We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on. We are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech ...
-- Nikki Giovanni,
University Distinguished
Professor, poet, activist
I
spent half my adult life at
Virginia Tech – and in that time the only thing that the
students had to fear
was that the faculty would push them to go beyond their reach; the only
thing
the faculty feared was that they would not challenge their students
enough… and
the only thing that I feared was the day that I would have to leave the
peaceful academic environment – the innocence that the
mountains provided.
Today,
I am half a world away –
and it is a decade since I “moved on”. But neither
time nor distance can serve
to alleviate the pain of this day. For today, I lost my innocence all
over
again…
TO
THE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF
THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES AND TO ALL THE CURRENT STUDENTS, STAFF AND
FACULTY
OF VIRGINIA TECH:
The rest of us can write volumes, but these will be mere drops when
compared to
the volume of tears that you shed. And our words may only provide
infinitesimal
consolation. So I will leave you with just one thought: Half a world
away and a
decade removed, I mourn your loss, as if it were my own. I may not have
touched
the lives of your loved ones – but they surely have touched
mine.
Tapan
Rai,
Alumnus
and Former Math Instructor
April 18, 2007, 1:23am •
Perth, Australia • 5540
Read all condolences at the Virginia Tech April 16 Memorial Website ›
