Hokies

Tragedy occurred in Blacksburg, Virginia. We should never forget it. It breaks my heart. We don’t understand the reasons for it, but we’ll continue to deal with the effects for a long time. I wish I could change history. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Hokie family. I have worked with university groups and done research to see what we can do in response.

As a college student, I fear it could have been my school—it could have been any school. It could have been my dorm, my engineering building, my friends, or it could have been me. Actually, one of my fellow high school graduates, who attends Virginia Tech, lives in a neighboring dorm and was in Norris Hall on the day of the shootings. These thoughts have put me into reality that college is not a perfect utopia and that we have to face the real world within our campus. I have had the University Police number programmed in my phone since orientation, but I have encouraged my friends to do the same since Monday. In different conversations, I have asked other students what they would do if that occurred here. Most have not even considered the possibility. Fortunately, in case of any emergency, the University Police have already trained for similar occasions and have agreements with local law enforcement, fire stations, sheriff offices, hospitals, and emergency response teams. The campus newspaper also raised awareness with its article about campus security. It seems that Virginia Tech will create a report so other schools can learn from the tragedy. They have a lot to handle right now, and I pray everything will be taken care of. Hopefully, we will learn from this, and history will not be allowed to repeat itself.

Coming from a small town, I was never exposed to death. Most of the death in my area was from natural causes, especially not tragedies like this or accidents that have occurred locally on campus. Last semester about three students died in car accidents. This past week, a student died at the aquatic center. The cause has not been determined, but he was in a class that I also take. Like two of the car crash victims, he was a friend of my friends. We’re able to see counselors here if we need them. Respect for VT can be found in flags at half mast, the bell tower playing songs of tribute, memorial services, flowers, moments of silence, and public announcements. Personally, my safety awareness level and concerns have been raised and my appreciation for life increased. I hate to dwell on such melancholy subjects, but unfortunately its part of life. From such dark matters, I have faith that great things will come.

Week of Greek

Throughout last week, each Greek pairing competed in a wide variety of competitions. My fraternity was paired with a sorority for all the activities. We were well represented at each contest. The week began with a huge BBQ for all Greeks. It was a pleasurable blitz of every acquaintance I had made since the beginning of school. Surprisingly, I remembered almost everybody’s name, but my clever talents were able to divert the awkwardness away from the ones I did not remember.

On Monday, we had a Greek god and goddess competition, complete with togas. It was primarily a comic routine for the participants to entertain the crowd. The following night everybody enjoyed a bowling tournament. My sense of accomplishment came with the festivities of Wednesday night, because I was a key component of the lip sync contest. I enjoyed breaking down my groove thing to classic R&B intertwined with hard-hitting rap music. Our top-notch choreographed dance won the gold and the hearts of all the ladies. On Thursday, everybody baked on the recreational fields for the field-day type Greek Olympics. We finished the week with band parties at every fraternity house.

The week was not only focused on competition or socializing. The money raised from each event’s ticket sales went to charity. Each house provided workers for Habit for Humanity’s blitz build. Red Cross collected blood from every able member. A lot of the houses coincided their philanthropy efforts with Greek Week in order to achieve greater success. No matter the occasion, I always enjoy working for charity. I hate to dwell on my Greek activities, but a decent amount of my time was given to our dance practices and support of brothers in the different competitions. It usually does not require much time, but the splurge of intense competition was entertaining.

Lots of activities occurred during this week other than Greek stuff. The biggest accomplishment of the week was that three guys and I finalized our lease for next year at a local apartment complex. Since I am in the honors program, I received preference in class registration for Fall 2007. I happily booked the best classes without a single problem. I am working on plans for my summer service-learning program. You might remember me mentioning it in the “Apps” entry. I am struggling to decide which honor societies are worthwhile, because so many are currently seeking members. I hope to lead a few mission trips through my pledge brother’s church. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience at their middle school retreat and hope to continue that venture. Unfortunately, I was not even able to visit the spring opening of the outdoor rec. pool. Once again, college has thrown me another hectic, busy, eventful, exciting, and delightful week.