Tragedy in Blacksburg

At least 33 dead in campus shootings.

Mary Anne Hitt, our Executive Director, and her husband Than were very close by this morning. They are safe and sound now and send their love from Blacksburg.

Our thoughts are with our friends and family at Virginia Tech, and their loved ones.

Update: Things have gotten worse throughout the day, and i don’t have much to say except that I wish people would not use tragedy to score points for whatever personal political agenda they may have…be it gun control, the war, or whatever. The millions of acts of kindness the world is witness to each day will overwhelm today’s sadness. One sick person will never change that. But mourning is not the appropriate time for an agenda.

About JW Randolph

Raised on the banks of the Tennessee River, JW's work to create progress in his home state and throughout Appalachia has been featured on the Rachel Maddow Show, The Daily Kos and Grist. He served first as Appalachian Voices’ Legislative Associate and then Tennessee director until leaving to pursue a career in medicine in 2012.