ABOUT CLICKED

The modern news consumer ignores Weblogs and online citizen journalism at his own peril. But not everyone has the time to keep track of what's going on the Web. With this blog we hope to track the highlights of what's being discussed online so when news breaks from the Web, we're ready.

Will Femia is a Weblog enthusiast who, through good fortune and dumb luck, was introduced to the form as his position as chat producer for MSNBC.com careered into obsolescence. On any given day, Will can be found having already spent an unhealthy amount of time squinting at a computer screen.

Send a message to Will at spotter@msnbc.com



Virginia Tech faces and online traces

Posted: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 12:12 PM by Will Femia

Using our victim list I sought to find any online profiles or personal pages for the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy.  These links aren't as informative as the written bios in the news services, but to my mind there is something more impactful about seeing the marks a person made online.  These pages and notes aren't about the person's life, they are the person's life. They're their real friends and their real interests and their real words.

I started with Facebook, given its prominence among college students and then tried other searches and the research of other bloggers.  I'll try to keep this updated as more things come to light.  If you know of something good to add, let me know in comments or through my address there on the left of this blog. I couldn't find anything specific for a few of them, in some cases their name was too common to make anything of the search results.  In other cases they may simply not have an online presence.  I included their names here because the old joke that if you don't have a Facebook/MySpace/Blog you don't exist isn't funny at all in the context of this effort and I don't want to give the impression that it has any truth.

CrimeBlog has some of the best research in that he appeared to Google the names.  Unlike me, a lot of these bloggers were searching on the names when they were still breaking news and/or rumors, so incomplete lists are understandable.

Gateway Pundit has collected photos and personal details from various newspaper and other media biographies.  In many cases, local papers are reporting on people from their area who were killed.  I left those out of my round-up, focusing instead on the online identities.

Some biographical links at Riehl World View.

God Bless Virginia Tech - Reminds me of the missing/I'm OK boards after Katrina.

Wizbang had some links I didn't have. Also some worthwhile links here.

The victims:

Remembering Ross Alameddine

MySpace

Ross also apparently enjoyed commenting in online forums like the school paper, and gadget and gaming blogs.

And he typed like a whiz.

  • Christopher James Bishop

Portfolio of Jamie Bishop

"I just got off the phone, and I can't stop crying. One of my best friends, Jamie Bishop, has died."

  • Brian Bluhm

My name is Brian Bluhm.

"Brian Bluhm, a popular member of the Detroit Tigers internet community, was one of the students killed in the horrible shooting at Virginia Tech yesterday."

"My good friend and fellow contributor to this blog, Brian Bluhm, was among the 32 students killed in the massacre at Virginia Tech on Monday."

Also here.

Rest in Peace - Brian Bluhm

Also recently participated in a tree planting and wrote a thank you to volunteers. I mis-recognized the towns named in the paper. This is not the same person. (Thanks Jesse.)

  • Ryan Clark

Ryan 'Stack' Clark

The Marching Virginians

RAs in support of Ryan 'Stack' Clark of Virginia Tech

Remembering Ryan 'Stack' Clark

R.I.P. Austin Michelle Cloyd

MySpace

She was a lifeguard

One of three members of the International Relations Organization killed that day.

She was 5'9" and played forward in high school basketball.

  • Jocelyne Couture-Nowak

Rate VT Teachers - Highest average rating possible.

Une Québécoise sur la liste des victimes - OK, this is a news outlet, but it has a photo I haven't seen elsewhere.

  • Daniel Perez Cueva
  • Kevin Granata

Kevin P. Granata, Professor

Longer list of published works.

Wikipedia

Academic bio

It's a fair guess that this is his band unless Matt Gwaltneys in easter Virginia are more common than I realize. Then again, there's a Matt Gwalatney in this Virginia based band as well.  ADDING:  It is pointed out in comments that this is a common name, as I said, more common than I realize, so indeed these bands may not be related to the victim.

R.I.P Caitlin Hammaren

Kappas for Caitlin Hammaren (sorority)

She raised $118 for cancer

  • Rachael Hill

In memory of Rachael Hill

The man was apparently a runner.  Pages and pages of race results.

Why Emily Hilscher was cooler than me

This looks like her MySpace.

This is almost nothing, but if you look for the highlighted spot in this Google cached page you see the excellence award she won in 11th grade. That one got me.

Her PeekYou page

"Safety is one reason why Beth Hilscher of Woodville brought her daughter Emily, a 14 year old Rappahannock High School student, to ride at Moody's stable. When Emily was 8 years old she was riding at another stable and fell off and broke her arm. Beth wouldn't let Emily ride anymore but Emily kept pestering her mother for 2 years."

