UNLV students, teachers show support for Virginia Tech

As UNLV students and faculty gathered in the main plaza of the campus Monday night, the sentiment was not lost on Jeff Motley, a 1990 graduate of Virginia Tech.

"We're here now. We live in Las Vegas. We're 2,500 miles from Blacksburg," said Motley, whose Virginia Tech sweatshirt served a dual purpose on the chilly, still night. "To have the home university do something like this, it's just amazing. I think it speaks from their heart."

More than 100 University of Nevada, Las Vegas students joined Motley and several other members of the Las Vegas chapter of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association for a candlelight vigil to remember the 33 people who died on the Virginia campus last week.

"This event hits so close to home for a lot of people here," said Ricardo Estrada, a junior majoring in philosophy and literature who organized the event Monday.

Students signed a banner that read, "UNLV students send their thoughts and prayers. Today, we are all Hokies."

"Please know that your pain is felt among people everywhere," one person wrote. "UNLV is thinking of you!"

The banner will be sent to Virginia Tech.

Sophomore history major Felicia Hersh opposed sending it.

"They're trying to move on," she said. "I don't think reminding them of this is fair."

Michael Amato, a sophomore hospitality student and friend, felt differently.

"I think this is more of a support for the local community," he said. "It's to help them to get through the grieving process."

Before students lit each other's candles, they reflected on the events of the past week.

"Normally, you connect to people your age," Satya Bejarano, a senior majoring in film, said as two people played French horns in the background. "But when it happens at a college, it really hits close to home."

"When I heard about it, I called everybody I knew, seeing if they knew somebody at Virginia Tech," she said. "I didn't want it to hit that close to home."

Most students said they felt safe on campus, especially since UNLV police stepped up their presence on campus this week. Five officers nearby watched the vigil .

Megan Fosmoe, a freshman chemistry student, said she thought the lockdown at the University of Nevada, Reno last week hit closer to home because she knew students there.

UNR canceled classes Thursday after an Iraq war veteran and former UNR student made threatening remarks to his family members.

Several UNLV students said they were having discussions in their classes about campus safety and the Virginia Tech shooting.

Lisa Shawcroft, a senior majoring in public relations, said she and her peers are thinking about their attitudes toward people after they heard the Virginia Tech shooter said he had been bullied.

"I think people are being more thoughtful about how they're treating people around them," she said.

For Matt Hollinger, a Virginia Tech engineering graduate who is enrolling at UNLV in the fall to pursue a bachelor's degree in management information systems, the outpouring of support would help his alma mater move on.

"We're Hokies, we're strong. We're going to get through this."