By Joe Holley and Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, April 17, 2007 11:46 AM

Virginia Tech's idyllic campus, with its gray stone buildings and emerald-green lawns, was nearly deserted this morning, with many students already gone or leaving today. Unlike yesterday when there was light snow, today was a sunny morning with beautiful blue skies.

Signs around downtown Blacksburg, also nearly deserted, referenced the shooting: "The Hokey-Nation Mourns." Signs on most campus buildings said, "Closed Due to Tragedy."

At Squires Student Center, school officials stretched a black banner between two columns. It read, "4.16.07."

People who were still in Blacksburg focused on one thing: the list.

"Personally I'm just waiting," said Steve Hardy, a facility manager at McCombs, one of the campus gyms, where a trickle of students had dropped by to work out. "This is a pretty tight-knit campus, whether you know someone or if it's just someone you see walking around everyday."

Jerry Colyer, a recreation supervisor at the gym, which usually gets about 2,000 students a day, also was waiting to see the names of victims. "I have a lot of engineers come in here, and some of them I haven't heard from," he said.

At Harper Hall, the campus dormitory where police said the shooter lived, students still were rattled.

Timothy Johnson, a freshman from Annandale, said he recognized Cho and occasionally greeted him in the hallway. "We were all just shocked," Johnson said.

Tom Duscheid, a management student from Pittsburgh, said he did not know the shooter. "I feel very fortunate," he said. "What if he went into here [with a gun]?"

A number of social service groups in the area were setting up counseling for students, residents and faculty. A student group propped up a sign in front of a building that read, "Prayer and Counseling." National social service groups were sending in counselors to help with the expected crush of students and university officials who may seek help.

Chreston Miller, a 23-year-old computer science graduate student from Fredericksburg, who lives at the house of the student Christian fellowship group Ki Alpha, said he wasn't yet sure what God's purpose was in the shooting. "Obviously this isn't something God wanted, but maybe some good can come from it. I can't tell yet what impact this will have," he said.

Lance Shields, 21, junior from Powhatan, Va., agreed, saying God will "make good out of the worst circumstances."

Susan Levine and Ian Shapira contributed to this report.