I agree with samhain.

I also think that if there was a student at VA Tech who was of the age (21 to legally carry in VA) and mindset (protect and defend only) to carry a gun, he or she would probably have already done so, quietly and discreetly, despite any campus rules.

My own father encouraged me to be equipped to protect myself in secret when I was in college, because it was better to break a few campus rules than wind up getting raped (this isn't meant to undermine the non-equipped tactics used to stay safe, of course). But I was pretty much alone in this mindset, I didn't know anyone who shared my interest in preparedness at all.

I currently don't carry a gun (but my hubby and I are looking into training courses), but I don't consider myself defenseless at all. As I've explained in earlier posts, I don't consider guns to be the be-all, end-all of personal defense, nor would I ever assume that those who carry a gun would be successful, or even willing, to deploy their weapon against an assailant.