Virginia Tech Professor Nikki Giovanni recites her poem, "We Are Virginia Tech."
Tuesday’s convocation at Virginia Tech provided an opportunity for members of the Hokie Nation to show their support for university President Charles Steger, who has come under criticism for the delay of more than two hours before an e-mail was sent to students and staff notifying them that there had been a shooting on campus.
As the service in the basketball arena began, a student in section 7 held up a sign reading “Support Steger.”
A warm wave of applause greeted Steger when he was introduced as a speaker. It quickly grew into a standing ovation, led by renowned poet and Virginia Tech Professor Nikki Giovanni.
Giovanni herself brought down the house later in the service by reciting her poem, “We Are Virginia Tech.”
After the convocation, Steger also drew support from two students living one floor above the alleged shooter.
"People need to stop playing the blame game," said Christopher Byron, a junior accounting major from Dunwoody, Ga. He was standing outside Harper Hall, where his suite is No. 3120, directly above suite 2120, where Cho Seung-Hui lived with five other students. "Even if I had known more about what had happened" in the first shooting, "I still would have gone to class. I had a test."
His suite-mate, Adam Thompson, agreed. A senior from Rosedale, Ga., studying human nutrition, Thompson said that security on the campus is more than adequate. Each dorm resident has a card key that opens the outside doors of only that dorm, but students frequently held the doors for other students or strangers. "Maybe not at 3 in the morning, but at 7 in the morning when this happened, sure."
Police have said they're not sure how the gunman gained access to the dorm where the first two victims, a female student and a male resident adviser, were killed. Because students often are coming back from all-night study binges, or headed out to the dining hall next door, the students said that many people would have been coming in or out of the dorms early in the morning. "So someone held the door for him," Byron theorized with a shrug.
Harper Hall is a private, quiet dorm where students mind their own business, more like an apartment building, both Byron and Thompson said. Each suite has a single entry door, with common rooms and three bedrooms shared by two students each. Because the bathrooms are inside the suites, students don't share common bathrooms on the halls, as is the case in most other dorms on campus. Few freshmen live in Harper, because it's harder to get into, so it's mostly an older crowd that tends to skip the RA's lectures on "how to spend spring break." So if a student was troubled, few others might know, they said.
The Harper Hall rooms are nearly empty now, and both students said they planned to join the exodus from campus, now that classes are canceled for the rest of the week. Not all the students are going voluntarily.
"My mom guilt-tripped me into coming home," Byron said.
Prof says she pleaded with Cho to get help
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As officials, students and families struggle to come to terms with the tragedy at Virginia Tech, a team of MSNBC.com reporters and editors and NBC News producers and correspondents is on the scene.
Steger was a wonderful president for Virginia Tech while I was a student there and during this unthinkable tragedy. SUPPORT STEGER.
Kurt Schron
Industrial and Systems Engineering '06
Kurt Schron, Washington DC (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:20:29 PM)
Everyone rushes to criticize the school, law enforcement, etc, but the truth is:
1. There was nothing they could have done to prevent this, because they had no idea it was coming.
2. They acted appropriately on the information they were given.
3. You can't shut down a whole town in a matter of minutes. If he had emailed information out too soon, he would have been criticized for that as well. He was gathering as much information as possible, in the quickest amount of time possible.
RU Alum, and native of Southwest VA
Susie, Raleigh NC (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:24:36 PM)
should this guy or the head of security (Campus Police Chief) receive a standing ovation? they should be forced to resign instead. no matter how you cut it, a 2 hour lapse with no notification that an armed killer may be loose on campus is completely unacceptable.
wjs (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:25:09 PM)
College campuses are very open environments. College students are very independent people. It is extremely difficult to notify such a large population of diverse people in a small amount of time. I think the administration did the best it could with the information it had at that time.
C Lehew, El Dorado, AR (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:26:32 PM)
Only posts postive to Steger are being hosted today apparently. I doubt the parents share these votes of support. A shame that with all of the indicators of trouble it takes a massive loss of life to wake this gentleman up.
JA Sanders, Henderson Tenn (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:29:33 PM)
i have mixed feelings on the support steger campaign. of course he is a hard working decent man whom would never intentially prolong a attack on "his kids". but living in denver, i am very familiar with the procedure carried out in columbine and feel poor procedure was used here. support him to be sure. he cares deeply ofver this and it will affect him forever...butadministrations must have a better plan for these situations.
chris baldwin, denver, co (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:38:20 PM)
JA and wjs, easy to look back from where you sit and criticize. I think Dr. Steger did did the right thing under the circumstances. I doubt you'd have done any better. Our freedoms as Americans come at a price. And so far as I can tell, in this area Dr. Steger has the majority support. My condolences to the families of all those involved.
Joshua, Roanoke VA (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:38:29 PM)
I think that Mr. Steger did the best that anyone have under the circumstances. I also, believe that he is doing the best job possible considering the circumstances. My heart goes out to all of the staff, students and family members of all the Virginia Tech families.
Marie Michels, Live Oak, Florida (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:39:11 PM)
I feel that this was an unfortunate situation and that the media needs to show more restraint in their need to hold court, interview students and families and their need to always undermine authority. I'm sure the authority involved made the best decisions withthe information at hand.
wilma gaughan, pittsburgh, PA (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:39:54 PM)
With as much talked regarding guns in public schools, screening for guns in airports and government buildings, etc., what happened to the idea of screening for guns on a college campus? In our city the TV station sends out a message to cell phones during emergencies. This university is behind the times. Unfortunately, unsuspecting students and faculty did not have a heads-up that a serious incident had occurred on campus and were subject to on-going criminal activity resulting in the loss of life, life as it was formerly known.
