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The Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF community memorialized students, faculty, staff and community members who have died over the past two years at its annual Service of Commemoration on Tuesday.

The prerecorded ceremony in Hendricks Chapel, honored over 150 members of the SU and ESF community who have died since January 2019. Chancellor Kent Syverud, Hendricks Chapel Dean Brian Konkol and ESF President Joanie Mahoney were among the speakers at the event.

“We know that every member of our Orange Family has experienced some kind of loss this year,” Syverud said. “Those we remember today are people who built relationships working, learning and discovering together.”

This is the fifth annual Service of Commemoration, though last year’s ceremony was canceled due to the pandemic.

Student Association Vice President Ryan Golden lit a candle to commemorate the 15 SU students who have died over the past two years, while SA President Justine Hastings read their names aloud.

Marcelle Haddix, professor and chair of the Reading and Language Arts department, lit a candle for each SU community member who has died. Syverud read their names.

Several SU chaplains also shared remarks and prayers at the ceremony.

“As we remember our days and our loved ones, may we take time to mourn, grieve and reflect, then look with hope,” said Devon Bartholomew, the Baptist chaplain.

The Hendricks Chapel Choir performed “Hear My Prayer” while spread socially distanced across the chapel with masks.

Service of Commemoration 2021 Program by The Daily Orange on Scribd

SU’s two Lockerbie Scholars, MaryAnn McVey and Aidan Kevans, both spoke to the connection that the SU and Lockerbie community has formed since the Pan Am 103 bombing 32 years ago. The two communities, united by loss, have come together to look back and act forward, they said.

Mahoney read the names of the SUNY-ESF students and community members who died. Lexi Chipules, ESF’s Undergraduate Student Association president, lit a commemorative candle.

Several of the speakers, including Konkol and Syverud, spoke to the loss that the campus community and the world as a whole has experienced amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“We have all endured a global pandemic that has ended the lives of more than 500,000 people in the United States alone,” Syverud said.

The ceremony concluded with SU sophomore Louis Smith laying a commemorative wreath outside the chapel.

Konkol thanked the community for supporting one another amid the pandemic and through all the loss the community has experienced this past year.

“Thank you for showing up for each other. Thank you for supporting each other,” Konkol said. “Thank you for reminding us that the clouds will clear and that the sun will rise.”

Published on March 16, 2021 at 10:57 pm

Contact Mira: mlberenb@syr.edu