I attended Virginia Tech from 1991 until 1995, obtaining my Masters in chemical engineering. During that time, I spent the majority of my waking hours in Randolph Hall, which is located a hundred feet or so across a parking lot from Norris Hall, where the worst of the killings took place.

I’ve been in a very strange place since first hearing the news yesterday. I can’t begin to express my sorrow for those whose lives were taken, nor my rage and confusion over how a person can do such a thing. I think Dan put his finger on it last night – a place that I had fond memories of, someplace where I felt safe, has been violated. I suppose I’m fortunate to be twelve years removed from campus, and things aren’t quite as raw as for those who were there just recently. For those attending Tech, I can’t begin to imagine what it would be like to try to resume a normal campus life after such a tragedy.

Through all of this, there’s an anger over something I admit is small and irrational, but irritating nonetheless: For the next few years, Virginia Tech won’t be a school known for a fine engineering school, a place for skilled architecture graduates, or even a school with a good football team. It will instead be “that school where all those people were killed.” It’s as if the schools identity was taken away, and replaced with this horrible albatross around its neck.

I probably won’t say much else about this matter – I just can’t put it into words much more than this. But I wanted to get this much out.