MASSACRE: VA TECH

As I sat in the Florida A&M University school of Journalism and Graphic Communications, I went numb. All I could do was blink and wipe away the endless stream of tears that form a river on my face. I watch in horror as students were being carried out of a dormitory one-by-one and sometimes two-by-two. How could one man send an entire classroom in peril? How is it that one may could kill and kill and kill again over and over and over? What were his motives? Was there something the school could have done? Many more questions continued to ponder my mind as I looked at the television screen in dismay.

The Virginia Tech massacre (as it has been labeled) is truly one that I'll never (for as long as I live) forget. I can remember the time and place of which I sat hoping to awake from this terrible nightmare. My heart went out to the families of those slain by the Asian gunman who has since been labeled as a loner. My mind immediately went back to the year Luke Woodam, a Pearl, Mississippi native, killed his parents, his girlfriend, and his girlfriend's bestfriend. I remember it being on the local news and then the national news as "Teenage student kills four and injures others". That was a complete shock...

Less than two months later, the Columbine shootings occurred...I couldn't help but feel drained because of the excitement taking place around me. I kept thinking, "Is my school next...should I just not go to school and try street life? Is education worth being killed for?" I just didn't understand what was taking place and why. Now we have the shooting deaths of 33 people including the gunman himself who committed suicide. What is really going on in the world? Are we living in our last days of struggle...warning does come before destruction.

I thank God for my life being spared...because less than a week ago MY LIFE was in danger. A fight occurred at a Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity house party after two men began to argue. Shots were fired, people fled, and I (along with others) was trapped on the floor under Nikes, Reeboks, stillettos, and other shoes trying to escape with their lives. I just began to pray and ask the Lord to take care of me and those who were at the party with me. Then I hear about this 23-year-old kid firing shots at a professor and his students, a residence assistant, and passer bys attempting to help....

Again, my heart goes out to those students at Virgina Tech who died in a learning environment. I pray for their parents and other family members that they not hold malice in their heart towards the gunman or his family, for it is God's judgment that shall determine his fate. Virginia Tech...keep your heads held high and continue to further your education in whatever it is you want to be in life. Life shall go on...so live yours to the fullest....Godspeed and blessings on your life. Amen.