A phrase that I’ve seen used more than once in the last several days.  For The 32.  The 32, of course, represent the 32 victims in the shooting at Virginia Tech one year ago today.  One year ago. Wow. In some ways it feels like yesterday. It others, a lifetime.  April 16th, 2007 was a shocking and terrible day for people all around the world.  It was a day of unimaginable pain for the families and friends of The 32 as well as those that were injured.  No doubt it was a day of intense stress for the families of the other 20,000+ students on campus that day.

And what of a proud alum?  It was a whirlwind of emotion.  Raw shock. Overwhelming Pain. Unashamed Anger.  Those 3 emotions swirled about in unison.  But something else happened in that day and the days that followed.  Another powerful emotion began to rise up as the day moved to night on that April 16th.  Glued to the TV, unable to stomach what I was watching but equally unable to turn away, I started to see something.  Something in the young students being interviewed in front of national, no world-wide, audiences.  At first I didn’t recognize it. It was not foreign to me. I had been around it, consumed by it, for years.  But the shock, pain and anger were blurring my vision. What is that?

Hokie Spirit.

This time, the rush of emotion and tears had a different feel.  Yes, there was still the persistence of shock, pain and anger.  But now, there was relief. Now there was pride.  And now there was a sense of responsibility.

I was relieved to see these young students – thrust unwantingly into a world-wide headline – handling themselves like seasoned adults.  I was proud because I was starting to realize that the world would see what I have always seen:  Just how amazingly special the Hokie Spirit really is.

And perhaps more importantly, I felt a sense of responsibility that, as Hokies, we must pick up the pieces and make things better.  Not just “the same”, but better.  Not just in Blacksburg, but around the world.  Not just on campuses, but in Sudan.  Not just about violence, but also about hunger. Not just the world, but our own selves.

We must do these things for the 32.  We may not have ask for this responsibility, but it has been endowed to us by a God much too awesome for me to ever fully understand.   I’ve tried to live up to this responsibility in my own life over the past year.  I’ve failed, in some measure I’m sure.  But I hope that I will continue to work at it.  I hope that, whenever things seem rough, I’ll think of The 32.  I hope that, whenever it seems pointless to try and improve a world that seems beyond repair, I’ll think of The 32.  I hope that I’ll always remember the emotions that I felt on April 16th, 2007.  I hope that I’ll always remember The 32.