Annette Wannamaker, Assistant Professor, Department of English Language and Literature
I went to Virginia Tech for my undergraduate education and when my school endured a horrible tragedy this Spring, it was devastating to witness. But, in those dark hours, the school pulled itself together with dignity. Poet Nikki Giovanni spoke at a memorial for the shooting victims. She gave a short speech that ended with,
“We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness. We are the Hokies. We will prevail. We will prevail. We will prevail. We are Virginia Tech.”
I heard her speech on NPR and thought, “Yes, VA Tech will get through this. There is hope.�
While I am in no way equating the tragedy that happened at VA Tech with the tragedy happening here, they are both, indeed, tragedies. Over the past few days, hearing national press reports about my corrupt university and reading the vitriol that is EMUTalk, I keep asking myself, “Where is our Nikki Giovanni?� We have plenty of shrill whistle-blowers (not that these aren’t necessary), plenty of people looking for someone to blame and plenty refusing to accept blame, and, our leadership, well, they seem to be busy covering up, running for cover, and covering their asses. While I appreciate the forthrightness of the Chair of the Board of Regents, I am not inspired by it and do not find hope in it—it seems more a grim resignation, a parent steeling himself before administering a harsh punishment.
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