Somber Va. Tech Marks Tragic Anniversary - It was one year ago when a student at Virginia Tech gunned down 32 of his classmates and professors in a nightmarish killing spree. At the Blacksburg campus, students, administrators and residents gather to honor those who died.

I remember it. Last year, I was splitting my time between Lafayette where my Dad was (thankfully) recovering from an illness the doctors thought would be the end of him and Indianapolis. In keeping with the three promises he made me keep when he regained consciousness --don't neglect your marriage, your studies (I'm finishing a Masters) or your business--I was driving to Indy for a class when I heard that at another college campus miles away, the students were running for their lives.

The stories of tragedy and loss, courage and compassion and deep frustration (from some, like poet Nikki Giovanni, a professor there, who urged the administration to take early action to help the troubled shooter, will stay with me always. Stories, like that of Liviu Librescu, an Israeli professor, who survived the Holocaust...so he could choose, years later, to block the door long enough for his students to escape and give his life in the process.

This from Dr. Librescu's obit:

Liviu Librescu, a Romanian-born Israeli and Holocaust survivor, was shot dead on April 16, 2007, during the massacre at Virginia Tech carried out by Cho Seung Hui, a student at the college. Librescu was teaching his engineering class, in Room 204 in the Norris Hall Engineering Building, when he heard the shooting and blocked the door to the lecture room with his body. When Cho forced his way into the room Librescu threw himself in front of the attacker, giving his students time to escape out of the window. Librescu was one of the 32 people murdered by Cho, who later shot himself.

Sometimes, bearing witness--small as that is--is enough. Just barely.

Lalita Amos's blog | login or register to post comments