[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 60 (Wednesday, April 16, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E631-E632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         THE 1ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE SHOOTINGS AT VIRGINIA TECH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 16, 2008

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, an oasis. That is what so many of us 
are reminded of when we think of Virginia Tech. The Commonwealth of 
Virginia's land-grant university, it is located in a beautiful valley 
in southwest Virginia. Virginia Tech--home of the Hokies--is located 
just outside my congressional district, a short drive from the Roanoke 
metropolitan area. It is linked in so many ways to the Roanoke Valley 
and to the Commonwealth as a whole.
  Those links were never more evident on this day a year ago--April 16, 
2007. Whether direct--as a result of being a student, a faculty member, 
an administrator, an employee--or indirect--a family member, a 
contributor, a supporter, a friend--those links combined to form a 
chain a year ago today. That chain was formed almost instantaneously 
when shots rang out in a dormitory and an academic building. The chain 
formed from innumerable links in reaction to unspeakable horror, heroic 
response, shared grief, and what became an outpouring of worldwide 
support.
  The day that led us to this one, 365 days later, broke like so many 
others on the campus in Blacksburg. Like any other university, Virginia 
Tech thrives on routine--dining hall lines and daily classes, 
instruction and research, service projects and athletic contests, 
friendships formed. None of those or a multitude of other routines have 
been the same since. For the first time in my nearly 16 years in 
Congress, I literally turned around halfway through my 4-hour drive to 
Washington. I knew that I couldn't continue that trip, with such events 
occurring a mere 40 miles away from my front door affecting my 
constituents, friends, and associates in Blacksburg.

[[Page E632]]

  But in the gathering that I attended the next day on campus, I saw a 
remarkable transformation. I saw a community touched by the deaths of 
32 people--students and professors all--turned into a friendship 
community unlike anywhere else. And then the world began sharing its 
hopes that the Almighty would transmit healing to each and every person 
touched in some way by the heartbreak that had befallen Virginia Tech.
  One cannot help but reach out to our fellow man at times such as 
those like April 16, 2007. The magnitude with which the globe embraced 
Virginia Tech in its ultimate time of need still amazes me. It does so 
because I see that embrace as visible evidence of the university's 
motto at work--``Ut Prosim''--``That I may serve.'' And we have seen 
that service in ways, shapes, and forms we could never have imagined 
being necessary on the Virginia Tech campus.
  On that day and on each day since, we are reminded of the marvelous 
impact that comes from simply lending a hand. There are the first 
responders--the police officers and other emergency service officials 
who put their lives in harm's way in order to save the lives of those 
who did not fall, and bring an end to the chaos. There are the school 
officials--tested as if in a war zone, yet called back each day hence 
to preserve the integrity of a storied institution of higher learning. 
There are the thousands who gathered spontaneously on the Drillfield 
the evening of the shootings--one large force whose aim was to bring 
light to the deep darkness of the day just finished. There's the Hokie 
Spirit Memorial Fund--formed to serve as the clearinghouse for 
contributions, small and large, that began pouring in to help offset 
the untold costs associated with what beset the families of those who 
died and the university itself. There are the orange and maroon ribbons 
worn on our clothes, the visits by performers like Dave Matthews and 
athletic teams like the New York Yankees.
  And so it has continued through the year since, almost unabated. The 
outpouring of support remains active. And so be it, for we should never 
forget the 32 lives taken. It is for them that we continue to grieve 
with and pray for their families and friends, that God may bring them 
comfort through the memories of the wonderful things their loved ones 
accomplished. It is for them that we are drawn to the memorial on the 
Drillfield, a part of the campus that will permanently serve as a 
destination for reflection. We remain steadfast in offering a kind ear 
to anyone who is touched in any way by the April 16, 2007 shootings at 
Virginia Tech and still requires reassurance. And we thank each person 
participating in today's remembrance events on campus, showing through 
their time and talents that they stand ready to help put the events 
behind us while maintaining recollections of lives lost.
  We were all Hokies United a year ago. A year later, Virginia Tech has 
prevailed. It remains Virginia Tech. Today, let us pray to God for the 
men and women who passed into his embrace on April 16, 2007. Let us 
never forget the sacrifices, far and wide, made in service to the 
Virginia Tech community. And let us hope for healing, for it is through 
that healing that we can shape the lives of those yet to come who yearn 
to be able to proudly share in saying, ``We are Virginia Tech.''

                          ____________________