As I listen and read breaking news and commentary, finding the same stories, I wonder how Binghamton students are feeling in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings.
 

At a daily prayer meeting on campus I half-expected to see more, but it was just the usual Tuesday crowd.  Are we praying?   I have been surprised by my own reaction – in the face of national or world tragedy I am often sad or prayerful, but it doesn’t enter my day in a palpable way.  I have an ability to focus on what is in front of me in the moment, but yesterday I found myself preoccupied and a little bit anxious.

 
Perhaps it’s because this happened on a college campus.  Knowing there is an InterVarsity chapter there, I think of them as my students.  Maybe it’s because the shooter was Asian American – I fear that my students will feel deeper sorrow and shame in that common identity.  I fear the media enforcing frustrating or hurtful Asian stereotypes in their coverage.
 

I have found wisdom in the words of some of my colleagues.  One has issued a call to lament.  I am too quick to fix and too slow to cry out to God, not with answers but with anguish and grief, trusting his grief to run deeper.
 

One reminded us that many campuses around the world experience violence against students a common experience (even at the hands of their own governments), and encouraged us to pray in solidarity with them.
 

Who can make sense?  Grace and peace be us all today.