The most important question to me...

The closer we have gotten to the one year anniversary of the tragic events of 4-16-07, the more I have thought about what it means to me. First, since that time, my wife and I have had a baby - a little girl - and she is such a joy. From time to time I get really sad in thinking about what it must have been like to have been a father of one of those young ladies murdered last year. I am brought to tears every time I think of what I would do if someone told me that my little girl wasn't coming home any more. The other thing that lingers - and will stay with me all my life - is the heroism of Dr. Liviu Librescu. In his life, he was an accomplished scholar - I hope to live up to what I'm sure would be his expectations of an academic.

But it is his death that speaks to me most strongly. At one point, I left a paper near his memorial stone (it was the day the Yankees visited), on which I wrote (as I recall), "There are many questions from 4-16-07; many remain unanswered. To me, only one matters, "Would I stand in front of that door?" I signed it "Educators everywhere." I have not idea how long it was there - or even if any of the visitors saw it. But, as a teacher - it is the one burning question that overrides all other debates. WOULD I STAND IN FRONT OF THE DOOR? Dr. Librescu laid down his life for his students. This man, this scholar, father, husband, grandfather, survivor - he did the right thing. Would I? I hope I would - I hope I'd have his strength.

In John Donne's famous Meditation XVII (http://www.readprint.com/work-519/John-Donne), he talks about how that each person, while he or she is alive, has "gold" that cannot be spent, "Tribulation is treasure in the nature of it, but it is not current money in the use of it..." When we learn of a man's death(the bell that tolls), the passing takes out that person's gold puts into a useful form for us, the living. Dr. Librescu's action that day is my gold, and I will treasure it forever. Thank you so much sir, for your commitment to your students.

When I was talking to the young people at Torgersen Hall a couple of weeks ago, I looked at their faces and I felt so strongly why it is I am in education, and why I love teaching and learning - it is the because of the bright young students in our classroom. They are worth our investment.

Some thoughts and links as we approach 4.16.08

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of a tragedy that many of us still find hard to imagine actually happened on our campus. I will probably take some pictures at Memorial Park and post them to mark it. A new movie has been created about the SL memorial:
http://www.slodcast.com/media/virginia_tech_640x480.mov

Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of talking to a group of students at Virginia Tech who were part of a class working on digital archives related to the event and its aftermath [http://www.dl-vt-416.org/]. My talk was about the memorial in Second Life, and I talked a bit about Second Life itself (mentioned the "weird" along with that which reflects RL). I was a bit long winded, but everyone seemed interested - lots of good questions. One person asked why, on the memorial marker designated for the shooter, was a picture of the South Korean flag displayed. I could tell that it was something that he felt was not appropriate, given that no other flags appeared. I told him that the flag was represent the shooter, as I did not want to display his face (nor will I). I should have also mentioned that the flag represented victims - his family was a victim, and certainly many South Koreans felt victimized by his violence. However, I told him that I would cover it up out of respect - I did that last week. Since the flag might be interpreted as blame, I can see his point. I am glad he mentioned it, as the point of the memorial is not to hurt or offend anyone.

Let me just say again how thankful I am to Mr. David Marston (of Maryland, USA) for his tireless efforts in creating, designing, building, and maintaining the VT Memorial on "Memorial Park." As I told him today while chatting in SL, his efforts are every bit as important as RL memorials and remembrances.

Sadness for NIU

On Thursday of this past week, at 3:00 PM Central Time, I was just starting a meeting with the dean and associate dean of the College of Education at a university at which I was interviewing. Later in the conversation, they asked me (which many people do when I'm off campus), "How are things at Virginia Tech?" It's a question that is very hard to answer, because "things" are different for everyone. Most things are normal - every day life goes on all over. But one look at the Drillfield, with its half-circle of 32 Hokie Stones in front of Burruss Hall (the main administration building), will tell you that Virginia Tech is forever changed. The memory of the loss that day is strong still. I told them one lesson I had learned... namely that each person is a story, and that it is my job as an educator to get to know my students' stories, share my stories with them, and work together to learn. It is too easy in our busy lives to take people for granted. Incidents like the senseless tragedies at VT and NIU help remind us that we can not afford to take anything for granted.

The deans and I, of course, were completely unaware that at that exact moment, another gunman was opening fire on more innocents in a university lecture hall. Evidently Mr. ____ of NIU was seeking the same infamy of Mr. ____ (names not mentioned as they need no more publicity) as he committed suicide. It was a sad irony to be talking about our healing at a time when another school's grief had just begun. I actually didn't hear the news out of NIU until well into the evening when I returned to my hotel room after dinner. It brought back some of those same feelings that I had last April - great sadness and great loathing both at the same time.

