[Tuck4Bama]

BATON ROUGE -- LSU Student Government President Cassie Alsfeld is a Metairie native, but the footprint of her family stretches across the city's metropolitan area.

From Uptown New Orleans to Algiers, Alsfeld's family was affected by Hurricane Katrina. So when the Virginia Tech shootings unfolded April 16, Alsfeld immediately felt a need to reach out to the Hokies' student body.
And Saturday's prime-time LSU-Virginia Tech matchup seemed like a perfect fit.

"They had a horrible tragedy, and sports seems to be the binding tie between two people," she said. "All we can try to do to help each other out, and I think that's what football tends to do."

The president of LSU's nearly 30,000 students pitched several memorial ideas -- a special tailgate for Virginia Tech students, a fundraiser for the school and a T-shirt tribute sale -- but LSU and Virginia Tech officials insisted on a smaller-scale event.

"I can respect that they just want to play the game," she said.
So the LSU student body responded with a gesture that's unique to south Louisiana.

About 25 students, along with a handful of football players and other volunteers, gathered to stitch a mural-like quilt, measuring nearly 9 feet tall with different fabric square patches that symbolize Louisiana culture -- a hot sauce bottle, a fleur-de-lis and a crawfish just to name a few.

At the center of the wall-hanging quilt is Virginia Tech's purple-and-orange "VT" logo along with the phrase "Stitch by stitch, LSU Tigers mend the Hokies' Hearts" and the names of the 32 victims.

Blanket statement: LSU students pay tribute to fallen Hokies