Sadness And Relief Grip Tech Students

April 17, 2007

By Casey Gillis and Aaron Lee

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Lynchburg resident Paul Beeson was working in Roanoke when his daughter, Shanté, called about the shootings at Virginia Tech, and several hours later the two embraced on the edge of the drill field.

"We talked earlier when she was in her room during lockdown," Beeson said. "After the shock of the 12 o'clock hit, we couldn't get in touch with each other, that was hard."

Shanté, a Lynchburg Christian Academy grad, lives on the second floor of West Ambler Johnston, several floors below where the first people were shot Monday morning.

Like so many students, Shanté heard shots.

Her roommate, who had just been at an 8 a.m. class, came in and gave her the news. The two holed up in their dorm room all morning until Shanté met up with her dad and went home.

For others who stayed behind, it was a day full of e-mails and calls from friends and loved ones.

Brookville High School grad and engineering student Jack Merritt got the initial news from his roommate in Pritchard Hall, and for him, the calls about his well-being were constant.

"Don't worry about me," he told them. "Pray for the ones that lost loved ones."

Judith Brown, another Brookville graduate, was only able to relax Monday evening.

"I watched coverage from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.," she said.

Finally, she and her friends decided "we need to get away and stop doing this," she said, so they went out to dinner and planned to watch movies all night.

Lisa Cofflin of Lynchburg and Joey Taylor of Bedford went a similar route and ended the day at the Rivermill Bar & Grill, a downtown restaurant popular with locals and students.

"Things do feel safe," said Cofflin, a Heritage High School and Virginia Tech grad. "I'm not scared to come out. I don't think there's a killer still at large. It's just one of those things that could happen anywhere."

Taylor, a student at Tech, said he's always enjoyed the university's open environment.

"I actually hope they don't change anything as far as that goes," said Taylor, a Liberty High School graduate. "I don't want to have to have a special key to get into my classroom."

Dad Beeson said he had no qualms about sending Shanté back to school later in the week when classes resume.

"It's a wonderful place, a great school," he said. "Who's to know what a madman is going to do."

For students like Brown and Merritt, this event may well pull an already tight-knit campus community closer together.

"We're a Hokie nation," Merritt said. "We're all a family."

And that family will gather this afternoon to remember those who were lost.

University officials have asked students coming to today's ceremony to show solidarity by participating in Maroon Effect, a rallying tradition typically synonymous with sporting events at the university.

"The whole point of Maroon Effect or Orange Effect is to unite as a campus," Brown said. "I think it's one of those situations that will bring us closer together."

Contact staff writer Olympia Meola at omeola@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6812.