Va. Tech task force to offer choice on new building use

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Classroom doors remain locked and hallway traffic is light in the building wing where 31 people died and two dozen were wounded at Virginia Tech in a shooting rampage in the spring.

But on Friday, a task force of faculty, staff and students that has been weighing two proposals for finding a new use for seven second-floor classrooms in Norris Hall, will submit its choice to the university president, Charles Steger.

One proposal is to create centers for violence prevention and student service work; the other calls for videoconferencing, research and laboratory space for students.

No date has been set for a decision, university spokesman Mark Owczarski said.

"This is a very emotional process, which underscores the reason why it's very difficult to put it on a schedule," he said.

After student Seung-Hui Cho killed 30 of his 32 victims and committed suicide in Norris Hall on April 16, the school refurbished the structure, and officials reopened the building - except for the second-floor classrooms - because it contained sophisticated laboratory equipment that could not be moved.