BLACKSBURG, Va., April 23 (UPI) -- Classes resumed Monday at Virginia Tech, just one week after gunman Cho Seung-hui killed 32 people and himself on the Blacksburg, Va., campus.
The day began with students, faculty and visitors walking through campus buildings carrying 33 white flags followed by a saxophonist playing "America the Beautiful" and then 1,032 balloons were released into the sky, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch reported.
CNN reported that 32 white balloons were released in remembrance of those killed and the other 1,000 were of the school's colors, maroon and orange.
Among the visitors to the campus Monday were students from Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala., who carried a sign that said "Be Strong. Press On" on one side and "Alabama Loves Virginia Tech" on the other, the Times-Dispatch said.
"This kind of hit home because we're students ourselves," said Sanique Antonio, a 19-year-old Oakwood sophomore.
Students that are attending Virginia Tech are being given the option of not returning until the next term and taking their present grades, said the New York Times.