The folks at NIU's Second Life campus have created a small memorial area, and I've put up a sign at VT's Memorial Park. I know the SL community will come together to grieve with the Huskie Nation just as they did for us.

VT Memorial on 10/16/2007

Today is a day to solemnly observe the six month anniversary of the tragedy that struck Virginia Tech on 4/16. The university has organized what I think is one of the best way to remember the victims, which is through service to community. The project, titled "VT Engage" is a call for all members of the Virginia Tech student body, faculty, staff, alumni, and others to volunteer at least 10 hours of service to an agency of one's own choosing. The goal is 300,000 hours of service by April 16, 2008.

The VT Memorial in Second Life is still up, and I still find it a quite, peaceful place to remember the victims. The School of Education's Office of Educational Research and Outreach put up the funds to pay for a one-year lease of a so-called 'sim-void' for the memorial; I hope it can go on for more time than that. The permanent location is now on the sim titled "Memorial Park." The SLURL is: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Memorial%20Park/130/113/25

The Collegiate Times (VT's student-run newspaper) has some good front page article today. Although I was safe on 4/16, I still have vivid memories of that day and that week. Little things - unexpectedly - get me choked up and teary, though. The article is certainly right - we won't ever forget.

HSMF Donation Delivered to Virginia Tech Foundation

On Thursday, June 7, 2007, I went to the Virginia Tech Foundation office in Blacksburg and delivered a cashier's check for $1,200.00 for the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. There, I met Mr. Steve Clark, the Director of Planned Giving. He was tasked to head up the HSMF gifts, with particular attention paid to "unusual donations" (here's an example of one inspiring story.) What's cool is that I happen to know from tailgate parties before Hokie football games! Steve is the I had already talked about the fundraising effort in Second Life just as it got underway (I wanted to be sure VT was OK with it). Steve knew about the effort and was intrigued by the idea of it. He was very thankful for the donation.


Logistics: It took a bit longer to get the actual check to VT than I had anticipated. All funds had been raised within a month of the start of the fundraiser. The delay happened for a few reasons: A) The logistics of getting funds from SL to a real checking account B) Time needed for a bit of last-minute fundraising, and C) me needing to make the time to go to the bank, etc.


But now it's done - and it feels great. All of you who contributed... thank you SO much!! I will be posting the picture of the Hokie Bird at the VT Memorial in SL, over to the right side.

Meditare senza retorica. Virtù del Memorial Park

An Italian journalist wrote about his experience at the Memorial Park. I do not read Italian well, and so had to rely on BabelFish, which is not the best means in the world - but I did get the sense that he entered as a skeptic, but left very touched. I have given the article to a colleague who lives/works in an Italian university in Switzerland. As soon as it's translated, I'll post it here.

http://www.mysecondlife.it/meditare-senza-retorica-virtu-del-memorial-park/20070519.html

Memorial Fund Update

It has been nearly two weeks since SL residents helped meet the goal of raising $1,000 US for the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. Since that time, there has been another $200 US donated to the fund. The actual money has now made it from my SL account to PayPal and then to my bank account. It takes about 5 days for this to happen. My process was slightly delayed due to the need to change banks at PayPal, but the process has otherwise been very smooth. So, next week, I plan to hand Virginia Tech's officials a check for $1,200. I'm excited about it. Of course, this is a drop in the bucket comparatively (the New York Yankees just donated $1 million to the fund), but the entire experience has been one of learning and healing.

Wikis in Plain English

For those who are new to them... a great introduction from the folks at the Commoncraft show.

http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english

University of Paisley: MapSeat

An interactive technology on display at the University of Paisley's Second Life campus is the "MapSeat." There is a brief entry about it on the SLED Picayune blog by Dr. Daniel Livingstone, project coordinator.

This tool allows the user to choose a point on a map (of Scotland, at this point) and learn about the object or person represented by the "pushpin." One has a choice of two maps -one that shows where certain inventions were created, and the other about famous figures in Scottish history. So, for example, on the pushpin located in the region of Dumfreys & Galloway, one sees text reading "Pedal Bike with Pneumatic Tyres." Clicking that point gives the person sitting in the map seat a notecard with information about the bike and its inventor, and it also rezzes a 3D representation of a bike created by Kirkpatrick Macmillan in 1839. Another pushpin yields a representation of a telephone. A different map makes information and a pic appear about Robert Burns, Mary Queen of Scots, Andrew Carnegie, and so on. Here are a couple of pictures I took, as well as the SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Vesuvius/205/183/32

Take some time to check it out, and imagine the possibilities!!

Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund update: First $1,000 raised!!

I posted the following "press release" to the SLED Picayune blog and to the SLED listserv yesterday:

"In an effort to provide Second Life residents with a means of supporting the "Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund," SL resident, a RL Virginia Tech faculty member, Milosun Czervik (Ross Perkins) initiated an in-world fundraising campaign on April 19th. Hundreds of SL residents have been donating funds via donation boxes and vendors, where they can receive a Hokies t-shirt to wear on their avatar.

After a silent auction, held this past week on EduIsland (see the Chronicle of Higher Education web report), the goal of raising L$300,000 has been reached. The funds have been converted to US dollars via LindeX, yielding $1,085 US.Once the money has been deposited to a PayPal account and can be accessed, Perkins will write a check for the full amount to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. Next up? Perkins plans to initiate a new campaign to raise more funds for the Memorial Fund and scholarships that have been started in memory of the victims of the April 16 tragedy."

For this blog, I want to personally thank a number of volunteers who helped make the VT Memorial and the HSMF fundraiser possible (this list will grow as I remember/find more names!)

Lorelei Junot, Abbey Zenith, Katrina Sol, Marston Davids, Penelope Ghia, Perefim Cao, Eloise Pasteur, Dedric Mauriac, Dagmar Kojishi, Ann Enigma, ZeroOne Paz, DianaPrince Carter, Eddie Hagoromo, Robin Linden...

HSMF Fundraising Report

I am *so* excited to announce today that I am on the way to raising another US$1,000 for the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund! This means, of course, that the wonderful, generous SL residents helped meet the first L$300,000 goal! That goal was surpassed this week, when those who participated in the Silent Auction on EduIsland helped raise nearly L$15,000. Then, tonight, the HSMF received an unexpected, generous donation of L$10,000 - which is great start for the next L$300K goal.

So, I put the first batch of Linden dollars up for sale on LindeX (a limit sell of L$265 to US$1.00) on the advice of one SL colleague. I expected this to sell in three days. However, I got impatient after waiting all day and see nada. In fact, I was quite discouraged to see that there was something like L$15 million in open orders at this rate. Another SL colleague (Coal Edge) shared his wisdom - he sells for 267/1.00. I tried this tonight and within 10 minutes, ALL funds had sold and the net result was $84 greater than my goal! Now - I just have to move it to PayPal and give a check to Virginia Tech!! It appears that Edge's logic to sell at a rate where there is a low amount of open orders works very well (generally the lowest rate +1 or +2). If I'd gone with 265, I'd possibly have waited 3 more days for a mere US$8.00...

One question I am trying to get answered is whether not LindenLab will waive the 3.5% conversion fee. This would give another US $40 (or so) back. I can understand if they do not, but it would be great if they did that. Perhaps they'll make a matching gift ?? ;-)

VT Memorial Digital Archive

A digital library that captures stories and images about the tragedy at Virginia Tech on 16-APR-07.

Nozulla

Just funny...

Nozulla may cause the following symptoms: itchy rashes, full body hair loss, projectile vomiting, gigantic eyeball, the condition known as 'hot dog fingers,' children born with the head of a golden retriever, seeing the dead, bone liquification, possession by the Prince of Darkness, tail growth, elderly pregnancy....

Sculpties test on the Beta Grid

I downloaded the new SL Beta Client yesterday and tooled around with the "sculptured prim" (sculpties). I'm sure this will be big when it hits the main grid; we are likely to see SL come to stand for "still life," as bowls of fruit will start popping up all over the place. What I want to learn is how to make a sculptie texture. The beta client only comes with the APPLE texture as default, so you have to save/upload the banana, stem, plate, cube textures yourself. The link for that is here: http://tinyurl.com/32wfx8




I found some problem though - that a sculpted prim would snap out of shape from time to time. So, instead of being a sculpted cube, for instance, I would all of a sudden see a sphere. I'm not sure if this is an artifact of my graphics card or if its beta bug (my guess is the latter).



http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Sculpted_Prims

http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/04/27/the-advent-of-an-illustrious-age-of-sculpted-prims/

Silent Auction covered in Chronicle of Higher Ed blurb

Ms. Foster called me today around 11:30 am; the short article about the Silent Auction in SL has already been posted! Thanks, Andrea!

