Reporters dig deep into April 16th documents

By Lindsey Henley

Published: July 21, 2008

Rex Bowman and three other reporters from our media partner, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, went through 20 thousand documents – from emails sent to students to police reports filed against the April 16th gunman for harassment.   

“They were in six boxes, and they were completely disorganized,“ Bowman said.

Virginia Tech made the documents public to the Times-Dispatch, after the newspaper filed a request through the Freedom of Information Act, asking for the University to provide the same documents it had given the victims’ families during the settlement process.

“It was tiresome and tedious, but once and a while you’d come across a document you’ve never seen before,“ he said.

For example, there were handwritten notes by Tech’s Associate Vice President of University Relations Larry Hinker.

But the bulk of what the reporters found dealt with how Tech handled the media.

“A surprising number of the documents focused on managing the media and the message,” Bowman said.

Those boxes in Burrus Hall were also missing certain documents.

“Like what was their thinking when they sent out this broadcast email, or what was their thinking when they didn’t lock down or did this or did that.“

For now, those are decisions Virginia Tech by law is allowed to keep secret for now in documents that may never be disclosed.