A few words on Virginia Tech

I don't know what I could possibly add to what has been said about the tragedy at Virginia Tech. I was fortunate yesterday to talk to some students who, mercifully, were not involved in the shootings but like everyone else could not help being caught up in what was happening. Of course, this was a big story for us, and I wanted to do what I could to help our coverage. Over the course of my career, I've talked to many victims of crime and their families. I know there's a stereotype out there that journalists expect victims to talk and will work aggressively to make sure they do. In fact, asking questions of those who have been through tragedy is one of the most difficult and heart-wrenching things we do. What keeps many of us going, myself included, is knowing that at times like this there are people out there who really want to talk about it, who have a perspective that they want to share with others. They want their voices to be part of a collective understanding of what happened. You can hear some of those voices through our ongoing coverage at www.journalnow.com.

Anyone with thoughts on the shootings can feel free to post.

It's hard to imagine what it's like to have a child at the university right now. Virginia Tech has set up a hotline for parents and family, it is 1-800-533-1144.

I also have some Wake Forest readers out there. FYI, the school has posted a letter from Dr. Hatch, a parents Q&A, and a crisis plan review on the school's parents' page.