A Conversation with Larissa Mihalisko

Virginia Tech is a very large school that boasts a student population of over 26,000. Since Monday's tragedy, they have come together as a community in mourning, and as a singular strength that will overcome the loss of precious lives.

Ever since news broke about the shooting at Virginia Tech on Monday, the media has had a major presence on campus. From detailing student reactions to publishing photos of the man responsible for the shootings, the media has almost become a part of the story. I was able to speak with Larissa Mihalisko, a junior at Virginia Tech, and personal friend of mine. She is highly critical of the role that the media has played in the wake of the horrific events of April 16th, 2007.

"I was very annoyed with the media at the vigil," Mihalisko said. "I understand that journalists have a job to do and they were trying to tell our story, but the cameramen and the photographers were right up in everyone's face. People were listening to taps and were very upset and we didn't get one moment of peace.

"[Blacksburg] is a very close-knit community - you know how Hokies are, we are very proud. It was disheartening to have so many people in your face that aren't from around here and didn't have friends or family that died. I actually stepped out during the moment of silence and asked the reporters to give us a couple of minutes. I saw President Steger and he had this look of absolute despair on his face. I felt like I could just see beyond the surface. I know that sounds cheesy but I could see that he was dying on the inside.

"I just called out to [the reports] and asked if we could have just a couple minutes of peace without anybody in our face so that people can collect their thoughts. They left for about a minute or two then came back and started snapping [pictures]. A lot of them were very respectful and would ask, you know, if they could take pictures of someone lighting a candle.

"Every part of our campus is full of satellite dishes and cameramen. We're used to cameramen because of football games, but this is beyond anything [we've seen]. I had the Ukranian service from the BBC call me; and reporters have been signing on Facebook and sending me messages like, 'here's my number if you would like to talk', and things like that. Most of them have been very respectful, but it seems strange for them to sue Facebook to reach students. It made everything seem so much more surreal.

"Another thing that I was really disappointed with was the publishing of images and videos of this disturbed kid. You look at Fox News or BBC and you see a picture of this kid with two guns to his head or a gun pointed to the camera. It's only been two days and I might be more sensitive, but I knew five people that died, two of which were very close friends of mine and I wasn't ready to see him with guns pointed at the camera. Even the police expressed disappointment with NBC and a few other stations for releasing the images so quickly. It's all just coming too fast for me.

"If [the shooter] was looking for attention then he got it. I only briefly read a couple of those letters. He compared himself to Jesus Christ and wrote messages about materialism. I don't think that anyone got his message. I think they just look at this kid and think, 'wow, what a nutjob'.

"I'm afraid, and this is happening, that by putting up this kid's pictures and messages the media could possibly create copycats. There have been scares all over the country from copycats. Again, I don't know exactly what [the shooter's] aim was but posting these pictures might be instigating other disturbed kids."