Thousands fill Convo Center to grieve and remember
By Carrie Frillman - Daily Chronicle
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| Northern Illinois University sophomores Amy Haefneru and Eric Duffek embrace inside the university’s Convocation Center on Sunday evening before the start of a memorial service held in honor of five students who died after the shooting Feb. 14 in Cole Hall on the DeKalb campus. Chronicle photo ERIC SUMBERG |
Grieving is a process that should not be rushed. “You have to take it one day at a time, one step at a time,” DeKalb resident Gail Sitzes said Sunday in the lobby of Northern Illinois University’s Convocation Center following a memorial service held for those killed during the Feb. 14 shootings on campus.
Sitzes clutched two red roses enveloped by sprigs of baby’s breath and was about to visit the NIU campus to set them on memorial crosses for Ryanne Mace, 19, and Catalina Garcia, 20,two of the students who died in the attack. Sitzes attended the Sunday evening memorial service to pay tribute to the two women, whom she knew.
“It’s very moving to see the support here,” she said. “We should all be grateful that there are people and organizations out there to help us during this time.”
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Photo Gallery - NIU Memorial Service - Sunday
Students and supporters of the NIU community began lining up outside the Convocation Center around 4 p.m. for the 7 p.m. memorial service. The service came 10 days after a former NIU student walked into Cole Hall shortly after 3 p.m. Feb. 14 and opened fire, killing five students and injuring 16 others before taking his own life.
Besides Garcia and Mace, students Gayle Dubowski, 20, Julianna Gehant, 32, and Daniel Parmenter, 20, also died during the attack.
During the service, university staff and representatives from local, state and national governments offered words of encouragement to those trying to heal.
“I have never been more proud to be an NIU Huskie,” Judy Santacaterina, adviser for NIU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said emotionally. “We will continue to teach and learn. We will heal. We will prevail.”
A slide show of campus memorials, message boards and community vigils was accompanied by quiet piano music as people trickled in. NIU staff escorted families and friends of the victims to the first five rows of the arena floor. Each held a single long-stemmed rose — red or white — to remember loved ones.
Nearly every available seat in the auditorium was occupied, creating a sea of red-and-black NIU T-shirts and hoodies. Chatter filled the arena before the ceremony, but as soon as NIU President John Peters took the stage, the estimated 12,000 attendees fell silent.
In the days and weeks to come, NIU’s message to the world should be one of hope, Peters said.
“For all of those who seek healing, your presence here tonight wraps us in a warm embrace and reminds us that we are not alone,” he said. “We are not islands, but bridges — bridges to each other and bridges to the world.”
NIU students Erin Anderson, Jenny Coon and Sharon Knudson are among those in search of healing. The three roommates attended Sunday’s service to gain closure, they said.
“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Knudson, 20, said while in line outside the Convo Center. “I haven’t cried or anything so I’m hoping this brings it out. I know I need to.”
The friends found fourth-row seats in the auditorium and leaned on each other for support during the service. Anderson wiped tears from her eyes while listening to the song “In Remembrance” — one of three sung by NIU’s combined concert and chamber choirs.
“We are finally coming together as an NIU community — all of us, as a whole,” Anderson said before entering the arena. “We are finally saying goodbye.”
Students were not the only ones attending the service. Naperville resident Carol Vanhorne was drawn by a strong bond she feels to NIU. About half of the 250 employees at the Target store in DeKalb — where Vanhorne is a manager — are NIU students.
“We recruit a lot of students, and it’s hard to see them go through this,” she said. “Through six degrees of separation we all know people who are affected by this.”
Jennene Anthony, an NIU education student, is fulfilling her student teaching requirement in the DeKalb School District. Spending time off campus has allowed her to appreciate the overwhelming support the community has shown for NIU students.
“I see the bigger picture,” the 22-year-old said. “Whether it’s kids in the schools making ribbons, coloring or writing letters, there is so much support for us. It’s reassuring.”
Nationwide support was communicated in several speeches, including that of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt — who attended on behalf of President Bush — as well as those of U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
“If there are any who question the capacity of our people to love and the courage to face tragedy squarely, I say come to DeKalb, Illinois. Come to Northern Illinois University,” Durbin said. “This great university will rise from this sad moment to be ever stronger and even more committed to changing this world for the better.”
Durbin recognized the difficulty in coming to grips with a random act of violence.
“The death of a young person is indeed a heavy cross to bear,” he said. “Sadly, for now at least, we lack even a small comfort in understanding the death of these students.”
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., did not speak during the service but lingered afterward to give condolences to those who knew the victims.
He shook hands with survivors like Ryne Erikson, who sustained a head wound in the shooting and whose half-shaved head showed where he received stitches. Accompanied by family members, Erikson hung his head during portions of the service.
Sunday’s service concluded with an emotional singing of a slightly altered NIU alma mater in which attendees were asked to shine flashlights they had received upon entering the Convo Center. In the darkened arena, the tiny blue lights twinkled like stars throughout the crowd.
“Here we proudly lift our voices, thousands strong we sing your fame,” the crowd sang in unison. “Free, steadfast, devoted, true. We will always stand by you. Let our tears fall one by one and heal NIU.”
Reporter Carrie Frillman can be reached at cfrillman@daily-chronicle.com.
