Photos by Sam Dean | The Roanoke Times

Chenlin Zhao (right) and a woman who wished to remain unidentified prepare a memorial Sunday for Xin Yang at Virginia Tech's Graduate Life Center. Yang, a graduate student from China, was killed Wednesday.

Friends of Yang write notes in a memorial book at the Graduate Life Center at Virginia Tech on Sunday.

In Chinese culture the ox signifies prosperity through fortitude and hard work, patience, and ability to endure hardship without complaint.

That spirit was central to the Chinese New Year celebration held Sunday night in the Virginia Tech Graduate Life Center, as hundreds turned out to celebrate less than a week after a gruesome killing in that same building involving two Chinese students.

Several Tech officials offered words of support to students and sorrow at the loss of Xin Yang, a 22-year-old graduate student from Beijing killed Wednesday in the center's Au Bon Pain cafe. A small memorial that included flowers, a photo of Yang and a book in which visitors could write messages to her family sat on a table in a room outside the auditorium where the event was held.

Y.A. Liu, adviser for the Association of Chinese Student Scholars, said Yang's parents will arrive on campus Tuesday or Wednesday and, if they approve, the university will hold an official memorial service for her.

There was debate over whether the celebration would go on as scheduled. More than 600 students at Tech hail from China, making Chinese students the largest group of foreign students at the school.

"In the end, we decided it's a time to celebrate life," said Manli Davis, a postdoctoral researcher who is from China. "The New Year tradition is to get rid of all the bad things from the previous year."

Yang was in her first week of classes at Tech's Pamplin College of Business when she was killed. Haiyang Zhu, a 25-year-old doctoral candidate at Tech, faces charges of first-degree murder related to her death.

He enrolled at the school last fall, and those at Tech who know Zhu have described him as a pleasant person. They say they are shocked by police accounts of the seemingly unprovoked attack on Yang, which involved an eight-inch kitchen knife. University officials said Zhu exhibited no behavior that called him to the attention of Tech police or mental health and student affairs staff before Wednesday.

More than 600 people were in the audience for the Chinese New Year event on Sunday, including Tech President Charles Steger. Provost Mark McNamee, Graduate School Dean Karen DePauw and College of Science Dean Lay Nam Chang spoke about the importance of community during difficult times. But much of the event was upbeat, with live music and dancing.

"Last Wednesday a tragic event occurred that offends our sensibilities," Chang said. "It will take time for us to understand what went wrong and what needs fixing. And it will happen. But for tonight we're here to celebrate the year of the ox ... as we go through this year, we will be reborn stronger, closer and wiser."