By Todd Maisel
New York Daily News
BLACKSBURG, VA - I feel a bit battle hardened to mourning sometimes. I’ve been to hundreds of funerals over the past 24 years, especially during the World Trade Center. But here I was on assignment for the New York Daily News for four days at the Virginia Tech massacre where every day was mourning for the thousands of students, family and faculty of that beautiful sprawling campus.
Thousands of media members from around the world jammed Virginia Tech after the death toll in the massacre by a madman with two guns escalated to 32, the largest single mass murder in U.S. history.
Four acres of parking were stacked with satellite trucks and media vehicles. CNN alone had more than 120 people including 40 from Washington D.C. Fox Network had more than 100 and so did ABC network. My newspaper, the New York Daily News, had five photographers, four reporters and a columnist on site.
Despite the horrific nature of the crime and tremendous mourning, the media hordes were greeted with courtesy, friendship and access – with certain limits.
There were plenty of opportunities for pictures of crying people, though family members were somewhat more exclusive for the first few days for large networks like CNN, Fox and ABC. It didn’t hurt their chances that they came in with both star power and in some cases, previous relationships with the campus sports program.
Public information officers helped keep families sequestered, but did steer some families willing to talk to celebrities such as Larry King, Wolf Blitzer and Geraldo Rivera. But if you were a newspaper from out of town, or just a small television station, the pickings among family members were slim.
The students themselves were very approachable and most cried in front of cameras and were more than willing to share their feelings. Every day, we found memorials popping up at various parts of the campus, friends and sometimes family kneeling at these memorials marked with the “VT” where campus pride was so apparent.
Through it all, the Collegiate Times was at the forefront of reporting on student views and more than a few of their photographers had to deal with both the emotional ties they had to the students, and, in the case of the photo editor, Shaozhou Cui, was handcuffed and led away during the height of the shooting because he matched the description of the suspect.
There were a few incidents in which some fed up students passed around flyers calling for the media to leave, but for the most part, the Virginia Tech community seemed to go out of their way to help the media get out the news.
Shaozhou Cui, 24, a student photo editor for the Virginia Tech Collegiate Times, was mistaken for the gunman and dragged into custody in handcuffs.
It took agitating by the NPPA, news media and from an attorney for the college newspaper to convince the Virginia State Police to return Cui’s Nikon D-70s and identification three days after the incident. Cui was detained for several hours after he photographed police moving in on the shooting scene because he looked strikingly similar to the gunman described by witnesses.
Cui, 24, a computer science major, is originally from China, but has lived in Reston, VA, for the past five years. Nothing in his experience could prepare him for what happened on April 16.
He said he had emerged from Burruss Hall administration building when the shooting started and he trained his lens on Norris Hall and the converging police. He said he took cover behind a stone podium so as not to be shot himself. He kept taking photos.
“It happened so fast and I hid – I just did my job,” he said.
Photographer Alan Kim from The Roenoke Times photographed the mistaken arrest of Cui, an Asian man wearing a black jacket who matched the description of killer Cho Seung Hui, who had killed 32 people before killing himself. Cui was forced to the ground by heavily armed officers who at first were going to just move him back, but then decided to arrest him.
Despite spending more than two hours in lock up and then cleared by State Police, officials refused to return his camera gear and his student identification – no reason given.
Two days after it was determined that Cho acted alone, State Police still had not returned equipment. Attorney John J. Robertson, representing the student newspaper, sent a fax to Captain George Austin Jr., division commander of the State Police asking for the equipment to be returned. No reply was received. NPPA began inquiries, but also received no response.
On Thursday morning, I went to the State Police press conference and asked top officials whether Cui was still considered a suspect, and if not, why his personal property was not returned. Several other reporters, including Asian news agencies, were asked to inquire with State Police about whether because Cui was Asian, that his property was being held.
Only 10 minutes after talking with State Police PIO Sgt. Frederick Tyler, Tyler came running out of the Inn at Virginia Tech to catch this reporter to tell him, “Don’t worry, just have him call me and he will get his equipment back.”. About an hour later, Cui’s property was returned.” (Oh, he also asked for photos of police in action at the false alarm from April 18 – “Email it to me,” Sgt. Tyler added).
