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by CollegiateTimes.com
Monday, April 16th 2007 5:38M
Students respond to shootings
Alexandra Hemenway, CT News Reporter
After the multiple shootings that
took place this morning on Campus, many Virginia Tech students have been
left feeling shocked and saddened.
"I was in my dorm room this morning
when I found out what was going on," said junior Sam Leake, who lives in
West Amber Johnston, "This is just a really horrific incident, I always
thought Virginia Tech was a safe school."
Most students, including those that
live in West Ambler Johnston, were unaware that anything had happened
until much later in the morning. In fact, many students that woke up
around 9 a.m. got ready to go to their 10:10 a.m. classes as usual.
Right before most students went to leave they were told that West Ambler
Johnston was locked down for the second time that morning.
"I left to go to my 10:10 class,"
said freshman Ashley Loessberg who lives in West Amber Jonston, "It
wasn't until I went into the hall that my RA told me that we were in a
lockdown situation again."
Many students expressed frustration
that classes were not cancelled until about two hours after the first
shooting took place.
"I really thought they should have
cancelled classes sooner," Leake said. "If they had, maybe some of these
deaths could have been prevented."
"I received and read an e-mail about
the situation that happened at West A.J. this morning but it didn't say
anything about not going to class," said freshman Cheryl Cordingley.
"That makes me feel really uncomfortable."
After such a horrific incident many
Virginia Tech students are expressing their absolute shock and disbelief
in regards to this situation.
"I just can't believe this
happened," Loessberg said, "I mean a lot of people have been calling and
e-mailing, but I think it will take time to sink in."
Chase Damiano, a freshman student at
Virginia Tech, went to his French class in Holden Hall, which is
connected to Norris hall, and thought the day was going to proceed as
usual.
"I woke up and went to my French
class in Holden Hall like a normal day," Damiano said. "While I was in
class I heard sirens, but with the bomb threats made recently, the
sirens didn't cause that much of a concern."
However, after a short time Damiano
learned that something serious was happening on campus.
"More and more police officers
started showing up and then two women came to our classroom and said
that a shooter was in Norris Hall. We barricaded ourselves in the
classroom and watched the news. We just sat there and watched the
casualty numbers rise from two to seven to 22, " Damiano said. "When we
looked out the window we could see students running with their hands up,
and we definitely could hear gunshots."
Cordingley watched the events that
took place at Norris Hall from her seventh floor window in Slusher
Tower.
"After I heard what had happened I
decided to stay in my room," Cordingley said. "Some of my friends and I
went out the stairwell window and we could see what was going on at
Norris. There were police and ambulances everywhere over there."
Despite the feelings of shock and
frustration that many Virginia Tech students have expressed, students
are also expressing feelings that the Virginia Tech community will come
together and find strength within one another.
"I think this definitely has the
potential to bring the community together," Cordingley said. "I intend
to go to Cassel tomorrow to show my support for all of those people that
have been impacted by this shooting."
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