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TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Students discuss religious topics in a small group. (Photo courtesy of tcuwesley.org)
Wednesday nights at TCU’s Methodist campus ministry provide religious exploration and fellowship
By Boots Giblin, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2024
Students at the Wesley said they found community on Wednesday nights.

Don’t forget courageousness coming out of tragic events

It sometimes takes the worst tragedies to bring out the best in people. We saw it on Sept. 11; we have seen it on the battlefield in Iraq, and we saw it yesterday at Virginia Tech.

Amidst the violence, amidst the bloodshed, amidst the chaos, the grief and the horror, there was also heroism.

At Monday’s press conference, a young, collegiate reporter asked the president of Virginia Tech if he had heard any stories of students helping students or faculty. He brushed her question aside and said that officials were simply focusing on the investigation into the shooter.

In instances such as this, it is easier to focus on the bad. It is difficult not to. However, it is important not to forget that in times of tragedy, enemies become friends, friends become family and family becomes everything. The students at Virginia Tech have pulled together to support each other in this time of need, and they are not alone.

Monday, when students were trying desperately to inform family and friends that they were all right, they started to use the Virginia Tech March Madness blog to get the word out that they were OK. The site became overwhelmed. The University of Virginia, one of Tech’s biggest rivals, immediately turned over its sports blogs to the Virginia Tech students so they could communicate with each other.

However, the mass outpouring of support from the collegiate community does not compare with the individual acts of heroism that are beginning to surface.

A student trapped in the building while the shooter went on the rampage convinced his fellow students to barricade the classroom door with a folding table.

“I was completely scared out of my mind originally, just went into a cowering position and then just realized you have got to do something,” he told CNN.

He and two other classmates held the table against the door. The gunman tried to open the door and all three students pushed back against him. The gunman was even able to get the muzzle of his rifle inside, but the students lunged at the door and closed it back up. Their actions potentially saved the lives of all 11 students.

In the weeks to come, more heroic tales will most likely come to the surface.

Whether they involve saving lives or simply saving a Web site for the Tech students, these generous acts should not be forgotten. It is important to remember that people are sometimes capable of violent, hateful and unspeakable acts of violence, but it also important to remember that people are also caring, sacrificing and magnanimous.

The violence instigated by the shooter at Virginia Tech is not indicative of the typical American college student. As for those who would say they fear for the future of my generation, I would say the following:

If you want to see into the future, do not focus on the bullet. Look instead at the helping hands, the acts of kindness and the sacrifices made by those in their time of need. Look at the outpouring of support from the youth of our nation. Look at the vigils and the signs and the messages of vicarious grief.

That is what our generation is really about. As horrified as I was by the gunman’s actions, the students of Virginia Tech made me proud to be part of their academic community.

Hopefully, in the next few weeks, their actions will not be forgotten. My thoughts and prayers are with them all.

Christina Ruffini is a senior international communications and news-editorial journalism major from Colorado Springs, Colo.

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