Saturday, Virginia Tech will mark the 15th anniversary of the 2007 shootings there that left 32 faculty and students dead.
The day will start in much the same way previous memorial events the school has hosted in the years since the tragedy have. Here’s school spokesman Mark Owczarski.
“The Day of Remembrance begins and ends at midnight, where we have a candle ceremony at the April 16th memorial in front of Burruss Hall, which symbolizes our commitment to remember those lives,” he says.
A wreath will be laid at the memorial. The school’s football team will hold its spring game and the baseball and softball teams will be in action as well. All of those games will start with a moment of silence.
There will also be a 3.2-mile run Saturday morning – the first time the school has held that event on campus since the pandemic began. Thousands of people are expected to participate.
Owczarski says the day is so special for many reasons – one of them being that students organize the events – many of whom weren’t even in kindergarten when the tragedy occurred 15 years ago.
“Even though the people who are organizing these events may have not remembered the event, they still feel a connection and a commitment to remember to come together as a community,” he explains.
You can find more information about the scheduled events here.
