Hello Virginia Tech,
I am a student at Appalachian State University. Though we may have seemed fairly quiet, we are quite closely tied to you guys and we truly mourn this tragedy. In some cases your fear and loss were ours as well. Many of our students and faculty are on your campus regularly. People on campus have worn Virginia Tech shirts and hats (instead of the usual ASU stuff) all week. We held a candlelight vigil/ memorial service Wednesday night and people were openly sobbing as the names of the victims were read aloud. We wore orange ribbons, which were given out at the Plemmons Student Union, all day Wednesday. Be assured that we care so much for you and are willing to help in any way we can. You are a strong and proud school; you will overcome and get through this. You will come through even stronger than before.
I have attached some things from our school's website for you to see and read (if you haven't already) so that they will be added to all the things that you are receiving and, hopefully, bring some measure of comfort. The WORD document called 'Thursday" is a copied and pasted write-up from our school's newspaper. The other WORD document, entitled 'VTech', is the message that our university's chancellor sent to us in response.
And please, PLEASE, ask those who can to reassure the Cho family and any South Korean people that we do not feel that they are to blame. Only people who already harbor hate use events such as these to direct that hate at others. America is everyone who is here to share our country and all it has to give. My Hmong, Korean, Mexican, Iranian, and German (and all other nationalities) friends who live here are just as American as I am. Please try to help the South Korean people there and the Cho family to realize just how strange this country would look to Americans without all the nationalities who are here. Just like they cannot help that Seung Hui, a South Korean, was the shooter, we cannot help that we have had so many others who are part of our country that have committed similar acts in the past. Seung Hui was just as much a part of America as the rest of us. Human beings are just too unique to guess every person's actions. And please try to tell the Cho family that it is not their fault that Seung Hui did what he did. Sometimes even when a parent raises a child as perfectly as possible, something just goes wrong. That is not anyone's fault; it just happens. I have not spoken to a single person that harbors any ill feelings toward the Cho family or any South Koreans due to this incident. The Cho family has my absolute, heart-felt condolences. After all, they also lost their son and brother. Their loss is made that much worse by the fact that he was the perpetrator of this tragedy and has been shown all over every news channel. They, too, are surrounded everywhere they turn by those horrific images. And they, too, search for answers that even they may never be able to truly answer. No parent or sibling should ever have to go through the nightmare that they have. No one should ever have to go through what your entire community has.
I am not officially representing ASU; I am telling you how I and many of my friends and colleagues feel.
Stay strong, Virginia Tech! We're here for you.
Tabitha R. Messer
Environmental Geology major
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University website
Appalachian Online
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