Sandy, Savannah GA (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:40:05 PM)
The media needs to stop comparing the VA. Tech. tragedy with Columbine High School. The student population and campuses are totally different. Steger and law enforcers did what they thought best at that moment. I mourn for the lives lost as the world does today. This could happen anywhere any time and any place.
sandra williams, Charlottesville, VA (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:41:05 PM)
HIND SIGHT IT 20/20...The President and the officials are human beings also going through this tramatic, horrific experience and it is NOT THIER FAULT. I have 2 college children and my heart hurts beyond words for these families--but enough is enough. They made the appropriate call at the time. How would you like to walk a mile in thier shoes today? Please stop pointing fingers (ESPECIALL THE MEDIA) and start praying for the victims and thier families, and all of us. We all need to take a lesson from the Amish of PA.
K. Morewood, Harrisburg, PA (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:41:17 PM)
Was protocol followed? If not, where was the break - probably not at the president's level. How long did it take to do the intitial investigation - before the president was even notified? Come on people - the president DID NOT KILL 32 people - nor was he responsible - if there was a lapse if protocol - fix it. Even the best plans fail - the shooting at a middle school in Sheridan Wyoming where students were 'safe' behind a tall chain link fence - in essence were sitting ducks for a shooter. A good lock makes for a better thief - a killer is going to kill. Period.
A Brady, Wyoming (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:41:36 PM)
President Steger is an honest, thoughtful and forthright individual. I knew him when I was a student at Virginia Tech and I must say that those who criticize him, clearly do not know the man.
SDH (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:41:49 PM)
It is easy to say "we should've done this differently" after the fact. Until you are put in the place he was put and ask to react immediately then you shouldn't judge him.I'm sure he feels awful about what has happened and will beat himself up enough over the rest of his lifetime without someone telling him how he should've done things different. It's always easy to place blame, but can you come up with a better solution given the time frame, the limited information, and bazar circumstances? In times like this we need to stand together and offer comforting word. Harsh words does not change what happened, it just makes a bad situation worse.
Katherine, Princeton, NC (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:42:06 PM)
There are armed killers on the loose in most cities in this country. Shall we all go on lockdown until they are all rounded up? It is not reasonable for the police to expect that everyone that kills in a domestic situation will go on a killing spree. This was a sick exception by an unstable mind. These things cannot be anticipated.
DJ Memphis, TN (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:42:17 PM)
Steger did the best he could with the limited information he had. Handsight is too easy. As a leader, you sometimes wish you had made different decisions. The police told him that the killer had left campus and that it may have been a murder suicide. The killer had planned this for a long time, and outmaneuvered everyone.
Thomas, NYC, NY (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:42:44 PM)
While it's true that the authorities (School President or Campus Police Chief) need time to gather as much information as possible, it seems that some sort of notification should have been made sooner. Better to be criticized for sounding an alarm prematurely, than to have an additional 30 people dead and you made NO NOTIFICATION OF ANY KIND TO ANYBODY... had they, they might have saved some lives.... I guess they will have to live with that for the rest of their lives... wouldn't want to be in their shoes....
Eddie, Houston, TX (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:43:05 PM)
It seems as though some of you always want to blame someone! You can always look back and be a Monday morning quarterback! I guess it makes you feel good! As though you would have stopped the killer. The President and the Police department did the right thing with the knowledge that they had at the time.
Steve, Newbury Park, Ca (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:43:11 PM)
As a parent, I cannot begin to comprehend what the families of those killed or wounded must be going through. However, I can't imagine what else the administration could have done. Earlier notice could well have created a panic if in fact the first shooting was a domestic issue.
I fear the greater tragedy will be when the trial lawyers collect their 50% of the awards to the victims' families. The loss of life on Monday was unbelievable; capitalizing on the fallen and the grief of their families is inexcusable greed.
Michael Smith, Anchorage, Alaska (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:43:28 PM)
I believe he did the best he could with the information he had. No one would have thought that an apparant domestic matter would bloom into a mass murder. Anyone can have hind sight and second guess at this point. May God bless all involved in this terrible tragedy.
Debbie Reger, Parkland, FL (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:44:02 PM)
This is a man who has deep ties to Virginia Tech, who has given his best in the past, and who continues to do so. Not only do I support him, I am deeply aware of how hurt and saddened he is by this horrible tragedy. I am a Blacksburg native, whose parents worked at Virginia Tech, whose brother graduated from Tech. The bottom line is Blacksburg is a wonderful town, and that college is a fine institution. Thank you President Steger for your service. This is a time to come together to grieve and heal.
Kirk, Bloomington, IN (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:44:02 PM)
I live no where near Virginia Tech. Yet I assure you it is felt all the way up here in New Hampshire.
Society will blame Steger because he is here to take the blame while the gun man is already dead.
Jennifer K. Manchester, NH (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:44:08 PM)
I am sure that Mr. Steger made the best decisions he could with the information he had at the time. It is so easy to second guess after a situation is over. We all need to support the school, the faculty, the students and the families who have lost so much.
Beverly Clarke Corsicana, Texas (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:44:22 PM)
So what would be different if word had gone out to stay indoors? The shootings occurred indoors. The shooter could have just as easily walked into the student center, the cafeteria, library or anywhere else. Unless the students could have barricaded themselves in their dorm rooms (and less than 1/4 even live on campus) the outcome would have been similar. Give the authorities a break. They did all that any reasonable person could have expected them to do.
FPG, Chicago, Ill. (Sent Apr 17, 2007 4:44:52 PM)
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