E-mail from Virginia Tech Provost Mark McNamee
- April 20: The love for Virginia Tech shines
- April 22: Memorials bring tears
- April 23: Students return, faculty is terrific
- April 24: Roses and reckoning
- April 25: Back to routine — and recovery
April 23 e-mail from Mark McNamee: Students return, faculty is terrific
Today was an inspiring day. Our students returned to campus in huge numbers and classes were overflowing.
The students want to be with one another and to get back to work. The faculty have been terrific in preparing for classes, and they spent time talking with students about how to move forward.
We had over 200 counselors assigned to classroom buildings all over campus. The counselors came from as far away as California and their presence was reassuring.
At 9:45 a.m., we had a ceremony on our drill field with a tolling bell for each victim accompanied by the ceremonial release of a white balloon as the bell tolled.
As the 9:45 time approached, students, faculty and staff came streaming onto the field from every direction. Many thousands of people were there on a beautiful spring morning.
Crowds still flock to the memorials to light candles and honor the victims. Students are playing Frisbee, soccer and touch football on the field and things appear to be returning to normal.
We continue to have regular meetings with the state police, FBI and others as they continue to investigate the shootings. The police have been absolutely fantastic throughout the entire week.
Katie is back in Portland safely, and Mark arrived home from his China trip. We are looking forward to a quieter week as we continue to recover from this tragedy.