5'10" and 215 lbs. #30

One of the lines most associated with Michael Pohle's Google results is from the I'm OK in VT Facebook group: "Does anyone know the status of Mike Pohle? - his family is trying to get in touch with him."

"During Monday tragic events one of my close friends and teammates was killed. His name is Mike Pohle."

Pure Volume user profile

MySpace profile

Jarret's recent birthday party

  • Henry Lee

Memorial to Henh Ly(Henry Lee)

  • Liviu Librescu

In memory of Professor Liviu Librescu who saved his students at Virginia T.

I'm seeing "Liviu Librescu is a hero" images on blogs and message boards.  I'll grab one for this space shortly.

Wikipedia

  • G.V. Loganathan

In Memory of G.V. Loganathan

G.V. Loganathan wins Wine Award for Excellence in Teaching

Wikipedia

Her MySpace - Hearbreaking messages from family asking her to call them the day of the shooting.

  • Juan Ortiz
  • Daniel ONeil

Resident Hippy

EXCEL Scholars Frederic Lott ’06 and Dan O’Neil ’06 Study Effects of Urban Development on Watersheds (includes a photo)

I remember Erin Peterson

  • Julia Pryde

She was researching "Erosion generated from footpaths and rural unpaved roads in mountainous agricultural watersheds."

Treasurer of SEEDS, "a non-profit educational organization that creates a discovery - oriented learning environment."

Mary Karen Read....We will miss you...We love you...RIP

MySpace

  • Reema Samaha

In Memory of Reema Samaha

Bring Reema's face back in the book!

Contemporary Dance Ensemble member (The photo pages are quite heavy and take a while to load.)

  • Waleed Shaalan

In Memory of Waleed Shaalan

This isn't a direct Waleed Shaalan item, but it's interesting to see how the VT Muslim community is coping with the shootings.

In honor of Maxine Turner

Alpha Omega Epsilon

Maxine's MySpace

MAIN PAGE

Email this EMAIL THIS

Comments

One main problem in our country is the loss of mental health treatment that happened during "Reagan-omics" in the early 1980's. Since Reagan cut all mental health budgets and closed Mental Hospitals, most mentally ill people end up homeless or going un-noticed in society until they create a disaster like what happened at Virginia Tech. In so many tragic cases, families can know their child has a problem but nothing can be done UNTIL he actually does something...not before.

Diane Zimberoff, Issaquah, WA (Sent Tuesday, April 17, 2007 4:02 PM)

Thanks for doing this, Will. And while I wasn't personally affected by the tragedy, it's comforting to put a person with the faceless name.

Bianca (Sent Tuesday, April 17, 2007 4:10 PM)

Thanks for the CrimeBlog.US link, Will. I'm almost 40 and I read and write about crime all the time, and the story of Liviu Librescu is bringing tears to my eyes every time I read it.

Steve Huff, Atlanta, GA (Sent Tuesday, April 17, 2007 6:16 PM)

It's very sad to read this list. None of them should have lost their lives in this horrible way for they didnt deserve it. For me it was gut renching to see two men talking on the news about their dorm leader they hadnt seen all day and feared she was one of the people killed. To know she was, just makes that clip so much harder to have seen. Thankyou for putting a face to the name and helping all of us remember them the way they should be remembered.

Caitlin,CA (Sent Tuesday, April 17, 2007 6:48 PM)

You know, for all the stammering about how the internet takes away privacy, and "net neutrality", and criticisms that technology has either invaded or taken over our lives...it really can be a great tool that coalesces our nation and enables us to reach out and comfort those in their time of need, when before we would have been helpless, distant witnesses.

Alex, Lawrence, KS (Sent Tuesday, April 17, 2007 7:21 PM)

I dont personally know any of these people, but I am deeply saddened by this. Looking at the victim's pages really makes me tear up to see their personalities and how much people loved them. To think-they didn't even do anything wrong to deserve their fate. They were just random targets. My prayers go out to their families and friends.

Laura, Springfield, Illinois (Sent Tuesday, April 17, 2007 8:03 PM)

Professor Liviu Librescu, 76 A hero dies in Virginia

Paul McFarland, Guy, Arkansas (Sent Tuesday, April 17, 2007 9:00 PM)

We Marching Virginians lost an alum on 9/11, and now to lose an MV in this tragedy as well is unspeakably devastating. As close-knit as Virginia Tech is as a whole, the MVs were even closer. They were my family when I was a student there, and I struggle even more in this to know that we have been affected once again.

