Grief and support for Virginia Tech

The University community joined others around the nation in April in showing solidarity and support for Virginia Tech, where 27 students and five professors were killed on campus during a shooting rampage by a student who then killed himself.

On April 17, the evening after the shootings, more than 500 UD students, faculty, administrators and members of the community gathered on the North Green for a candlelight vigil and interfaith service. The vigil, which included comments from Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, Buddhist and Baha’i faiths, was held to provide comfort to those in attendance and allow them to show support for the Blacksburg, Va., community.

That same week, UD’s Student Government Association (SGA) and Student Centers Programming Advisory Board (SCPAB) worked together to raise funds from those who wished to contribute to the “Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.” Donations were collected at various SCPAB events on campus and at a kiosk the SGA ran at the Trabant University Center Food Court.

All contributions were donated directly to the memorial fund at Virginia Tech.

Also to pay tribute to those lost in the tragedy, a special exhibit, “In Memoriam,” was created and displayed through May 26 in UD’s Morris Library.