04/16/2010
9:02am
Sitting outside or War Memorial, looking straight ahead to the April 16th memorial; temperature is around 60 degrees.
It is a beautiful day, the sky is clear and the sun seems to be shinning strong all across the Drill Field. Today is a day when every hokie comes together; today we remember the tragedy of April 16, 2007. The 3.2 mile run for the 32 victims of April 16th is taking place today. The race started around 8:00am and is now finishing up. People come toward the center of the Drill Field and gather around the memorial as they finish their remembrance run.
The spirit across campus is different today, it is a sad day to remember, we remember it sorrow but also with pride to be part of the hokie nation. Some people sit on the grass and watch, while others participate in the run of remembrance. I can hear and see people crying because to remember a day like this is to remember a great tragedy; I also hear people screaming “We are Virginia Tech…We are Hokies…We will Never Forget”. I sit here with a lot of mixed emotions, happy to see hokies united, yet sad because of the tragedy that brought us to this Remembrance Day.
There are young children, college students, parents, and older people; hokies that have come from all around to this special day. Overall the race constituted of more than 6,000 runners which shows how important this day is for the community. As I sit across Burrus Hall, I get to see the last people who are finishing up the race. There are kids running and walking along the side of their parents among more fellow students. It is now 9:22am and people start to come together in front of Burrus Hall and around the April 16th memorial; they are getting ready to take a group picture.
It is now 9:38am and people have started to leave the Drill Field, as they walk away all I can see is a mass of people wearing hokie colors. While watching everyone leave the Drill Field, I realized that today the sun was shining strong, shining for those 32 hokies whom we lost two years ago. Today is April 16th, 2010, it has been a busy morning for the Drill Field and it will continue to be a busy day with people walking across it to walk toward the memorial of the victims of April 16th.