Virginia Tech April 16th, 2007 Remembered.
April 16th, 2008
One year ago today 32 people were murdered at the hands of a madman. Thirty two students and faculty; both seekers and providers of knowledge. All full of potential, achievement, and promise. They did nothing wrong that day except chase their dreams. Their only crime was to follow those dreams with action and they died for it.

As a VT alumni who spends upwards of 30 days on campus each year despite having graduated 7 years ago, the news hurt me. I cannot imagine the devastation it caused families.
This site is a side-business for me. The same lessons and values I learned at VT, that the 32 were experiencing that day, are the ones that prompted me to create a company to help local business leaders chase and implement their dreams. Since that day I have not been very active on this site or running my web design company - I simply didn’t have the stomach for creativity after receiving the email pasted below.
Hello Select Content Producers:
I’m reaching out to you as the CEO of Associated Content - with the hope of populating Associated Content with quality news stories about the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Our records show that you might have some past or present connection to the school.
So, if you have commentary on this topic, or even better, a first hand report about the tragedy at Virginia Tech, please login to your AC account and submit the news you may have. I want to see if our Content Producers can provide quality coverage of this event.
Please go to https://publish.associatedcontent.com/cms_edit.shtml, login and select the “News Item” template. We’ll make minimum payments of $20 dollars for this special call for content. Please email me directly with your name and the title of your submission, should you submit -so I can be sure it is processed immediately.
Thanks for helping us get this important news content,
-LukeLuke Beatty
CEO
88 Steele Street, Suite 250
You see, Associated Content would pay me $20 to write about this senseless act of violence, this heart-wrenching rampage and they in turn would place advertisements on that content and profit.
It made me absolutely sick.
So sick I didn’t want to write or produce or chase dreams at all. In short, I wrote one reflection post, stopped pursuing my dreams because of a madman and an asshole profiteer. I realize now that my reaction should have been completely the opposite.
32 lives - mostly students, were cut down before they had a chance to implement their dreams. We will never be able to bring them back. We may not be able to prevent the next tragedy or even the one after that. What we can do is live our dreams instead of just talking about them. If not for our own sake, then for the sake of those who can no longer aspire to great things.
If any of this resonates with you, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. If you would like to share your VT memories on the tragedy, please share them on the We Remember Virginia Tech page. I won’t be paying you $20 like Mr. Beatty tried. But I promise not to try and profiteer off of your experience either.
