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April 23, 2007
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The Virginia Tech campus has become a sea of orange and maroon.Many students, family, faculty and supporters are decking themselves out in the university's colors to show their support in a time of tragedy.
The campus is uniting after April 16, when English major Seung-Hui Cho, 23, shot two people in a residence hall around 7:15 a.m. Two hours later he opened fire in a building across campus, killing 30 more before turning the gun on himself.
Whitney Fears was trying on a pair of maroon athletic shorts with her orange Virginia Tech T-shirt at the Tech Bookstore Sunday.
She noticed more people wearing orange and maroon in the last week and finds it comforting in a time of tragedy, she said.
"It makes me proud to be a Hokie," Fears said. "It's a sign of the Hokie nation uniting."
The senior marketing major said she has a lot of "Hokie-gear" at home, but felt she needed to buy some more.
"If you're a senior, you probably have a lot to begin with because you wear it all the time," she said.
Gary Cannon, clothing coordinator at the Tech Bookstore, said customers are interested in anything orange or maroon, but he has seen a significant increase in purchases of T-shirts and hats. Sales have also been high for ties and dress blouses, which Cannon said he thinks are for memorial services.
Cannon, in a maroon polo with an orange "VT" on the front, said the store sold out of many items including flags, window and car decals, magnets and maroon and orange ribbon.
An order of 600 orange and maroon ribbon-shaped magnets sold out within two hours. Four thousand more will arrive Tuesday.
A lot of people have also been ordering merchandise from out of state, he said. The Professional Golfers Association ordered a large shipment of lapel pins, the Baltimore Orioles ordered baseball hats for the entire team and four tennis teams in the Big East Conference, which Virginia Tech used to be a member, ordered hats that Cannon sent overnight on Friday.
Sales were highest last Saturday and April 18. Cannon did not know specific numbers, but he said the store sold more merchandise than it ever has in April.
Rick Burroughs was at the bookstore Sunday to stock up on "Hokie-gear." He bought a golf shirt and a T-shirt to take back to Virginia Beach.
Burroughs, who graduated from Virginia Tech in 1995, said he wears a lot of orange and maroon to work.
"I sport it all the time," he said. "It's my wardrobe."
He and his wife also chose maroon and orange for their wedding colors.
Cashier Emily Gabrysch said she has seen more people and school colors in the last week than she normally sees for big sporting events.
"I'm really impressed that people would take time out of their lives to come visit Virginia Tech," she said.
Aside from students, a lot of customers have been from Texas, North and South Carolina, Maryland and the surrounding states, she said.
She even had a phone order from West Hollywood from someone who had no affiliation with Virginia Tech, but wanted to show support.
Gabrysch said she feels the same way.
"I'm not a Hokie," she said. "But even I had to buy some."
Ashley Gebb can be reached at agebb@theorion.com
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Read more of The Orion's on-location coverage of Virginia Tech:
- Virginia Tech tragedy
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