The University held a campus memorial service Thursday to commemorate the nine students who passed away in the last year, hosting a banquet for the friends and family of the students in the Illini Union, as well as a public campus memorial at the Anniversary Plaza outside the building.

“(The memorial is) a really good celebration of life,” said Vindhya Kalipi, vice president of the Illinois Student Government and junior in LAS. “It’s a really nice way for the community to come together and remember those we have lost.”

The University started holding campus memorials in 2019 as a result of discussions with other schools.
“As we engaged in other Big Ten offices like ours, and we were hearing about the events they had, we decided that it was time for us to join in and do something similar,” said Ann Marie Morgan, assistant dean of students.

An hour-long private banquet event was held only for the families of the students who passed away.
“It’s a way for the families to arrive on campus, to take a deep breath and to relax, as well as an opportunity for them to engage with some folks here at the University,” Morgan said.

After the banquet, there was a public campus memorial at the Anniversary Plaza outside the Illini Union. During this time, friends, faculty and family who knew a student as well as those who didn’t were able to honor the students who passed away.
The evening started off with a speech by Morgan, who talked about how the loss of those students affects the whole University community and how saddened the University was.

Then, the opening remarks were given by Bill Bernhard, University Provost and interim vice chancellor for academic affairs. He talked about college being a place where students go for a promise of great things to come, not a time for memorials and sadness.
After the opening remarks, Stephen Bryan, associate vice chancellor and dean of student support, began reading the names. He read the nine students’ names while the audience said “We remember them” after each name with a moment of silence.

The names were followed by a performance of the Illinois state song by the Varsity Men’s Glee Club, followed by the reading of an anonymous heartfelt poem.

Closing remarks were made by the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Danita Brown Young, who said the students who passed away will always be a part of the University.

“When one student passes away, it really affects the entire community. It’s a beautiful tribute and I am so glad that the University has started doing it,” Kalipi said.

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