President addresses Va. Tech tragedy
April 17, 2007
LaGrange College President Stuart Gulley issued a message this morning to the campus community regarding the tragedy:
Dear members of the LaGrange College community,
Along with you, I observed in horror and disbelief the events yesterday at Virginia Tech University. Sadly, as most of you know, those events have become very personal. We learned last evening that the son of Michael Bishop, our own Writer-in-Residence, was one of those killed in the shootings.
Such tragic and senseless loss of life is a reminder that much in life is random and cannot be fully anticipated, let alone understood. Even the most carefully crafted and practiced security plan cannot guarantee our safety when there are those intent on doing such incomprehensible harm. Thus, I write to you today in the hope of giving voice to your own feelings of vulnerability and mortality, as well as your sadness for and solidarity with the dozens of families like the Bishops who have loved ones either killed or injured.
Fearfulness and anxiety are natural reactions to what happened yesterday. Times such as this, however, are when the best of the human spirit can shine. In response to yesterday’s tragedy, I suggest that we not be paralyzed by fear or anxiety, but continue to live fully, though perhaps, more cautiously. Lock your doors. Try not to walk alone at night, and if you must, talk on your cell phone to someone you trust. Be observant, and report to 9-1-1 any suspicious person or activity. For the College’s part, like many institutions of higher education around the country, we will reevaluate our own emergency and security preparedness plans.
Most importantly, let us give thanks for the blessings that God has given us: If you haven’t spoken to family members in a while, contact them and let them know what they mean to you; if you haven’t given your Hilltop friendships conscious thought lately, be attentive to the relationships that sustain you here. Let your blessings and relationships put in perspective the minor challenges that can worry and irritate. And, of course, continue your prayers for the Bishop family, and join us for a prayer service in the Chapel at 5 o’clock this afternoon.
LaGrange College is a caring and ethical community, populated with superb faculty, staff, and students. I give thanks for being part of such a place. Though the world in which we live at times seems to have gone mad, let us work together to make our community a model of civility and concern.
F. Stuart Gulley, Ph.D.
President
LaGrange College