LV (Sent Tuesday, April 17, 2007 9:11 PM)

Me and my children thankfully was not involved in this horrible tragedy. But, as I sit here and view the many website sites while talking to my 22 yr old son on AOL, I soon come to relize that, there are mothers that have lost this precious opportunity to do the same thing.....and I cry. So, I IM'd my son and told him I LOVE YOU. My prayers go out to all the Mothers, Fathers and other loved ones

Tina, Nashville, TN (Sent Tuesday, April 17, 2007 9:53 PM)

Thank you Will for the online traces of some of the victims. Through websites like these above, they can be remembered by others, in a digital form. It is times like these that you think of one's own morality, and I reflected on this today. When I got home from work, I did my own online search for myself, finding websites from other people that shared my name, but none for myself. If I were killed tomorrow, I would have no "online trace;" and only family and close freinds would remember me. Odd, it makes me wonder if I should create an online presence...

Nathan in Washington (Sent Tuesday, April 17, 2007 11:30 PM)

You might want to add Minal Panchal's Orkut profile. She was an Indian graduate student in Architecture. Her 'scrapbook' now has more than 6000 messages of RIP. http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=7532880825063317819

Patrix (Sent Tuesday, April 17, 2007 11:44 PM)

Will, I just want to thank you for taking the time to do this. Instead of trying to find out everything about the shooter, you used your talents to help America honor these people in a personal way. With your help, now they will never be forgotten.

Nicole Rayman, Des Moines Iowa (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 12:36 AM)

This is probably the best compilation I have ever seen. It does exactly what I think everyone needs. It makes the victims REAL people with family and friends that are devestated at the loss of a loved one. It reminds us that this can happen to any of us. I can only imagine what everyone there must be going though and my heart goes out to all those affected.

Nikki, Detroit, MI (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 2:24 AM)

Though tragic, I don't see why every columnist/blogger has to cover this story. Especially one who's usual affiliation is with Technology and Science.

Ken Doe, Ky (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 8:24 AM)

WHAT YOU HAVE DONE HERE IS ADMIRABLE TO SAY THE LEAST. ONE CAN FEEL THE PAIN OF THE FAMILIES AS ONE READS ABOUT EACH PERSON KILLED. I ONLY WISH WE AS HUMANS COULD FEEL AS MUCH LOVE FOR EACH OTHER EACH DAY, AS WE DO THIS PAIN.

HAWKKMAN (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 8:30 AM)

Thanks Will, Its too bad that many will use this tragedy to ask for MORE government control, less freedom, etc. Freedom carries with it major responsibilities. Freedom also means that we live with opportunity as well as risks. God bless the families of the victims.

Pablo, Kerrville, Tx (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 9:15 AM)

Interesting to note that Caitlin Hammaren has received another $370 for her cancer fundraiser since you've posted that...

Rob (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 9:58 AM)

Will, you don't have to post this on the Clicked blog, just passing along info... Jeremy Herbstritt was a fellow PSU grad (although, he graduated well after me and I did not know him). The Pittsburgh Post Gazette had a write-up on Jeremy in today's issue (4/18). His sister was running her first Boston Marathon that day. Their parents didn't even know what had happened until late in the day because they were in Boston cheering her on. Also, the kid seen on a lot of front pages with the bloddy thigh...his name is Kevin Sterne is from PA too (Eighty-four, PA). He saved his life by making himself a tourniquet out of an electrical cord. He knew how to thanks to Eagle Scout training.

Jason, Pittsburgh, PA (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 11:14 AM)

It would be great if MSNBC could stop showing pictures of this killer, because all it does is glorify him. I wouldn't be surprised if some copycat pops up after seeing all the attention they can grab from doing something this horrendous. What's next, the TIME magazine cover? People who do great things hardly get a chance to share their story - but as soon as someone defects it's splattered all over the media. I'd much rather see the faces of the victims and hear their stories.

JT, Silver Spring, MD (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 6:38 PM)

Will, when a person donates to Caitlin Hammaren's Relay For Life fundraiser, can you tell us if it goes straight to the American Cancer Society? That is, it's nothing that a grieving family or friend will have to collect? I'd like to donate but I'd rather do it directly to ACS in her memory if there's a middleman, since I don't want to lay anything extra on them right now, well-intended or not.

anonymous (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 7:51 PM)

Please check on your facts for Matthew Gwaltney. Gwaltney is a very common name in southern VA and this band is out of Hampton Roads and not Richmond. I'm not sure, but I doubt that Matthew was a part of this band.

Linda Miller, Schwenksville, PA (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 8:36 PM)

Deus dê o consolo a todas as famílias que tiveram seus filhos tão barbaramente retirados de seu convívio. Descansem em Paz!!!

