President Steger’s Shift to Epideictic

           Following this convocation, president Steger’s public discourse took on an epideictic edge, but continued providing information.  His 20 April 2007 email to members of the Virginia Tech Community spoke of the “courage and dedication" of community members.  He thanked members for their support of each other and to him, personally.  Additionally, “During the horror of the last few days, the one bright light in the darkness has been the strength and spirit so prevalent across campus....  Virginia Tech is a community in the truest sense of the word."[70] Speaking to the future, “After this traumatic experience, it will be difficult to resume our lives and duties.  But start again, we must."[71] He enjoined community members to work “together with the spirit and bond strengthened by this tragedy . . . [and to] move forward in a way that will honor the memory of those we have lost."[72] The email concluded with information about the resumption of classes.

           In a message posted on the Virginia Tech website the following day, President Steger wrote: “I am very proud of the manner in which our faculty, staff, and students have united this week as a family.  We have demonstrated that we are not going to allow the tragic events of this last week to divide or define us."[73] This time was instead to be one of “healing" and taking “care of one another" and of moving “forward to ‘Invent the Future.’"[74]

           Ten days after the slayings, President Steger was featured in an interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education.  He was presented with rather open-ended questions, which allowed him to direct the flow of conversation toward epideictic concerns.  For example, he was asked what it was like to be president over the past nine days.  Steger replied that he was “overwhelmed by the expressions of support . . . as well as the resilience and strength of this community. . . .  [W]e’ve drawn a great deal of strength from [this]."[75] Did he have any advice for others?  “[W]e’ll continue to . . . keep nurturing and building that sense of community and shared purpose. . . ."[76] What did he see as the president’s role?  “Well, my role really did not change . . . the intensity of the activity did.  [I must continue] to articulate the priorities of the institution.  How do we . . . help these families?  How do we work with our student body and take them, as well as our broader community, through a process of grieving?  How do we get the campus back to normal?"[77] Asked about the personal emotional toll, Steger confessed: “I must confess that the amount of sleep that I’ve been getting is not [what is should be.]  And so I think we’re all very focused on moving the institution forward, very focused on offering support for the families and the students, and we’re all very tired."[78] And a final question, asking him to mention anything he’d like: “we’re going to be spending a lot of time planning and being sure that when the student come back [in the fall], we really get off to a great start.  I want to be sure that when the kids come back that we provide all the support and comfort and excitement and fun. . . .  We are going to certainly recognize the individuals [who were murdered].  We want to do it in a way, though, that reflects on the future."[79]

           In a 7 May 2007 letter to the Families of Virginia Tech Students, we see President Steger once again blending the information sharing functions and the epideictic functions of presidential crisis rhetoric, although focusing on epideictic functions.   He acknowledges the mind numbing, incomprehensible nature of the violence that visited the campus on 4/16.  He focuses again on the families who lost loved ones, on the injured, and on the “needs of our greater university community."[80] He continues, stating that he is “buoyed by the spirit and resilience of our students, faculty, and staff.  The world has now seen a phenomenon that has surprised even those of us who live and experience it—the Hokie Spirit."[81]

           From this point his letter moves into information mode, speaking to points of campus security, and to upcoming changes.
The final third asks, “And how will we move ahead?"  By relying on the Hokie Spirit:  “We will move ahead by relying on the spirit that the world has seen both so clearly needed and so clearly evident in these past few weeks, a spirit that creates a sense of family and togetherness here that is virtually unheard of on other large campuses, a spirit that brought together Hokies past, present, and future here in Blacksburg and around the globe to mobilize in ways that were, and still are, remarkable.  It is this Hokie Spirit and it binds us together."[82]