Classes resume later Monday at Virginia Tech university, one week after 32 people were killed on campus in the shooting rampage of a gunman who also killed himself.
University officials have given students the option of not returning to class for the remainder of the semester and having their grade based on their work up to the attack.
President Bush, in his weekly radio address Saturday, said the tragedy saddened the entire nation. Because of the attack, he passed up the opportunity to tell jokes at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner late Saturday.
Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine appointed an independent panel to investigate the circumstances of the shooting. Mr. Bush has asked several government departments for recommendations on how to avoid similar tragedies.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