Margot C, Lisboa, Portugal (Sent Thursday, April 19, 2007 4:21 AM)

This is a great way for people from all over the world to show their respect. Thank you for this!

John McCreary, Mulberry, Fl (Sent Thursday, April 19, 2007 4:21 AM)

My daughter's lab partner was killed by this deranged bastard. Her former RA was murdered by this narcissistic sick man. She should have been in Norris that morning but by the grace of G-d she didn't go to class, a very unusual decision for her. I am begging this station to have a moratorium on cho. For the first time I agree with Pat Buchanan...we are giving him exactly what he wants. We are proving to any other evil people out there that they will be memorialized. WHERE ARE OUR STORIES ABOUT THE VICTIMS! Nina's lab partner made the class laugh out loud last week. He is dead. Memorialize this sweet boy. I don't want cho's face burned in my mind. I want the children who worked so incredibly hard in life to get accepted into this very difficult university. I don't care about cho..we know all we need to about him. Give me the victims, they deserve at LEAST that.

Sharon Berkowitz (Sent Thursday, April 19, 2007 8:11 AM)

JT, we've already got TONS of copycats. "‘Copycat’ threats reported nationwide The scare comes as schools nationwide have been reporting would-be “copycat” threats in the wake of the mass shootings at Virginia Tech by Cho Sueng-Hui, who killed 32 people Monday before killing himself. Several high schools in metropolitan Detroit were on high alert Thursday after threats referring to the Virginia Tech shootings were found in bathrooms at two Oakland County schools, and Kalamazoo Valley Community College was shut down for the rest of the week, NBC affiliate WDIV of Detroit reported. Eight buildings reopened Thursday after they were evacuated Wednesday at the University of Minnesota when a bomb threat was found in a chemistry building restroom. Wednesday, Hastings College of the Law at the University of California after police noticed a blog posting threatening a shooting on campus, NBC affiliate KNTV of San Francisco reported. Since Monday’s killings, similar threats have also led to investigations or temporary lockdowns of schools in Arizona, Louisiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Washington, according to local reports compiled by MSNBC.com. "

Clicked Again, Richmond, VA (Sent Thursday, April 19, 2007 4:11 PM)

Hi, first of all I can't blame him for killing innocent people in the university but in contrast of all of course, I am against of what he did.In my opinion I strongly believe that he felt discriminated inside the campus because maybe he is Asian a korean that is not welcome in the society of rich people & by the people around him by his fellow student that picked on him bullying him & teased him. I believe his adrressing this to people that tourture his personality & innocence. I understand what he is going through as I myself as an Asian sometimes felt this too at my school. Where some white, black people thinks they are who they are, where sometimes I my self felt that I was discriminated because I am Asian, but other than that it didn't came up to my mind to kill people like what he did. I understand & forgive those people who ignored me, teased me laugh at me. I ignored them because as a Christian I was taught how to forgive my enemies or people who under estimate me. In chung's case, I wanted to address this to all the people, students, children of America. Pls do not under estimate us Asians because we are human beings too like the rest of you. We are not animals that just go around the corner and do nothing. Please stop bullying at us just because we are Asians, this tragic event could have been avoided, but as what he said that you all have a 100 billion chances of avoiding this, & yet you all left him with no choice that he himself doest like this to happen to himself, but you all people because of your ignorance pushed him to the limit to kill innocent people. Pls people of america treat us fairly, respect us as what you all wanted to be respected. I really regret that this happed to him & to the rest of the victims I really felt his anger of this world,society because of peoples ignorance to aknowledge who we really are in this particular world. I am proud to be an Asian & proud of my heritage. Cho where ever you are I wish god will forgive you for all you've done I know how you feel and the revenge that you are seeking I hope this will lead to an "END OF UNDERESTIMATING US ASIANS IN THIS COUNTRY". For all the victims may god be always with you & I always pray for all of your souls. Thanks for allowing me to express my feelings and reaction to this unexpected, hatred tragedy. I fully regret this to happen. I really Apologize inbehalf of Cho for doing this. So So Sorry. Marky,

Marky of Orlando, Florida (Sent Thursday, April 19, 2007 6:08 PM)

Now Caitlin Hammaren has raised almost $4,000 for her Cancer Relay for Life.

Becky (Sent Thursday, April 19, 2007 7:36 PM)

Too many people making videos on Youtube and Metacafe etc. showing the police activity, the reporters, the panic. We need to remember the victims. Please watch this..... http://www.metacafe.com/watch/547247/virginia_tech_tragedy/ It's a tribute to the victims. Not the police, the media, or the shooter.

Red (Sent Saturday, April 28, 2007 3:04 PM)



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