Va. Tech to Turn Shooting Site into Peace Studies Center

New program will focus on violence prevention
By Zach Samalin,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 20, 2007 6:20 PM CST
Va. Tech to Turn Shooting Site into Peace Studies Center
Virginia Tech students walk across the Drillfield to classes at the school in Blacksburg, Va., Monday, Aug. 20, 2007. Fall semester classes began Monday. Norris hall, the site of most of the April 16 shootings, is seen in the background. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)   (Associated Press)

Virginia Tech's Norris Hall will soon house the university's new Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention, in an effort to keep alive the memory of those who died in that building during the April 16 massacre. School officials announced the plan today, after a several months-long deliberation about how to use the massive, 4,300 square foot building, the Washington Post reports.

Soon after the shooting, many parents and students alike called for the building to be taken down and replaced with a memorial, but the university's decision met with general approval. "I am extremely confident that the decision we announce today will help future generations of students more deeply understand the world we live in today," said University President Charles Steger. (More Virginia Tech stories.)

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