Pray for Our Campus

Today the University of Texas was hit my tragedy. The epidemic of campus shootings came to Austin in the form of a shooter in the Perry-Castaneda Library (PCL). As of now, there are no reports of any deaths or injuries. The gunman shot himself on the top floor (6th floor). However, as far as we know there is a 2nd suspect "barricaded" in Calhoun (a building in the 6-pack). The last time our campus saw this was when a shooter with a sniper sat in the Tower in the 60s.
Right now, all I can think of is all my friends and sisters on campus. This morning I had Bible study and watched some of my sorority sisters leave early for their 8am class. Then, as I was studying for a French test I received texts from the University saying that there was an "armed suspect at the PCL." Silly me - I thought nothing of it because those texts are always just precautions. Then I start getting texts from people asking me where I am and if I'm safe!
Thank goodness everyone is safe! Austin PD and UTPD has campus on lockdown and SWAT is evacuating classrooms. Unfortunately, all the students in class have nooooo clue what's going on (one of my sorority sisters said her teacher wouldn't tell them what was happening! He said they could find out what's happening in 2 hours when class was over. He kept teaching when the campus-wide sirens went off! NOT SAFE!) But, from what I've heard from the people I've been talking to on campus, they have very little info of what's going on! Not that we know much more, the news we've been getting has been very vague. We hardly know anything! Was it a student? Is there a second suspect? If so, is he armed? What was the motive? So many questions, and along with that, so much hurt and fear!
It breaks my heart to know that there is so much hurt in this world that someone would do this! The stress on students today is so overwhelming. Students are so competitive today and we feel the need to get so much done and achieve so much. We feel like failures when we don't make certain grades or please certain people. Hopefully the mindset of campus can change from this! I hope we can be more encouraging to one another; look on each other as friends and loved ones as opposed to someone we have to compete with for a job or a grade! Let's make class a place where we can walk into not for competition or an A, but a place to find companionship!
I ask that you pray for our campus right now! Pray for everyone on campus right now. Pray that they remain safe and calm. Pray for the APD and UTPD that they continue to know how to handle the situation and remain safe. Pray for the gunman and his family. That his family has peace and comfort and that whatever his situation was - that it's in the Lord's hands. Pray for the campus as a whole. That we come together through this tragedy. That our attitude can change and we can be more united. Pray for President Powers - let him have strength in this hard time and let him know to lean on God through these difficulties. Just all around, send your prayers to Austin and UT! We could use it. Even those of us not directly involved are still involved. At every football game we here an advertisement with a voice-over by Walter Cronkite that ends with the words "We are Texas." To me that means, we are here for one another and things like this that happen involve all of us! We feel the heaviness of this situation whether or not we are on campus! Each and every one of us has someone on campus, in the library, at McCombs, etc to worry about! So please, pray for us and ask all your friends, family, and loved ones to pray for us!
It'll be interesting to see how this affects us as we go into the TX/OU game this weekend!
Sorry, I know this post was probably all over the place, but that's kind of how we feel today!
Love you to the moon and back!

The UT motto is: What happens here changes the world