But despite the returned equipment, pictures and identification, there was no apology.
“I really didn’t expect an apology – it’s their job. But they never told me why they held my stuff. May be they wanted to look at my pictures. But there was so much confusion. I really don’t blame anybody,” he said.
Cui didn’t know any of the people killed that day. But he said it was emotionally difficult for him and other student photographers to do their jobs and all students were offered counseling in the student activities center.
“It is really hard for all the photographers because there is so much emotion,” he said. I try not to be sad and I just try to do my job. Most of the photographers say it is difficult and even harder to gather information.”
Cui says he hasn’t decided on a photojournalism career .
“If someone wants me in photojournalism, then I will go that way, but if there are more jobs in computer science, I will do that,” he said.
Photographers and other media found themselves traveling to Virginia State just at the end of a huge Nor’easter that swept through the area and flooded parts of the northeast with winds up to 50 miles per hour. As a result, most airlines cancelled flights, forcing many to drive nearly eight hours, 477 miles, from New York City and even more from other parts of the country and world.
I started out from Brooklyn, NY, in a light rain and high winds. Two of my fellow photographers decided to fly from JFK and another flew from Islip Airport in Long Island. I ended up picking John Roca, coming from Long Island, at Baltimore Airport without even delaying my trip.
My other two colleagues, Debbie Egan Chin and Andrew Theodakis, flew to Dulles Airport, where their flight to Ronoeke was cancelled, forcing them to drive and end up driving right behind us on I-81.
Other photographers coming from similar distances recalled either(one Space) long flight delays, cancellations or partial flights with long drives. Much larger numbers from media group’s Washington D.C. bureaus responded to the massacre in great numbers, leaving few to cover Capitol happenings.
After about eight hours of driving, we arrived at the campus –I pulled up next to Moises Saman, the World Press award-winning photographer from Newsday and another fellow photographer. We immediately found our way into the campus and we all went to work shooting the first VT memorial and then campus cadets guarding the war memorial. A cadet blew taps for the dead students.
For most photographers who spent most of the day driving, the evening didn’t end till well after midnight – if not later.
The Inn at Virginia Tech became both the press headquarters and the shelter for the families of students killed in the shooting. Grieving families were only on the other side of doors that connected to the hordes of reporters and photographers who were gathering information on the massacre.
VT was already prepared with more than 30 PIO’s from both the college and others provided by the State of Virginia to assist the thousands of media on hand. An early press conference in a large press-room was so packed that overflow was relegated to the hallways and a second floor viewing room.
After the press conference, media fanned out trying to get interviews with family, friends, and students. These interviews were at the newly forming memorials being erected by students around the several acre drill field which is opposite Norris Hall where the shooting occurred.
Other journalists went to Montgomery Regional Hospital in nearby Christianburg where the wounded were taken. Several journalists were chastised by hospital officials after a family member complained that she was passed a note requesting an interview.
Journalists and photographers were allowed to stay in the parking lot as long as they didn’t come near the entrance of the hospital. While family members were refusing to talk, several friends of wounded students spoke on camera.
The campus was abuzz over a hastily planned memorial at the Kastle Colliseum for 2 p.m. that day where only pool photographers were supposed to gain access for the prime photo positions. Other photographers also gained access to this massive event that packed the stadium. A few wore VT sweatshirts and hid camera gear, while others merely made access anyway.
“At first I was told I couldn’t come in, but then, I decided to be resolute and look like I belonged there, even being a bit pushy to get in,” said Charles Eckert of New York Newsday.
Photographers inside were able to get emotional students during the ceremony with the president, but only pool and a few other shooters actually made President Bush and his wife Laura.
Other media were relegated to outside the stadium.
The mourning went on well into the evening when at about 8 p.m., thousands gathered for a candle light vigil and a cadet honor guard. Some State Police were on hand and stepped in front of crying family members who didn’t want to be photographed. Most photographers obliged those families who were avoiding cameras. And throughout it all, the State Police were polite, yet firm and earned high marks from most media members for their professionalism.
