Black day in Blacksburg

The shootings at Virginia Tech hit close to home. In the mid 90's I spent some of my best years in Blacksburg and the surrounding area. As an M.A. student, at nearby Radford University, my friends and I used to spend countless hours at Tech (as it is known to students in Virginia), and in Blacksburg. We used Tech's impressive library, went to football games, got drunk in local bars, and ate fabulous food at places like The Cellar on North main street there. So many good memories.....

During the summer of 2005, while trying to finish my M.A. degree, I took a Spanish class at Tech - in Norris Hall - and worked at the campus bookstore. I loved Virginia Tech, and Blacksburg; It's a great university town.

The random violence of yesterday hits close to home for these reasons, but also because I have spent much of my adult life teaching and working in institutions of higher education. I have relished the openness and safety of life on college and university campuses. However, there are times when the prospect of this type of violence has been in the back of my mind. I think most professors have worried about a problem student at one point or another ,wondering if that student is capable of such an act, if they have a gun in their backpack etc.

I fear the days of open colleges and universities are over. Here comes the surveillance, the metal detectors......and soon college safety officers will be wearing guns....

joyce