Silent Auction to benefit Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund

To benefit the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, I've set up a "silent auction" on EduIsland. It goes from today through Sunday, May 13.

The idea is to browse the objects and offer the most you would be willing to pay for them (which is done via a web-based survey tool). Remember, this is a charity event, so the point is to bid generously!!

You do not need to be in SL to bid. The bid forms (which have links to pictures of items) are linked from: http://www.oero.soe.vt.edu/sl/index.html

More detailed instructions are found at the SL site and on the bid forms. Going to the SL allows bidders to learn more about the tools on which they might be bidding. The SLURL is: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland/121/127/23


The following items are available:

1) Many tools useful for educators, donated by Eloise Pasteur, Dagmar Kojishi, Dedric Mauriac, and Ann Enigma

2) A Retail Holodeck Room (with 40 scenes) donated by Bishop Carroll

3) Artwork by Alchimia Jewell and Professor Believeau

4) Misc. furniture


Happy bidding!! If you have questions, please let me know. I guess we'll see how this works...

VT Memorial: Sim Name Change

Marston West, the location of the VT Memorial, has changed its name. It is now known as "Memorial Park."

Here is the SLURL:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Memorial%20Park/127/117/25

Official VT Memorial now established

After a couple of weeks of temporary locations, I'm happy to report that there is now an official memorial spot in Second Life to remember the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings (16-APR-07). Marston Davids and Penelope Ghia have been exceptionally dedicated to making this site happen. Marston, in particular, has shown his building skills, and has created a place that is indeed respectful and beautiful. He even textured part of the parcel to resemble at VT, and placed 33 trees on it, making for a very somber park in which to walk or sit. Since the memorial is now on privately held land, the griefer incidents have not been a real issue.

To see more photos from the memorial on Marston West, see my flickr.com site: http://tinyurl.com/26yzsl

Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund: The initial goal has nearly been met! Only about L$14,000 left to go!!

.

Blog entries about the memorial(s): I recently did a Google search on VT memorials in Second Life, and entries about it seem to be popping up all over, though most of what I have seen is merely a recasting of the original MTV article. Some of the blogs have comments about the memorial, not all of which are positive. I wonder if these same people who don't see a role for a VT Memorial in SL also criticize memorial websites that have gone up? My guess is that the critics have not yet accepted the 3D look of the web. I can understand the perception that the "game-like" appearance of SL might seem trite (my very first concern), but I think the environment we've created there is actually quite respectful. I will not be refuting the negative comments on the blogs. Here are a couple of memorial websites, though I'm sure there are many more:

.

1) http://rosa.hosting.vt.edu/index.php/memorial/

2) http://virginiatechtribute.blogspot.com/

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I recently met a VCU professor in-world ("Ignatius Onomatopoeia") who blogs for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. His article about the fundraising efforts are found at: http://slbeat.mytimesdispatch.com/

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The SLURL for the VT Memorial site:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Marston%20West/129/121/25

Other VT Memorial Sites (and fundraiser update)

There are two other VT Memorials in Second Life that I have not mentioned yet. One was set up by Perefim Cao, who created the original memorial statue that was placed on Info Island (see on back of platform in the picture below, and referred to in an earlier blog posting).

The other was set up by VooDoo Zheng at his sim, Shinning Light. I am a bit disturbed by the "graveyard" look of this memorial, but VZ has done a lot of work and I appreciate his efforts to memorialize the victims. There is even a book of the victims' faces, with a brief bio about them.






HSMF Update: To date, approximately L$270,000 has been raised for the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund! This is very close to the goal of L$300,000. Depending on how long it takes to reach that goal, another goal may well be set! The generosity of SL residents never ceases to amaze me. I have heard that there has been some controversy about VT memorial fundraising in SL; I am glad people are asking questions. I am not sure what Linden Labs can do, but it would be great if I could get a LL employee to verify that what I'm reporting is the actual amount. The money raised to date is not much compared to the private and corporate gifts rolling into VT on a daily basis (one of our former football players, now with the Browns, donated $50,000 - which is a lot given that he makes the league's minimum of $250K per year), but it will be a showing of support that is the first of its kind at Virginia Tech!


VT Memorial on Info Island Update: Abbey Zenith has requested that the memorial be moved from its current site. I will likely relocate the pictures/wall to the ICT Library location, but I'm not sure of the logistics quite yet. This actually coincides with the movement of the RL memorials - many of which were taken off the drillfield yesterday and placed inside, due to inclement weather. The use of that location for the past week has been imporant and I personally thank Katrina Sol and Abbey Zenith for their help in that effort.


VT Memorial on Linden Land (Fame) Update: Griefers have continued to be a real problem on the parcel. This is very unfortunate, but the irony is that had it not been for their idiocy, I would not have met with some of the Linden Lab employees who have helped clean up messes, and I would not have met some SL private citizens who keep a vigilant watch over the place. Among these are folks who make up part of the Justice League of Second Life. This may sound odd, but their activity has helped get griefers banned and have ensured that stupid objects do not get left all over the place. I have been very impressed with their dedication. However, it has been suggested that since the location is near a sandbox (griefer training grounds, it seems), that perhaps it should be moved to a private sim. I had the opportunity to talk with a man who is willing to donate a sim for the purpose of having the memorial. This is a tremendous display of generosity that, again, I would not have seen had it not been for the griefers' activities. So, though the intent of the Patriotic Nigras or /b/tards (whoever they are - the faceless, nameless cowards) was to disrupt, destroy, and harass, they actually helped me gain friendships and partnerships with legions of civil, sympatheic, and generous SL residents.

VT Memorial on Linden Land

After the parcel on Info Island was full of memorial objects left by visitors, Robin Linden made a parcel of land available on a sim managed by Linden Lab. The photo above is an overview of the memorial: in the center is the landing spot, with a sign the reads "Remembering those we lost." To the left are large images of the VT student newspaper, The Collegiate Times from the week of 4/16. On the walls are large posters of the victims, along with links to their biographies as published on the Roanoke Times website. More photos of the memorial are located on my Flickr site.

Over the past few days, I have had a good deal of internal debate & consternation about putting up any sign for Mr. Cho. I tried to do this once, and took it down again because I was too angry. I'm still angry with him - and always will be - for what he did to 32 wonderful people, but I was beginning to think something was needed. My decision to put up a panel (pictured below) was not a response to the griefers (vandals), many of whom stood on the false claim that they would continue to attack if no picture of Cho was included. In fact, I was strongly resisting any attempt of any SL resident to put up his picture solely for the reason - for two reasons (at least). First, it looked like capitulation to the idiots who were attacking the parcel/sim. Second, Cho had his fame all over the world with his videos and pictures. The "Question Mark Kid" became an exclamation point over and over again. The victims, in my mind, did not get nearly the acclaim they deserve. I am glad to see that they made the cover of Time magazine.

On Friday evening, I had a conversation with two SL residents who were concerned about a lack of any sense of sorrow for Mr. Cho. They had erected a poster of him, which I promptly covered up with a large black box. This of course led to a discussion! The conversation got me to think again about a situation that happened to a colleague just a few years ago. Let me recount briefly...

A couple of years ago, one of professors - a respected scholar and a great guy - had a son (in his 20's) who had some substance abuse problems, etc. Early one morning, he was on the run from having stolen cigarettes (or attempting to do so) from a small convenience store. When a police officer responded, the professor's son beat him, pulled him from his car, and shot him to death. Within a few moments, the young man was shot and killed by police who responded to the scene. The tragedy shocked the community - all felt a deep sense of loss for the slain officer and his widow and young daughter. Nearly all felt anger and hatred toward the young man who killed him - knowing full well that if he had not been killed, Virginia's capital punishment clause would certainly have been applied. But for those of us who knew, worked with, and loved the professor, we grieved for both families, but especially for our colleague and his wife - the father and mother of son who perpetrated such violence. The tragedy ripped aparts lives of the victimizer's family and the victim's family. Ever since that time, I have been more sympathetic towards the families of criminals, and I have tried to understand the person behind the depravity or evil. I'm human - this does not always come quickly or easily. In the case of Mr. Cho, I cannot find it in me to post his picture. Instead, I wrote created the following sign for the memorial:

"The weak can never forgive.

Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

-Gandhi

In memory of...
Not who he became, but who he
was beneath the hate and rage.
The peace his family knew
before April 16, 2007.
The friendless and unloved,
who felt dead before they died.
Victims, whoever they are.

Each person has to grieve in his/her own way and come to an understanding on his/her own about how - and who - to remember from this tragedy. On Virginia Tech's drillfield, there are 33 "Hokie Stones" that surround the review stand that sits just below Burruss Hall (the main administration building at VT). Whoever put it there felt compelled to remember Cho's humanity before I was convinced it was necessary. Today, during the ceremony to remember the victims, only 32 balloons were released - a strong message that this community is focused - not incorrectly in my estimation - on the innocent victims alone.