In wake of last Monday’s tragedy, the school has decided to cancel all school-sponsored events through the end of the year. This decision was made to accommodate for student and faculty grief counseling as well memorial services occurring in multiple locations throughout campus.

For many students this decision is disappointing, as we feel that in stressful situations, students need activities to occupy their time. A choral concert, or mini-Relay for Life, could have been uplifting for students and a great opportunity to raise money and bring the community together for good. The fact that classes have restarted and many students are finishing out the remainder of the semester begs for the existence of activities to refocus our attention on social and academic activities. Many of these school activities were the culmination of students’ classes, what they have looked forward to and what they have spent much time planning for.

However, at the same time, we realize that these activities have been canceled purely out of respect for the thousands affected by this tragedy. While these school activities may have served a positive purpose in helping students cope, it is also important to be sensitive to all those affected. At a time like this, we do not want more things going on than necessary. With so many memorials, services and counseling sessions going on around campus, it is important to keep the campus semi-contained.

The Roots are no longer coming to perform at Virginia Tech, and while it probably would have been an amazing concert, at a time like this, it just seems slightly inappropriate. While the administration certainly does not want us sitting around wallowing in our own grief, at a time like this, it certainly seems unimaginable to ever go back to life as normal.

Many people have been looking forward to school-sponsored activities, but sometimes more important factors come into play. Last Monday’s events were nothing that any of us could have ever imagined. The cancellation of end-of-the-semester events, while unfortunate, was necessary to accommodate for the grief counseling sessions and commemorative events occurring around campus.

We certainly need to try and go back to life as normal, but at the same time we should remain aware that it will take quite some time. We should not feel guilty to have fun, but we should remain sensitive of those suffering in our local school community. We should focus our energy on finishing up our academic semester, looking forward to the summer months, and appreciating how lucky we are to be at a school like Virginia Tech. While the cancellation of school events is disappointing, at a time like this, our community needs to come together for a greater good.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of The Collegiate Times editorial board of Virginia Tech. It was made available through U-Wire.