Virginia Tech honors its dead

BLACKSBURG, Va., May 11 (UPI) -- Virginia Tech honored the 32 students and faculty killed in last month's massacre at Friday's graduation ceremony.

The students shot dead in a dorm and classroom building received honorary degrees and their families got class rings, The New York Times reported. Pictures of the victims were shown on a large screen.

Gen. John Abizaid, former head of Central Command, talked about the tragedy in his speech to graduating seniors.

"How we collectively bear up to the pressures of unexpected tragedy, how we care for and honor those who suffer loss, how we hold on to our values despite the seductive lure of simple, quick and easy solutions to the complex problems we face -- how we deal with such things defines us forever," Abizaid said.

Caroline Merrey, a graduate in engineering, said she still feels guilty because she jumped from a classroom window while her professor, Liviu Librescu, held the door against gunman Cho Seung-hui.

"Graduation is hard enough," she said. "It's even harder with these emotions, all the media and the reminders everywhere of what happened."