Few of us will ever forget where we were and how we felt when we heard the news: A student had opened fire at a peer institution and mercilessly killed 32 students, faculty and staff before killing himself. Today marks the one-year anniversary of that horrific Virginia Tech massacre.
April 16, 2007. I remember the shock and horror felt across campus that day. College students all over the country were shaken by the news. The sobering realization that it could have happened here prompted university officials both here and elsewhere to implement new safety standards and procedures. What Sept. 11 did for airport security, April 16 did for Ohio University security. From the novel idea of an emergency text messaging system to the inconvenient policy of residence hall doors remaining locked all day (the policy is understandable, but seems to be aimed at inconveniencing the resident who forgot her keys more than deterring a psychopath intent on inflicting harm on strangers), OU seems to be a much safer place to go to school. And today, the nation remembers what victims' families and friends will never forget.
However, this anniversary serves to remind me not only of the victims and the tragedy that took their lives too soon, but of how easily we forget. Tragedies occur, like the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina or the Virginia Tech massacre, and the news media outlets bring the events right to your living room day and night. However, months, weeks and even days later, we have forgotten all about it. Because we forget so easily, days of remembrance are important for a generation that is almost completely desensitized to tragedy. A lifetime of watching movies such as The Day After Tomorrow, War of the Worlds, and I Am Legend ' all predicting the end of the world as we know it ' might have made us dangerously unimpressed by the horrific events that occur in real life.
I mean unimpressed in the long run. The immediate aftermath of a tragedy always seems to reveal how much even the most self-obsessed group of people cares about others. A short time after the news media reported the massacre, students all over the country changed their Facebook profile pictures from their own smiling faces to a ribbon commemorating the lives lost. I attended my first-ever vigil and was amazed at the turnout. Hundreds and hundreds of students gathered together, lighting one another's candles, crying together and some just standing together in respectful and reflecting silence. The silver lining in any tragedy is that, in itself, tragedy can be a great unifier G? even if just for a moment.
Today we unify again to remember. Today we remember how sweet life is. We remember the victims who sacrificed their lives for others. We think of the families and friends who remain ' those people who will never forget. The hypothetical mother who saw her son for the last time when he was home from school with five garbage bags of laundry and a sheepish grin revealing he spent all the laundry money she gave him on late-night pizza. The father who listened to his daughter's explanation of why a college student needs a North Face jacket and Ugg boots. The little sister who, for the last time, called her big brother at college to complain about high school. The wife who listened to her husband's stories about his class for the last time. One victim was a young black male in the band with a triple major and a 4.0 GPA. His life and his potential, both snuffed out by a senseless murderer. Today we remember all of those victims ' their lives, their stories, and their contributions to their community. Today we also appreciate the chance that we too often take for granted ' the chance to live another day.
Alissa Griffith is a junior journalism major. Send her an e-mail at ag180505@ohiou.edu.
17 Archives
Alissa Griffith
200804167680midsize.jpeg
