Distractions, reflections

David Ing, at large … Sometimes, my mind wanders

2008/06/10 Virginia Tech campus, Blacksburg, VA

I normally visit a lot of big cities, so it’s a change of pace when I get to a smaller town. Virginia Tech — officially Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University — is in Blacksburg, Virginia. Bill and Lee and I finished our afternoon meetings early, and decided to get a bit of exercise walking around campus. Starting from the entry to the northeast, we walked west on Alumni Mall, through the Torgerson Hall bridge.

The mall ends in a circle at the War Memorial. Looking back east, there’s a clearer view of the bridge at Torgerson Hall.

To the west, the plaza with monuments on it is the roof of War Memorial Chapel.

From the roof of War Memorial Chapel, Burress Hall is northeast across the Drillfield.

The Drillfield, looking directly west from the top of the War Memorial Chapel, is too vast to be captured by a wide angle lens.

From the roof of War Memorial Chapel, southwest across the Drillfield, is War Memorial Hall.

We turned to walk south. The Newman Library features a curved wall of windows.

At the other end of the library, we encountered a photographer and model in the midst of a shoot.

A little farther south is Owens Hall, enclosing dining facilities.

Turning back east, we walked around the Graduate Life Center, where, presumably, the more senior students hang out.

A little further north, we found the Squires Student Center. The recreational facilities weren’t open.

Lee and Bill found a statue of a hokie — the Virginia Tech mascot.

Walking east took us off campus, onto College Street.

Looking south on Main Street, it’s seems that the university is bigger than the town.

Virginia Tech unfortunately is most prominent to most people as the place where 32 student were killed by a sniper. Late on a summer afternoon, the campus was quiet and calm

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