Show of Support

Sue Cotch of Aurora places six roses on a memorial Tuesday afternoon at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Cotch said she felt the need to visit the campus and pay her respects to the victims of Thursday’s shootings. “This has gotten so close to home,” Cotch said. Chronicle photo KATE WEBER

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R.J. Gravel first heard about the shootings at Northern Illinois University shortly after they happened from members of St. Bede the Venerable, the Chicago church where he serves as director of liturgical music. The NIU alumnus and graduate student had left the campus about half an hour before. “My first thought was, ‘No, you're wrong. You must be mistaken,'” Gravel recalled. “I played the alma mater for every one of my Masses that Saturday and Sunday.” Sunday afternoon, Gravel sat down at a piano and in about two hours had composed a song, “We Stand Together for We Are NIU,” which incorporated the school's alma mater with original lyrics.

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'We stand together for we are NIU' by Raoul J. Gravel, III

The lyrics include: “We stand together as a family/Our spirits united/Building courage, together we can feel our strength, and our bond of love/For we are NIU.” He has submitted the simple piece to three Chicago music publishers in hopes of having the sheet music published for sale, he said. Proceeds from the sales will be donated to the newly created February 14 Student Scholarship Fund at NIU. The song is just one small way the larger NIU and DeKalb communities have shown their support to the university and to those affected by last week's tragedy. Thursday's shooting in Cole Hall left five students and gunman Steven Kazmierczak dead and another 16 people injured. Police have not yet determined a motive for the rampage. As staff and instructors headed back to NIU on Tuesday to learn how to help students cope with the tragedy, the community continued to find ways big and small to provide some comfort or assistance to those affected by Thursday's shootings. “It's really a forward-looking fund,” Mike Malone, vice president of university advancement and development at NIU, said of the February 14 Student Scholarship Fund. “It will keep the names and memories of the victims alive through scholarships for their fellow Huskies.” The scholarship fund was set up partially on the advice of administrators at Virginia Tech, Malone said, who told NIU administrators to establish a specific purpose for donations from alumni and the community. The fund will be administered by the NIU scholarship committee, which will determine eligibility criteria, Malone said. He estimated that the first scholarships could be available as soon as this fall. “We know people want to get connected because they're a part of the NIU community,” Malone said. “People want to be with that community and help at this time.” Other organizations in the DeKalb area are finding ways to help as well. The DeKalb and Sycamore chambers of commerce have created a fund to establish some kind of memorial to the victims. DeKalb Chamber Executive Director Chuck Siebrasse said Monday it's “too preliminary” to say what the memorial will be. Besides taking cash and check donations, the memorial fund will accept contributions made with credit cards and through PayPal, which has donated two months of service with no processing fees, Siebrasse said. Pastor Brad Reardon of the Evangelical Free Church of Sycamore-DeKalb said members of his church are trying to do whatever they can to help. They're focusing on getting care packages and notes of encouragement together for those working with students, Reardon said during a phone interview Tuesday. “They're really anything people want to put together; some kinds of refreshments and a note saying we care about them,” he said. “(These are intended for) NIU employees, first responders like law enforcement, the fire department, the hospital. They're not really for mass distribution to students as much as people really trying to help care for the students.” And in the DeKalb School District, teachers and administrators plan to contribute to the chamber fund, district spokesman Russ Fletcher said Tuesday. Clinton Rosette Middle School is having an NIU Spirit Day on Friday, Fletcher said, and Principal Craig Bowers and his wife have pledged to donate 25 cents to the fund for every student who arrives at school wearing red and black. In addition, district students, staff and parents will spend Friday afternoon making about 30,000 red and black ribbons for the community and putting memorial stickers on 32,000 cookies for NIU students returning to class Monday, he said. “(The ribbons) will be distributed everywhere,” Fletcher said. “They'll be at businesses, at the Convocation Center (memorial service) Sunday night, at the dormitories, in all the local schools and churches. Just everywhere.” Fletcher also expected some district students to write welcome-back letters this week to students returning to the university. Reporter Dana Herra can be reached at dherra@daily-chronicle.com.

How to donate Northern Illinois University February 14 Student Scholarship Fund •Call 877-GIV2NIU (877-448-2648) •Visit http://www.niufoundation.org/give

DeKalb/Sycamore Community Memorial Fund •Mail tax-deductible donations to: DeKalb/Sycamore Community Memorial Fund, DeKalb County Community Foundation, 2600 DeKalb Ave., Sycamore, IL 60178. •Visit http://www.dekalb.org