Ft. Hood Shooting links back to Virginia Tech

November 10, 2009 by Derek ODell
Filed under Media Coverage of School Shootings, Virginia Tech

Washington Post Article - With Fort Hood, Virginia Tech confronts link to another tragedy

The recent mass shooting at Fort Hood Army Base allegedly by Nidal M. Hasan, a 1995 Virginia Tech graduate, brings Virginia Tech back to the forefront of media coverage of violent tragedies. Virginia Tech has been a community that has been devastated by campus tragedies over the past 3 years. The April 16th, 2007 shootings followed by the beheading of a graduate student on campus in January of 2009 leads some to think that Virginia Tech might be cursed by these repetitive acts of violence. With the alleged Ft. Hood shooter being an alumnus as well, this only reinforces this theory for some. For myself and probably thousands of other Virginia Tech students it is quite the contrary belief.

For most students who first set foot on the campus nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of SW Virginia, they instantly realize what special places Virginia Tech and the community Blacksburg are. Ever since the April 16th school shootings, these communities have shown their immense resilience which now embodies the persona of Virginia Tech. After each heartfelt campus tragedy, the students, faculty, and townspeople have all come together to mourn and support each other, then eventually bounce back and continue on. The students remember their colleagues that have been lost on this campus and embody their spirit everyday when returning to class and eventually graduating.

Persistence and resilience are the qualities that allow the students to survive these seemingly continual tragedies and remain with a positive outlook towards Virginia Tech. With each violent act that is linked to Virginia Tech, the media will continue to reinforce the negative image associated with the Univeristy, but the students are the ones who ultimately will let hope prevail in Blacksburg and bring back the safe, friendly atmosphere to the VT campus, that should be what it is like to be a student at any college or university, a safe learning environment.