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Hokies Spell Out Their Appreciation

November 17, 2007

By Darryl Slater

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Several thousand people gathered on Virginia Tech's Drillfield yesterday morning to form a giant message of thanks to the world for its support after the April 16 massacre.

Dressed in the school colors of maroon and orange, and surrounded by fall foliage of the same hues, the crowd was arranged to form Tech's "VT" logo, and under it, "THANKS YOU."

At 11:10 a.m., a satellite aimed to capture the image as the thousands waved at the sky.

"We're very pleased with how it went," said Peter M. Sforza, a geography department faculty member and coordinator of the event.

He added that organizers won't know until tomorrow whether the satellite photo worked out.

"During the satellite overpass window, we had about 50 percent clouds at that moment. It's a hit-or-miss thing," he said.

The event drew students, faculty, staff and college friends who wanted to express thanks for the outpouring of support after the rampage that left 33 dead, including the gunman.

Among the participants was Mary Doss of Mechanicsville, a 19-year football season-ticket holder.

"It's a family thing," she said.

Unsolicited donations came from more than 21,000 people worldwide after the tragedy. These ranged from allowances sent in by children to $1 million from the New York Yankees.

By the end of last month, $8.5 million had been collected and disbursed to victims' families, the injured and others who were nearby during the attack.

Sforza said yesterday's event was put on by dozens of volunteers, scientists, researchers and students from throughout the university. Tech's Marching Virginians played Hokie music as the crowd was being assembled.

The gathering took place before the Tech-Miami football game in Blacksburg, which Tech won 44-14.

Contact Darryl Slater at (804) 649-6026 or dslater@timesdispatch.com