Spring Break
Student remembers time at Virginia Tech
Tim Bella
Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: News
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With the Virginia Tech shootings unfolding throughout the day Monday, Lauren Pope could envision herself on the grounds of the 2,600-acre campus.
As names and faces are being put together to the 32 slain victims and gunman of the Virginia Tech attack, TCU students, such as Pope, and faculty with ties to Virginia Tech and the state of Virginia continue to reflect and mourn days after the most catastrophic school shooting in U.S. history.
Pope, a junior kinesiology major, attended Virginia Tech during the fall 2004 semester - her first of her college career. She then transferred to TCU in spring 2005.
Pope said she has been in contact with her friends at Virginia Tech, and was relieved to find out no one she directly knew was involved in the shootings.
The sight of the wounded and the sound of gunshots were too real to some, especially those with a familiarity of the campus's nuances such as Pope.
"They talk about Norris Hall and all the different places on campus, and I was just picturing myself there," said Pope, a midfielder for the soccer team.
As ex-roommates of student-turned-gunman Cho Seung-Hui share their experiences of what it was like living with him, Pope said it was surreal thinking that she could have lived in the same hall as Cho because she lived in Cochrane Hall during her freshman year.
She said the Blacksburg, Va., community promotes a positive, family atmosphere, which made the shootings surprising.
"It's so small and so personable," Pope said of Blacksburg. "You would never expect anything like this to happen."
The experience was horrifying for Virginia residents such as Julie Bassett, who said more than half of her graduating class attends Virginia Tech. Bassett, a junior music education major from Woodbridge, Va., was unable to come in contact with her Virginia Tech friends to ensure they were safe until late Monday night. She said her friends were flooded with voicemails, e-mails and Facebook and MySpace messages from anybody and everybody.
As names and faces are being put together to the 32 slain victims and gunman of the Virginia Tech attack, TCU students, such as Pope, and faculty with ties to Virginia Tech and the state of Virginia continue to reflect and mourn days after the most catastrophic school shooting in U.S. history.
Pope, a junior kinesiology major, attended Virginia Tech during the fall 2004 semester - her first of her college career. She then transferred to TCU in spring 2005.
Pope said she has been in contact with her friends at Virginia Tech, and was relieved to find out no one she directly knew was involved in the shootings.
The sight of the wounded and the sound of gunshots were too real to some, especially those with a familiarity of the campus's nuances such as Pope.
"They talk about Norris Hall and all the different places on campus, and I was just picturing myself there," said Pope, a midfielder for the soccer team.
As ex-roommates of student-turned-gunman Cho Seung-Hui share their experiences of what it was like living with him, Pope said it was surreal thinking that she could have lived in the same hall as Cho because she lived in Cochrane Hall during her freshman year.
She said the Blacksburg, Va., community promotes a positive, family atmosphere, which made the shootings surprising.
"It's so small and so personable," Pope said of Blacksburg. "You would never expect anything like this to happen."
The experience was horrifying for Virginia residents such as Julie Bassett, who said more than half of her graduating class attends Virginia Tech. Bassett, a junior music education major from Woodbridge, Va., was unable to come in contact with her Virginia Tech friends to ensure they were safe until late Monday night. She said her friends were flooded with voicemails, e-mails and Facebook and MySpace messages from anybody and everybody.
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