"we are virginia tech"

the video above is nikki giovanni closing the convocation that took place yesterday at two o'clock. she is a poet and a professor at virginia tech. she is amazing. i hope she holds the spirit that will keep the school going. right after this poem, the entire crowd starts a chant, "Let's go Hokies!" it was powerful.

growing up in virginia, this hits very close to home and touches many in my life. sara attended school there for two years. two of my closest friends from high school went to school there, mitsuko and yvette. one of my friends, kellee, her brother is a ph.d. student there, works in Norris Hall, and lost one of his collegues that day. i, myself, spent a summer there going to governor's school where i met my friend, jen, with whom i'm still close.

even only spending a summer, i had a lot of amazing memories there. sara can actually visualize being in those buildings, walking across the drill field and knows exactly how long that walk can take. i can only imagine how hard it is for the students who have spent even more time there and are still enrolled there. i think this has affected everyone in the country in different ways. it's scared me, it saddens me and overall, it confuses me. i am mourning the victims and praying for their families. i am hoping there is not a backlash toward asians or asian nationals, on campus or around the country. i hope there is not a lot of finger pointing and blame games. i hope that virginia tech can recover, along with the rest of the nation. in reality, "we are virginia tech," a large community, a nation, transformed by an event of incredible violence.