A day after news of the worst shooting in U.S. history reached VCU’s campus, students are still trying to recover from the loss of more than 30 Virginia Tech students and faculty.
“It’s shocking,” freshman Jacob Vaughen said. “School’s supposed to be a sanctuary for learning.”
Vaughen is among hundreds of VCU students who have expressed their condolences for Va. Tech by joining Facebook.com groups “VCU IS PRAYING FOR VIRGINA TECH” and “VCU supports Tech.”
Vaughen said these groups are popular because they increase student solidarity in times of crisis.
“It helps them (students) express their feelings when they join a group,” Vaughen said.
Mary Akers, a junior marketing major, said she’s from the Blacksburg area where the shootings took place. Akers said she used Facebook to communicate with friends at Va. Tech to confirm they were OK.
“My friend . goes to Tech, and she posted a note saying everyone was fine,” Akers said. “You never think it’s going to happen where you’re from.”
Sophomore Kristina Border said she wanted to actively support VCU’s sister university in its time of crisis. Facebook, she said, gave her a way to express herself.
“I’ve had a couple group requests since yesterday, and I’ve definitely accepted those,” Border said. “You just want to let people know that you are there to support them, no matter what.”
Not everyone is jumping on the Facebook bandwagon. Senior marketing major Scott Balridge said that instead of using Facebook, he has been mourning the shootings in private with his fianc