One Week After Bloody Massacre, Classes Resume at Virginia Tech (VIDEO)

A moment of silence will honor the 32 victims of last week's shooting who were killed by gunman, and fellow student Cho Seung-Hui.

Photo courtesy: Virginia Tech University

(BLACKSBURG, Va. ) - On Monday, Virginia Tech will observe a university-wide moment of silence, marked by the toll of one bell from the tower of Burruss Hall at 9:45 AM.

At 9:46 AM, 32 bell tolls will sound in memory of each victim, timed with the release of 32 white balloons from the Drillfield.

A release of 1,000 orange and maroon balloons signifying Hokie unity and spirit will immediately follow.

The first day of class will involve broad ranging discussion of these events from various perspectives. There will also be discussion of the options, which are available to students concerning their completion of the semester.

Classes will be continued with the elimination of one week of work. Students will have the option of requesting, on a course by course basis, that the semester grade be based on the faculty evaluation of: Materials which have already been submitted for grade prior to April 16th, or the already submitted material plus any other assigned material which the student wishes to submit for grade, or the material that would have been submitted for grade upon regular completion of the course.

Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger released the following statement Sunday:

Dear Fellow Members of the University Community:

I am very proud of the manner in which our faculty, staff, and students have united this week as a family. We have demonstrated that we are not going to allow the tragic events of this last week to divide or define us.

In this time of healing, it is important that we take care of one another, and together we can move forward to “Invent the Future.” Let us take a moment now to reflect on our Principles of Community—and reaffirm our commitment to strive to reject all forms of prejudice and discrimination in our community.

Together, we pledge our collective commitment to these principles in the spirit of our motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve).

We will prevail. . . we are Hokies!

Sincerely,

Charles W. Steger President

We Remember the victims of Monday, April 16th, 2007:

Ross Abdallah Alameddine Christopher James Bishop Brian Roy Bluhm Ryan Christopher Clark Austin Michelle Cloyd Jocelyne Couture-Nowak Kevin P. Granata Matthew Gregory Gwaltney Caitlin Millar Hammaren Jeremy Michael Herbstritt Rachael Elizabeth Hill Emily Jane Hilscher Jarrett Lee Lane Matthew Joseph La Porte Henry J. Lee Liviu Librescu G.V. Loganathan Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan Lauren Ashley McCain Daniel Patrick O'Neil J. Ortiz-Ortiz Minal Hiralal Panchal Daniel Alejandro Perez Erin Nicole Peterson Michael Steven Pohle, Jr. Julia Kathleen Pryde Mary Karen Read Reema Joseph Samaha Waleed Mohamed Shaalan Leslie Geraldine Sherman Maxine Shelly Turner Nicole White

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