Remembering A Gamer From Virginia Tech

*Photo taken at Norris Hall at Virginia Tech

As a proud Hokie, the various debates on the shootings around the world are starting to deeply bother me, particularly the claims that video games drove the killer to his final actions. You may notice I didn’t use his name and that was intentional. He wanted to be known as “?” here in class, so I say let him die as “?”. I realize that the world will remember us for the shootings, but can dream that they will also know us for other things. I wish more people would care about this great University and the victims instead of the crazy conspiracy theories surrounding the events. How many places on earth would you find 60,000 adults doing the Hokie Pokey dance at half time of a football game? It’s really just a strange place here. Blacksburg is a magical place really and has a spirit that I have never witnessed anywhere else on earth. I don’t talk about what happened too often, but like to write about it from time to time. I think writing is an excellent outlet.

You can yell “Let’s Go” even on an abandoned street here and odds are someone in the distance will hear you and yell back “Hokies”. I lost a close friend (Ryan “Stack” Clark) that day and am still troubled by that. I sometimes daydream and imagine I’ll see him come walking around the corner at a familiar location. Pretty much everyone here was affected. I’m sure most of you have heard of the theory ‘six degrees of separation’. At Virginia Tech, we have only two degrees of separation.

Since the murders, I have spent a lot of time reading about the people I didn’t know. Some of them I didn’t know but recognized their faces from around campus. That makes me wish I had taken the time to make more friends. One of the victims was Ross Alameddine, who was an avid gamer himself and from what people have told me, a great all-around person. I didn’t know him personally, but do recognize him from around campus. He was well known in the ‘Company of Heroes’ community and loved video games. I thought I would share the article about him from the ‘We Remember’ book that was distributed here on campus.

Virginia Tech University Studies sophomore Ross Alameddine had recently declared a major in English and minors in French and business, fields that reflected his creativity and his computer knowledge.

He was the son of Lynnette Alameddine and Dr. Abdallah Alameddine and brother of Yvonne Alameddine. Ross, of Saugus, Mass., formerly of Melrose, Mass., attended St. Mary’s Grammar School in Melrose and was a 2005 graduate of Austin Preparatory School in Reading, Mass.

Ross loved computer games and played them competitively, especially “Company of Heroes.” He beta-tested some well-known games and even sold one of his online characters. Before coming to Virginia Tech, he worked as a home-computer repair specialist. “I’m sure all his customers loved him,” writes Professional Writing instructor Ed Weathers.

Ross loved rollerblading, whether it was between classes or on nice days. He adored movies and all music. He played piano and sang at the coffee house at Austin Preparatory. Ross’s fondness of language and voicing strong opinions manifested itself through active participation in the French and Debate clubs at Austin Prep.

The above defining characteristics only developed as Ross continued through college. English instructor Brent Stevens wrote, “Ross talked in every one of my classes. … He talked about his life, his emotions, his deep insights into the materials. He put himself out there in front of 35 people, most of whom he did not know, … helping us to understand what we were reading and viewing with his unique perspective. … Knowing Ross Alameddine sustains the belief that we all need so desperately right now: that there is good in this world.”

Ross always sought to make others laugh and enjoy life. “From our first few days together in class, I remember thinking, ‘Here’s a man who’s going to make his children laugh. Here is a man who deserves the title ‘beloved.’ Here’s a man who, just by being himself, makes you a better person,’“ wrote English instructor Robert Canter.

Ross’s American Literature classmate Komal Makhdoom wrote, “There’s no one else who made me laugh during class like [Ross] did or willingly drove downtown in the middle of the night to have profound religious discussions over some pizza. … I wish we could sit down again and try to finalize our definition of the meaning of life or discuss the differences between Massachusetts and Virginia-anything. … Thank you for being a part of my life. Thank you for leaving me such good memories. Thank you just for being you.”

Classmate Liz Hardwick remembers Ross’s many qualities: “His wit, humor, and insightfullness made him so much fun to be around, … but his caring for others was also always present.”

Another classmate, Emily Kirby, remembers Ross as a “true Hokie” and specifically recalls him saying that he could have gone to any small school in Massachusetts but decided on Virginia Tech.

For his final project in Professional Writing, Ross proposed to write a feasibility report for making and selling Virginia Tech products that, in Ross’s words, “have humor and parody in mind.” He wanted to sell the products because he wanted people associated with Virginia Tech to have souvenirs that made them laugh.