The collection is open for research.
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: 32 Hokie Stone Rocks, Artifact-008, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
This collection was transferred to Special Collections and University Archives from the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department in 2021.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the was completed in June 2023.
On the morning of April 16, 2007, 32 members of the Virginia Tech community were shot and killed in West Ambler Johnston Residence Hall and Norris Hall. The gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, then turned the gun on himself.
We continue to remember the 32 victims:
Ross A. Alameddine
Christopher James Bishop
Brian R. Bluhm
Ryan Christopher "Stack" Clark
Austin Michelle Cloyd
Jocelyne Couture-Nowak
Daniel Alejandro Perez Cueva
Kevin P. Granata
Matthew Gregory Gwaltney
Caitlin Millar Hammaren
Jeremy Michael Herbstritt
Rachael Elizabeth Hill
Emily Jane Hilscher
Jarrett Lee Lane
Matthew Joseph La Porte
Henry J. Lee Liviu
Librescu G.V. Loganathan
Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan
Lauren Ashley McCain
Daniel Patrick O'Neil
Juan Ramon Ortiz-Ortiz
Minal Hiralal Panchal
Erin Nicole Peterson
Michael Steven Pohle, Jr.
Julia Kathleen Pryde
Mary Karen Read
Reema Joseph Samaha
Waleed Mohamed Shaalan
Leslie Geraldine Sherman
Maxine Shelly Turner
Nicole Regina White
The night of April 16, 2007, Hokies United, a student-organized response group, set up a memorial shrine with a semicircle of stones on the Drillfield in front of Burruss Hall, the university's administration building. The next day students placed large plywood boards, painted white, on the Drillfield for people to sign and leave expressions of grief, support, etc. Other spontaneous shrines appeared on campus and in the community.
The events of April 16, 2007, received intense media coverage, and people around the world responded. Virginia Tech received over 90,000 condolence items from all 50 states and 80 countries. These items included banners, posters, books of condolences, sound materials, various media materials, poetry, correspondence, resolutions, textiles, memorabilia, ephemera, and handcrafted items, including the handpainted stones of this collection. Thousands of these items were displayed for the university community through University Unions and Student Activities' Squires Student Union.
Items continued to be received for months and years afterwards, and families of those killed were offered the option of receiving many materials directly related to their loved ones from the Office of Recovery and Support, or having them placed in storage for later retrieval.
This collection contains 32 Hokie Stone Rocks, each painted with names of April 16, 2007, victims of the Virginia Tech shooting.
The stones are arranged into boxes according to the individual's last name.
See the Virginia Tech April 16, 2007 Archives of the University Libraries, Ms2008-020, also at the Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives.
The guide to the 32 Hokie Stone Rocks by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (