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I can’t tell you how proud I was to see you chanting “Let’s Go Hokies” during the convocation today. I am a fervent Hoo and like all of us over the country, my heart couldn’t be heavier. Many of my great friends went to VT and I have even filled up some seats at Scott Stadium with Hokie friends over Hoo coworkers because they were, well, my friends. In fact, the last time you came to Charlottesville, I was in the bar with them by halftime. It was a chance to not care about anything in the world but fun and great people.

Its funny to hear the reporters ask dumb questions like “Will the Hokies recover?” Obviously they don’t know about Virginia Tech. You can take the large mega state colleges, the pristine ivy leagues, and the elite private schools; but even the Hoos know that you will be hard pressed to find fans any prouder of their school than those draped in orange and maroon. VT posters keep thanking us on thesabre.com for the support, but we should be thanking you for allowing us to share in your rebuilding. I see students handling questions from merciless reporters with tremendous poise. I tear up just seeing the images on television.

Today, I wore my orange sweater, and kept my office door shut because I didn’t want people seeing my eyes well up every time I clicked online for coverage. And when I watched your service today, one fact was more impressive than the pedigree of the speakers, the words in the messages, or the masses of media clamoring in from the world: You started the service standing up for your leader and you ended the service shouting for your school. There goes that Hokie pride that never, ever waivers. Ever.

“We will prevail, we will prevail, we will prevail.” Damn right you will.

Subject: The Hokie Culture
Posted by: Hoo on Wed Apr 18 2007 8:52:34 AM
Message:

One thing has become crystal clear in this tragedy: their collective culture has made them uniquely prepared to emerge from this as strong as ever. And thank God.

In "peacetime", the Tech unity always confused me. I've never met a Tech grad who wasn't demonstrative about his or her alma mater. My brother-in-law -- at 40 -- drives the 5 hours or so for every home football game, flies to every bowl game, and travels to many road games. At a colleague's house (female, also 40ish), it seemed like every household item was maroon or orange. Blankets, rugs, cups, etc., etc. Every Tech grad in my neighborhood always has a flag out. School spirit is WAY greater than at most other schools.

Contrast: I was a rabid Wahoo during my undergrad and grad years. Never missed a football, basketball, lax or soccer game. I'm enormously proud of my degrees. But I have... let's see... a UVa sweatshirt, a UVa soccer T, and a UVA lax T. Now, I keep close track of the soccer and lax teams, but little else. People can know me for years without the subject coming up. Obviously there are many rabid Wahoo fans here on this board, but out of my friends, I'd say I'm fairly typical. And the same goes for my non-UVa friends.

In the Post today, they talked about the "be-true-to-your-school chauvinism and clubby rituals" and the "ridiculous sense of unity". Why the big difference? What is it about the Tech experience that forges this identity?

It can't be the campus-- it's a very nice campus, but there are plenty of beautiful campuses that don't spawn that sense of identity. It can't be the population or demographics -- whatever differences between Tech and UVa populations there once were have largely vanished in the last few decades. Is it the geographic remoteness? Are other remote schools similar? What is handed down from student to student that accounts for this culture?

Let me be clear -- I've never viewed it as a great positive. But now, when an almost unimaginable tragedy has hit the community, I'm hugely, hugely grateful that those kids have that sense of unity to help pull them through.