Today, more than 25,000 Virginia Tech students and an entire nation are left to grieve over the tragedy that occurred in Blacksburg, Va.

Tech freshman April Logan was sleeping on the floor above where the first student was shot in her dorm.

“My RA came by and told us that we could go to class ‘on our own discretion,’” she said. “My roommate and I looked out our window, and there were cop cars all over the lawn. We got an e-mail that said that someone was shot, and then we were told to stay in our room and lock the door.”

She said that police officers yelled at students outside her window, directing them to run, but no one seemed to know what to do.

“It was chaotic when you looked out your window and saw what was going on with the cops and everything. But as a whole, everyone was just in shock,” April Logan said. “As the numbers kept going up on the news, we were just like ‘what?’ It only takes one crazy person to do something like that, but being at Tech, you’d never expect that to happen.”

While Virginia Tech sophomore Sabrina Stacy was not injured in the shooting, her roommate was in the German class where most of the shootings occurred.

Stacy said when she heard about the shooting in Norris Hall, she immediately thought of her roommate.

“All day long, it was hard to have hope because I knew she was in that classroom. I knew it would take a miracle for her to live,” she said.

Phone lines were tied up and the campus was in a state of confusion. For Tech students, it was difficult to figure out the next move.

“It was just hard during the day (on Monday) because you heard all these rumors, but nothing was confirmed,” said Ashley Logan, twin sister of April Logan.

“I called a lot of different hospitals in the area looking for (my roommate), and no one could tell me any information,” Stacy said.

Stacy was then notified that her roommate was at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, Va. She had been shot multiple times in the jaw and the wrist. She was in stable but serious condition.

Late Monday night, Tech sophomore Danny Foltin learned via e-mail that a past teammate had been shot.

“I played lacrosse with him last year, and I’m still on the list serve for the team. Someone sent out an e-mail last night saying that he was killed in the shooting. After the e-mail, a bunch of people sent out pictures and stories about him,” said Foltin.

For Hokie students, parents and teachers, the devastation is indescribable. Many parents picked up their students just hours after the second shooting, but according to Virginia Tech sophomore Amy Sindall, the people who are going home are mainly going home for their parents’ sake.

“One thing I don’t think the news has shown enough of is Hokie pride. Like, people aren’t leaving, they’re staying here together,” Sindall said.

Students joined together Tuesday morning for a school-wide convocation. Ashley Logan said there were about 10,000 people present, including the president of Virginia Tech, the governor of Virginia, and President George W. Bush. The Logan sisters stayed together during the morning’s events. Their brother Josh Logan, a senior at Tech, was also with them during the service.

“Virginia Tech is a big family community. At the service today, people were calm and just taking it in,” Ashley Logan said. "Everyone was wearing maroon and orange, and most people had on Tech t-shirts.”

“Everyone gets along really well and is really close. At the convocation, they told us to keep up our spirit and not let one instance like that break up the community feeling that we have,” April Logan said.

April Logan said unity was the overlying message of the convocation ceremony.

“President Bush told us that people we don’t even know are praying for us, and that we are an inspiration to others because of how we have come together in a time of mourning,” she said.

“During the convocation, they read a poem called, ‘We are Virginia Tech.’ After the poem, everyone started cheering ‘Let’s go Hokies.’ Everyone just got chills,” Sindall said.

The students that have stayed are doing their best to band together and support one another during this time of crisis.

“I just hung out with my sister, (who is also a Virginia Tech student) all (Monday) night, but a bunch of my guy friends had a cookout at their fraternity house and said prayers and stuff,” Sindall said.

“At Tech, when everyone gets together for a football game, everyone feels like one. I think that (sense of community) definitely helps when something like this happens,” April Logan said.

With the countless Facebook groups dedicated to Virginia Tech, as well as to specific victims, there is no doubt this university tragedy has become a nationwide crisis.

“You have no idea how much it meant yesterday when I got the calls, texts, Facebook messages and instant messages from everyone,” Sindall said. “Almost everyone at Virginia Tech has changed their Facebook picture to the VT with the ribbon, but seeing other schools doing that is amazing. It just means so much to have that support, knowing that we’re not alone in this, that people all over are offering their condolences and support. It really shows that its not just affecting Hokies, it’s affecting everyone.”

After leaving Tuesday night’s candlelight vigil, Sindall wrote an e-mail sharing her feelings.

“I can't put into words how amazing it was to see all of the Hokie pride out there. We were all out there to mourn, but at the same time we were out there to be together and show the campus, the community, the nation and world that we will move on from this. It's not going to be the end all be all for Virginia Tech,” Sindall said. “The VT community is so strong, and with the help and support from everyone out there, we will get through this tragedy.”

Follow these links to join in the overwhelming response of the Virginia Tech students:

A Tribute to Virginia Tech
“I'm ok at VT”
“4/16/07” This Facebook group has almost 10,000 members.
“HOKIES TOGETHER, UNITED AND STRONG: 4/16/07”

To read more of Sindall’s account of the vigil, click here.

For more InsideVandy coverage of the tragedy at Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt's response, click here.