Photo by Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Sarah Saxton (from left), Scott Cheatham, Adeel Khan, Sumeet Bagai and Chris Chesson are part of Hokies United.

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BLACKSBURG -- It was about 11 a.m. April 16 -- reports had confirmed one death on campus as a result of multiple shootings. Virginia Tech students who had scrambled for cover in university buildings an hour earlier were still locked inside amid reports of a shooter on the loose.

There were rumors it could be worse.

With cellphones not working and the campus locked down, students looked for news and communicated with friends over the Internet. AOL Instant Messenger chat rooms began forming.

While questions about how many people were wounded or killed, who they were and who the shooter might be dominated conversation in those early hours, students asked another question.

"What can we do?"

Looking back nearly two weeks later from the cluttered office of the Student Government Association, some of the students who asked that question said keeping busy actually helped them cope with the tragedy. As long as they kept moving, they felt OK.

"We didn't have time to mourn," said Tech senior Sarah Saxton.

So a chat room was formed to plan efforts through Hokies United, an ad hoc group of students that organizes events in response to local, national or international crises. The group has no elections, bylaws or official leaders. It's only active during and after events such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 tsunami or Sept. 11, 2001 -- the event that led the group to be formed in the first place. Unless there's a crisis, the organization lies dormant.

"We all hope, day in and day out, that we're not needed," said Tech senior Sumeet Bagai.

When the escape of prisoner William Morva shut down campus on the first day of classes in August, Hokies United came together to honor law enforcement -- a hospital security guard and a Montgomery County sheriff's deputy were shot and killed trying to apprehend Morva.

Bagai, who has been involved in organizing four Hokies United efforts, recalls thinking how different the August activities were from previous events "because it was so close to home."

This time, as students were discussing plans over the Internet, the death toll on their campus went up from one to six or seven to 20 shortly after noon. By the time students gathered at Bagai's off-campus apartment about 5 p.m., they knew more than 30 faculty and students had been killed. The names of the dead had yet to be released.

Within two hours, the students had a plan for a candlelight vigil on the Drillfield expected to draw about 10,000 people.

Tech senior Greg Sagstetter said the planning didn't take long because minor disagreements quickly dissolved. People realized they didn't have much time and needed to set egos aside.

"No one was saying, 'Hi, I'm Greg. I'm the board rep.' It was just, 'Hi, I'm Greg.' and, 'Hi, I'm Sumeet.' "

They got the word out to media before 8 p.m. Monday that there would be a vigil Tuesday night. They had reached the point of no return, even though many of the details weren't complete.

"Whether or not we had everything together, whether or not we had the logistics planned ... somehow we were going to make this happen," said sophomore Adeel Khan.

The students broke into groups to handle the different aspects of the event. Collecting candles seemed to be the most daunting task. The candles would need paper cups to keep the wind from blowing them out. They would need lighters, too.

The group also decided to place 32 Hokie stones on the Drillfield to honor the victims and provide writing walls for people to post messages. Students also were dispatched to let the administration know about their plans.

When students reconvened at Bagai's apartment at 10 p.m. to discuss their progress, their numbers had grown from 30 to about 45. Those people would constitute the core group of organizers throughout the week, though Bagai estimates that 400 to 500 students helped during the week.

The last person left Bagai's apartment about 2:30 a.m. April 17. By then, the actual work -- cutting holes in paper cups and unwrapping candles -- had already begun. Students worked throughout the day, and by 8 p.m. Tuesday about 30,000 people -- plus the international media -- were on the Drillfield. Vice President for Student Affairs Zenobia Hikes said a few words and a member of Tech's Corps of Cadets played taps.

There were more than enough candles for everyone. About 200,000 were donated from all over the country.

After the event, Bagai said a feeling of calm and relief came over him until about midmorning the next day.

"Then it kind of just hit me in the morning, and it was like, 'OK, yesterday was an important step.' ... Now we don't want people sitting at home in their rooms. We wanted to give people reason to be here, be together."

So another meeting was called. While there is no official leader for the group, Bagai organized the meetings, held throughout the week in Tech's Squires Student Center.

Senior Chris Chesson organized "Hokie Hangout," a way for students to gather to play games and talk throughout the week. Students also decided that a picnic, again on the Drillfield, would help bring the community together.

"While we certainly didn't want to have some kind of grand festival that everybody was cheering, 'Let's go, Hokies,' at the same time we wanted people to realize that it was OK to smile and come together," Saxton said.

Again, the students broke up in groups to solicit donations from area restaurants, get the word out and acquire permits.

About 15,000 people showed up at the event April 21. By then, the students had already completed much of the planning for an event April 23, a Monday, to commemorate the shootings.

Students gathered at Squires at 6 a.m. to fill 32 white balloons and 1,000 maroon and orange balloons with helium. A moment of silence began at 9:45 a.m., and a white balloon was released each time a bell borrowed from the Salem Fire Department tolled for each victim. This time there were no speakers.

"The goal for Monday was to bring people together and for, kind of, people's own thoughts to guide them," Bagai said.

While the decisions were made by the students, the administration helped with things such as acquiring the bell and supplying helium. Thousands of other people, both local and from around the world, also donated during the week so that financing the effort was never a problem, even though Hokies United doesn't have a budget.

"It's amazing what you can do with really driven people and pretty much unlimited resources," senior Scott Cheatham said.

The group met at least once a day every day until Thursday. For some, like Chesson, the respite gave them a chance to finally grieve.

"The stones became people today," he said.