Thoughts About Virginia Tech

I'm having difficulty writing about what has happened this week. There are so many things to process, and somehow I feel close to this. I've been a Hokie all my life (my cheering order: Florida State, Virginia Tech, Florida, not-Miami), and to think of tragedy striking my pastoral Virginia countryside is beyond comprehension. This kind of crap doesn't happen there, it just doesn't. Yet it has. So, here are some questions that have been running through my brain that I thought I would process through writing for my own sake.

Why would God let this happen?
I don't know. Can any of us know while we still live on this earth? Maybe not. But that is okay. I trust that God is in control and He has a plan. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" It's hard to see hope three days after something like this happens, but it will come. I remember when 9/11 happened it seemed like nothing redeeming could come out of it, but then we heard about the people who jumped the hijackers and crashed in Pennsylvania. And for the first time in my memory, the United States was truly united by something. I have no doubt that through this God will be glorified in some way. He always is.

What does that mean for colleges around the United States and the world?
Well, for one thing, Florida State University now has my cell phone number for use in case of an emergency situation like this. Other than that, I don't think much will change. Security might be tighter for a while (I saw more FSUPD Officers walking around campus on Tuesday than ever before), but eventually the caution will fade away. Most universities are set up in such a way that authorities can't monitor the comings and goings of students (and non-students). Ted Bundy was auditing classes at FSU in the weeks prior to murdering two girls in the Chi Omega house.

What good is a Candlelight Vigil when they aren't acknowledging the God who has the power to change things?
Maybe I'm being callous, but I don't see any point in standing around holding candles when there's no praying happening. The promises made by the student body president, vice president, and the university president really aren't going to amount to anything. Perhaps they are only trying to show support for Virginia Tech. I'm all for that, but instead of blowing hot air, why don't they get on their knees and pray?

How long do we have to wait until Michael Moore turns this into another anti-gun campaign?
Hopefully forever. Frankly, turning this into a political soapbox is utterly classless.

Will the VT President/VT Police Chief get fired?
I hope not, they did what they could. It's not like high school where there's a PA system. E-mail is the only way most universities can communicate with the entire student body. As I mentioned, FSU had all its students [voluntarily] register their phone numbers in case of extreme emergency so they can send text messages to everyone no matter where they are. But if it had happened to us, our administration couldn't have done much more.

Anyway, that's just a few of the things I've been thinking about in the last few days. There are many more questions that have been stewing which I may or may not write about here. But right now, I should be asleep because I have a final exam tomorrow.