Lockdown drills for elementary schoolers

Three years after Virginia Tech, students still feel reverberations

Hundreds of Virginia Tech students, faculty and community members gathered onthe Drillfield today in remembrance of the Virginia Tech tragedy three yearsago.
Photo by Chris Zaluski
A wreath at a VT campus entrance
Photo by Chris Zaluski

It's been three years to the day since the hideous shooting at Virginia Tech that took the lives of 32 students.

It was the worst mass shooting in modern American history, and we're still feeling its effects today.

I was a sophomore in college when the killings rocked campuses nationwide, and I remember the University of Missouri stepping up its emergency response system in hopes such tragedies might be prevented, if not predicted.

Today elementary school students are practicing lockdown drills in the event of a "active shooter" — a far cry from the fire drills and tornado warnings of my childhood. Columbine changed everything and Virginia Tech changed it again.

Virginia Tech alum Coleman Collins says it best.

Today, we are all Hokies.

unspecified

This Week's Hot Headlines

Wealthy Houston suburbs with big holiday budgets lead our top 5 stories

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Residents in The Woodlands looove to do up the holidays.

Editor's note:It's time to recap the top stories on CultureMap from this past week. Our top news includes two spendy Houston suburbs that boast big holiday budgets, plus national acclaim for Houston's Afro-Mexican eatery. Looking for the best things to do this weekend? Find our picks here.

1. Affluent Houston suburbs top list of biggest holiday spenders in U.S. Two wealthy Houston suburbs are among the biggest spenders on holiday gifts in the U.S., with budgets well over $3,000.

2. River Oaks restaurant opens in Memorial with expanded menu and bold design. The wait is over for Memorial residents who were looking forward to visiting Relish Restaurant & Bar. Its new location opened December 2.

3. Esquire names Houston's Afro-Mexican eatery to best new restaurants list. Once again Houston is on Esquire's radar, with Chris Williams' Late August being named to the magazine's list of best new restaurants in America.

Late August exterior Late August is one of Esquire's best new restaurants. Photo by Leonid Furmansky

4. Expert panel drafts Houston's best bars and cocktails. On this episode of "What's Eric Eating," CultureMap editor Eric Sandler and six friends take on the Ultimate Houston Bar Draft.

5. Chopped champion's Indian-spiced fried chicken joint opens in Midtown. Pok Pok Po is now open, serving gluten-free fried chicken from chef Jassi Bindra.

hot-headlines popular stories christmas gifts esquire chopped memorial most popular stories