"There's So Much That's Happened Since Then"

Many people forget that before Columbine, before Virginia Tech, there was Gang Lu.

There was Iowa.

Iowa physics graduate Gang Lu was upset that he didn't receive a prestigious academic award - an award that went to fellow student Linhua Shan.

Lu wrote 5 letters - four in English, one in Chinese - that he hoped would be distributed to news organizations. It is reported that in the letters, Lu lays out his reasons for his planned actions. The letters have never been made public.

On November 1, 1991, Lu went on a shooting rampage on the campus of the University of Iowa. When he was done five people were dead.

He killed Christoph K. Goertz, his academic advisor, and Robert Alan Smith, an assistant professor of physics. He killed Dwight R. Nicholson, the chairman of the department, and Anne Cleary, the assistant vice president of academic affairs.

And he killed Linhua Shan, the one who won the award he coveted. He also shot a woman named Miya Rodolfo-Sioson in the mouth, the bullet piercing her spinal column.

Then Gang Lu - six victims too late - turned the gun on himself and committed suicide.

Miya Rodolfo-Sioson survived the attack, her injuries leaving her a quadriplegic. She had only been a temporary worker in Dr. Cleary's office, and in no way was linked to Gang Lu. But instead of being bitter, Miya Rodolfo-Sioson embraced her new life as a person with a disability. Tiring of the cold winters, she eventually moved to Berkeley, California and became an upbeat, positive and committed activist for the cause of disability.

Miya Rodolfo-Sioson died yesterday at the age of 40 from breast cancer, at Alameda County Medical Center in Oakland, California.

"We've had a little bit of time to think about it because she's been ill for so long, but we're mostly trying to remember her spirit and how she would want us to act at this time," her brother Roni Sioson said. "Through the grieving process, we kind of just think she's here with us."

She served on the Berkeley Commission on Disability, including a term as the chair. She is considered a disability champion in northern California. Her family issued a statement in light of the outpouring of sympathy and well-wishes following her death.

“The family appreciates all of the support they have received from their many friends from around the country and especially the members of the disabled community.”

She rarely talked of the shooting and, when asked, had been known to tell people that she had been injured in a car accident.

“Most people here don’t know about the shooting, so I don’t tell them,” she told The Gazette.

Besides, she wanted to move on.

“To me this event (the shooting) is like ancient history. There’s so much that’s happened since then.”

Miya, thank you. Rest in peace.