As news of the shootings at Virginia Tech began to spread on Monday, April 16, 2007, Dickinson College President William G. Durden '71 sent a number of e-mail messages to the campus community to keep students, faculty and staff members informed. This included an initial notification on Monday at 1:30 p.m. about the shootings, followed by a series of messages on Tuesday announcing a moment of silence and candlelight vigil, as well as providing a reminder that Dickinson does have an emergency-response plan in place.

The text of those e-mail messages appears here.

E-mail about shootings

Sent: Mon 4/16/2007 1:30 PM

As you may know by now, two gunmen opened fire on the Virginia Tech University campus early this morning. As of this writing, 22 individuals are dead and at least 20 more are injured. CNN is carrying up-to-date reports and can be viewed at www.cnn.com.

I know that you all join me in expressing our deepest condolences for the monumental loss Virginia Tech University has experienced. We extend our thoughts and prayers to the friends and families of the victims and, indeed, to all members of the extended Virginia Tech community as they attempt to come to terms with this extreme tragedy.

Bill Durden
President

E-mail about moment of silence

Sent: Tue 4/17/2007 8:00 AM

Dear Dickinson College Community,

At 2 pm today the Virginia Tech community will be gathering on its Blacksburg campus to mourn the loss of so many of its members and to try to make sense out of this profoundly tragic event.

I ask that the Dickinson College Community join in spirit with our VT colleagues in their moment of extreme suffering by observing a moment of silence at precisely 2 pm. If you are in class or at a working position that demands your immediate atttention, please simply stand and think of our VT colleagues--those who are dead, those who are wounded and those who are simply in the community. If you are not in class or at a job that requires your immediate attention, please join me in front of Old West for a communal moment of silence. Thank you.

Bill Durden
President

E-mail about candlelight vigil

Sent: Tue 4/17/2007 2:10 PM

Dickinson College will hold a candlelight vigil this evening at 8:00 p.m. on the steps of Old West to honor the 33 individuals who were killed yesterday at Virginia Tech University, as well as those who were wounded, the survivors, their families and the Blacksburg community. This vigil will be held at the same time the Virginia Tech community will gather this evening to show support for our sister institution of higher education.

Dickinson College students, faculty and staff are invited to attend to share their thoughts, grief, stories, poems, music and prayers. Attendees will also have an opportunity to sign a condolence book that will be sent to Virginia Tech University.

Room draw registration for rising seniors will start at 7:30-8:00 PM in front of the HUB social hall. At 8:00 PM, students will be dismissed to attend the vigil. Room draw will then reconvene at 8:30 PM.

Please also remember that the Counseling Center is available and willing to meet with students about this difficult event. Please do not hesitate to contact the Counseling Center at ext. 1485 if you need to speak with someone.

Bill Durden
President

E-mail about Dickinson's emergency response plan

Sent: Tue 4/17/2007 5:00 PM

The recent tragedy at Virginia Tech University has prompted inquiries about Dickinson's preparedness to confront an emergency. This is a natural response to such a profound tragedy and we welcome such inquiry.

To reassure you, Dickinson does have a comprehensive emergency response plan that is reviewed regularly and updated as necessary. As part of this regular review, we evaluate and take into account the development and use of new technologies with regard to both implementation and communication. Our Office of Public Safety also routinely conducts emergency response exercises and it will continue to do so.

Our emergency plan is coordinated with appropriate external law enforcement and emergency agencies. Given the fact that we are constantly working to improve our emergency response capacity, and for security reasons, we will not publicly release our comprehensive plan. However, every effort will be made to communicate necessary and timely information to all campus constituencies about how to respond in the case of an emergency.

Bill Durden
President