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Alyssa Grzesiowski sat in seat 29D, just a few seats away from Matthew Sala. Grzesiowski, who represents Louise Ann “Luann” Rogers, said that she felt especially connected to Sala, who represents Turhan Ergin. She said that she and Sala have been friends since freshman year, and she knows Rogers and Ergin were friends as well.

“I was just thinking about what they must have felt in that moment, being so close to each other,” Grzesiowski said. “In the midst of such a tragedy, (Rogers and Ergin) had each other so close, and we had each other so close.”

Syracuse University Remembrance Scholars took their seats on the Quad at noon for 35 minutes, honoring the 35 students killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Although the students remained silent during the ceremony, many cried and hugged one another as the 35 minutes concluded. 

Maya Goosmann | Digital Design Director

This year marks the 33rd anniversary since the terrorist attack of Pan Am Flight 103 killed 35 students returning from studying abroad, along with 224 other passengers and crew on board. Since Dec. 21, 1988, SU has honored the victims every year by presenting the Remembrance Scholarship to 35 seniors.

Along with the 35 Remembrance Scholars, two students from Lockerbie Academy receive scholarships to attend SU for one year. They represent the 11 people killed on the ground in Lockerbie, as well as Andrew McClune, a Lockerbie Scholar who died while at SU in 2002. This year, Lauren Carruthers and Alicia Pagan joined the 35 Remembrance Students on the Quad.

The lives of all those killed as well as the student scholars are honored through Remembrance Week, which is taking place from Sunday, Oct. 17 through Saturday, Oct. 23 this year. During the “Sitting in Solidarity” ceremony, the Remembrance Scholars sat in chairs representing where the victims’ seats were on the plane. 

Despite a drizzle on the Quad, once the bells chimed at noon, the 35 students took their seats. The scholars, each with a white rose in their laps, sat in silence for 35 minutes, reflecting on the lives of each person killed in the terrorist attack. Several scholars stayed in their respective chairs for longer than 35 minutes.

Sala said he felt like the 35 minutes went by quickly. He said that he felt connected to his peers on the Quad, even through the silence.

“Even though it was the only time we’ve all gathered together and not spoken with each other, I felt the most connected to my cohort of scholars that I’ve ever felt,” Sala said.

Emily Steinberger | Editor-In-Chief

The ceremony on the Quad was very impactful for other SU students who stopped, observed and learned more about the tragedy, Sala and Grzesiowski said.

“You’re able to just walk by or during class, see the display, read the sign and learn about (the tragedy). I think it is a very impactful visual representation for students,” Grzesiowski said.

Sala said that the goal of Remembrance Week is to allow for the lives of the 35 students to never be forgotten. That is the sole goal of “Sitting in Solidarity,” he said.

“If students saw us on the Quad and learned about Remembrance, learned about the tragedy and took a moment to appreciate just how deeply we still care and still think about this event … then this will all have been a successful mission,” Sala said.

Justin Mitchell, who represents Anne Lindsey Otenasek, said that even though there was some distance between his chair and the other scholars’ seats, he felt the presence of his friends and peers at all times. 

“I didn’t have to look to know that my friends were right beside me. For a while there, I was thinking that this must’ve been how Anne Lindsey felt when she was on that plane,” Mitchell said. “We weren’t all close by, but we were together. And that was all they needed and we needed.”

Published on October 18, 2021 at 10:46 pm

Contact Karoline: kaleonar@syr.edu