By Daniel Johnson, Sports Editor

Virginia Tech is located in the small college city of Blacksburg, Va., more than 1,000 miles away from Abilene, but the impact of Monday’s tragedy was not absent from ACU and campuses across the nation.

“I think a tragedy like this throws us all in the same boat,” said Dr. Royce Money, president of the university. “This could happen at any campus.”

On the heels of the greatest tragedy ever to hit an American college campus, Money told Tuesday’s Chapel audience that the ACU community’s condolences had been expressed to Virginia Tech through a message he personally sent Virginia Tech president Dr. Charles W. Steger.

“Words cannot adequately express the deep sorrow we feel for the immense loss of life,” Money read from the message he sent. “Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, friends, students, faculty and staff at Virginia Tech.”

Money sent the message on the day the massacre of 32 Virginia Tech students and suicide of shooter Cho Seung Hui, to let Virginia Tech administrators know that the ACU community’s thoughts and prayers were with their campus.

In addition to the letter, the campus observed a moment of silence, and Money said a special prayer for the victims, their families and friends affected by the tragedy. And beyond the formal observances, numerous current and former ACU students were directly affected by the tragedy.

Randy Woods, sophomore electronic media major from Falls Church, Va., said his first response to the tragedy was to call everyone he knew at Virginia Tech.

“I just went down the line and called them to make sure they were alright,” Woods said.

Once Woods reached his friends and knew they were safe, his thoughts traveled to what could have happened if he chose to go to Virginia Tech instead of ACU.

“Virginia Tech was one of the schools I was considering going to,” Woods said. “I was scared that I could have been there and that all my friends were there.”

Jenia Clark, who transferred to Virginia Tech from ACU in fall 2006, was on her way to work at the Home Depot in Blacksburg when she first heard of the massacre.

“My first thought was about my best friend that I grew up with, she is like my little sister, and I had to make sure she was safe,” Clark said through instant message.

Clark’s friend was safe, but she said one of her friends jumped out of a window to avoid the shots of the shooter and is in the hospital because of his injuries.

Like most other Virginia Tech students, friends and family contacted Clark to make sure she was safe. The sophomore psychology major was contacted by most of her ACU friends electronically through the social networking site Facebook.com and through AOL instant messenger.

More than 500 global groups in less than 24 hours were created on Facebook – the largest group had more than 100,000 members – in remembrance of the Virginia Tech victims. And numerous ACU students joined those groups and changed their profile picture to a symbolic black ribbon with the Virginia Tech logo in front to honor of the victims.

“It is amazing to see the response from other schools,” Clark said.

Brian English, freshman integrated marketing and communication major from North Richland Hills, had two friends locked in a building during the tragedy and joined the Facebook group “Pray for Virginia Tech,” in support of the victims.

“If it can happen to a small boring town in Virginia, how can it not happen to Abilene?” English said. “Just because we live in a great Christian community doesn’t mean it can’t happen here.”

By Tuesday not even half of the identities of the people killed have been released and no motive for the killings has been discovered. And as Dr. Jeff Arrington, associate dean of Campus Life, said as he opened Chapel on Tuesday, the story of the Virginia Tech massacre is far from over.

“This a tragedy that will unfold for sometime,” he said.

Mallory Edens contributed to this report.

For a message from Dr. Royce Money, ACU president, concerning the shootings at Virginia Tech, please see: http://www.acu.edu/news/2007/070416_VT_condolence.html

Timeline of events

Monday

7:15 a.m. A gunman enters West Ambler Johnston, a dormitory that houses nearly 900 students, and begins firing.

9:26 a.m. University officials at Virginia Tech send out an e-mail to students informing them about the first shooting and to look for suspicious people.

9:45 a.m. Police receive a 9-1-1 call about the second shooting at Norris Hall, half a mile from the dormitory.

9:50 a.m. When police arrive at Norris Hall, they find the doors locked and chained from the inside. Once in, they hear shooting on the second floor. A second e-mail is sent out to warn students to stay inside buildings and away from windows.

10:27 a.m. Government officials say at least seven or eight people have been killed.

11:02 a.m. Seventeen people injured are sent to four Virginia hospitals with gunshot wounds and other injuries.

11:06 a.m. University officials release to the media that they are unsure whether the gunman was acting alone or not.

11:25 a.m. Virginia Tech Police say at least 22 people are dead from four classrooms in Norris Hall.

11:26 a.m. Government officials report that the gunmen is also dead, although it is unclear whether it was suicide or if he was shot by police. It is not known at this time if the shooter was a student or not.

1:31 p.m. Government officials declare 31 dead.

3:50 p.m. Virginia Tech president Charles Steger makes a statement saying that 33 people, including the gunman were killed.

4:32 p.m. Steger defends the way the campus handled the shootings after students complain there was no public address or other warnings besides e-mail, which was sent around the time of the second shooting.

Tuesday

6:25 a.m. The university says the shooter was a student at Virginia Tech, and he lived on campus.

8:27 a.m. The gunman’s identity is revealed as Cho Seung-Hui, senior English major from South Korea.

8:37 a.m. Police confirm from ballistics that the same gun was used in both shootings by Seung-Hui.

2:06 p.m. A classmate of Seung-Hui’s explains how all the warning signs were present, but no one would have realized he’d actually begin shooting people after some of the gruesome writings he did for a playwright class.