"Among Monday's dead was..."

Jesus Christ. This news story is incredibly troubling. Heartbreaking. Disturbing. And somewhat personal.

The school really is nestled in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains. I have my own pictures to prove it. There's greenery and beautiful graystone and brick buildings everywhere you look. Fall brings an explosion of orange, red and brown in the trees, and the drill field is a great place for mud flinging and/or mud wrestling (depending on your personal preference) after a big rain. Several bars downtown, as well as several fraternities, welcomed college bands and offered all-ages nights. (I first heard Dave Matthews Band at a frat party at Virginia Tech, if you can believe that.) In short, not a bad place to be when you're coming into your own after high school. It also had a LOT of dormitory housing (Monteith and West Eggleston Halls representin'!), which lent itself nicely to the "full college experience." My fondest college memories are of Virginia Tech, not of the university that actually issued my degree four years later.

When I attended for the first three semesters of my college career, the university had a phone system that could get voice mail messages to students through a bulk distribution listing. I can't imagine the same isn't still true, and I can't understand why they chose to use email for this particular message. But the attack did start small, and there's always the fine line between appropriate notification and fear-induced panic.

I don't fault the higher-ups for acting as they did, and my thoughts are with them and all the students, parents and faculty who were a part of this horrific experience.