IU alumnus to hold events for Virginia Tech anniversary today

One year ago today, the country watched in horror as another school massacre took place and gunman Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 students at Virginia Tech. \nToday, hundreds of people from both ends of the nation will commemorate the tragedy with candlelight vigils, “lie-ins” – in which 32 people, usually dressed in black, will lie on the ground to represent the victims – and other forms of remembrance. \nBloomington resident and IU alumnus Jeffrey Schauss has organized two “Time of Remembrance” events to spread awareness to remember the victims today – one at noon at First United Church and another in Dunn Meadow at 5 p.m.\n“This is a community coming together to say ‘We want peace, we want safety, we want to support our law enforcement,” Schauss said. “People are interested in community safety; they’re interested in making sure dangerous people don’t get dangerous weapons.”\nThe anniversary has also led another IU alumnus to continue questioning gun control. While Schauss stresses that these events are not political, he said he first decided to organize them because of his friendship with Paul Helmke, IU alumnus and president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. \n“When you realize that this is something gun laws might have made a difference on, it really tears at your heart,” Helmke said. “We make it harder to buy Sudafed at the grocery store than to buy a gun. We make it harder to get a job at McDonald’s than to buy a gun.”