Tuesday, December 19, 2017

THE HOKIE SPIRIT MEMORIAL FUND


Since the shooting at the Appalachian School of Law on January 16, 2002, I have learned that when it comes to money, there is no end to the extent of some people’s greed. The Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, is an especially unsavory look into the greedy minds of the school and state leadership.

Soon after the shooting, Virginia Tech established the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund following the shooting rampage. Billed as a tribute to the dead and wounded, people could show their support to the school and the victims by making contributions to the fund.

Across the country people opened their hearts and their pocket books.  The money rolled in—millions of dollars. Virginia Tech must have thought it had found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.


Let’s take a look at the money Virginia Tech made from the deaths of 32 people and wounding of 17 others.  The school said that $8.5 million represented the bulk of the funds received; in fact the figure was around $160 million. (For a breakdown of the facts and figures associated with the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, see chapter 10 of Virginia Tech: Make Sure It Doesn’t Get Out.) (To be continued)

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