By day three, the media was seeking out families and anything fresh. But it was a little more of the same as students continued to build memorials, signing boards and walked by the police tape at Norris Hall. Police continued documenting the scene even three days later.
But the day started at bit unnerving as heavily armed police swarmed Burruss Hall after officials reported a suspicious person in the building following phone threats. It was a false alarm. Only a half hour later, the Montgomery Regional Courthouse was cleared after a judge reported a suspicious ticking sound. It was only a defective beverage machine in the hallway.
Photographers gathered on the Drill Field where students sat in circles and held prayer vigils. Students also gathered in front of Burruss Hall where rocks were arranged around the podium and signing boards were erected for people to sign their memories.
Everything everyone was doing came crashing down when NBC News reported receiving a package from Cho with tapes of his diatribes against the students and society. Cho got his final demented words via the U.S. Postal service – so we all went to take pictures of a little post office on Main Street, already closed for the day.
I was about ready to wrap it up for the week as the only things left were more memorials, and funerals that would not occur for a few days.
So it was appropriate that I visit the local Wal-Mart where it is alleged that Cho bought ammunition. Erected in front of the store was a trash can for donations for the families of the students. In the sports department, I saw two Virginia Tech students buying ammunition from the very counter Cho was standing only days before.
It was time to go home.
BLACKSBURG, VA – Teodora Erbes, 26, a first year PhD Graduate Student in computer science, found herself thrust into a story that affected her and all of her fellow students very personally. As a staff photographer for the student newspaper the Collegiate Times, she witnessed something that no student should have ever have to deal with.
Originally from Belgrade, Serbia, this is her first year working for the Collegiate Times, having done mostly travel photography in the past. This was her first time working a breaking news story of this magnitude.
Q: How did you feel about taking photos of something that you had a personal connection to, as you are a student yourself?
I enjoyed the experience of being out in the field all day, working closely with the newsroom to respond quickly to the ongoing events. I was able for two days to put my personal feelings aside and work on reporting the events precisely. The fact that I had a connection with what was going on made me feel like I had more of a responsibility to report the events accurately. Knowing the area allowed me to work quickly: get to the gatherings faster and shoot from the ‘best’ angles.
Q: Did you shoot on the first day, and did you not take pictures at any time because of personal feelings?
Yes, I went out to campus as soon as I heard what was going on. I tried to sneak between and through the buildings to get closer to the scenes. I did not have any problems taking pictures on Monday. Tuesday however, I started to feel the sadness and desperation around campus, and I felt it hard for taking up-close pictures of people grieving. By Wednesday, the pressure had released and the reality had kicked in. As no specific meeting was happening on campus, I took some time off to deal with the events myself; It was not as much what happened that was hard to stand, but more the general low energy and sad environment that is all around us since Monday and that depresses everybody.
Q: What did you learn from the experience and what were the difficulties for you, that you perceive, as opposed to the major media organizations?
I have a feeling that we were actually privileged in the official events, being part of the university’s media we were allowed to be present in all the gatherings. I benefited from the experience of being allowed as a professional in some of the major meetings; working close to the professionals, I was able to pick-up on some techniques, and talking to some photographers and reporters broadened my views of the field. For example, I was proud to be allowed to enter in the Tuesday morning press conference when some major media organizations were refused a seat, the room being full.
Q: What would you recommend to other student photographers in dealing with a difficult situation on campus?
Being professional means that in such situations we have to be able to put our personal feelings aside in order to do a good job. This experience gave us a better, or more precise feeling of what photojournalism is. While some vocations were confirmed, it revealed to some that working while dealing with emergency situations is not their calling.
Q: How did you feel about police detaining your photo editor, Shaozhou Cui?
I know that, as I do, he understood when the police apprehended him. However, I do not understand why they had to take his equipment away and keep it this long! I know that there are some shots that I did not take either by fear of the authorities: I did not want them to take my camera away and not be able to finish covering the events; maybe this confidence will come with experience. I will have a better feeling of our limitations as photojournalists!
Q: Do you intend to pursue a career in photojournalism?
I really enjoyed the experience I had this semester. Becoming part of the photography club, but more precisely what I experienced this past week has led me to seek to further my involvement in photojournalism, and possibly pursue a career in this field.
