Crouse College’s bell rang 35 times Monday afternoon. Each ring represented one of the 35 students in Syracuse University’s abroad program that died on Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

As the 2022-23 cohort of Remembrance Scholars sat in silence during the “Sitting in Solidarity” event, the bells continued their ringing. At 2:03 p.m., the time the aircraft was bombed, the scholars stood up. Those attending, either as a scholar or an observer, said the silence provided time to reflect on the bombing and its’ victims.

Each of the scholars sat in chairs corresponding with the seat numbers of their respective victim on the flight 34 years prior. Louis Smith, one of this year’s Remembrance Scholars, said the event gave him the opportunity to feel connected to the victims of Pan Am Flight 103.

“Simply sitting here in the public eye in a very vulnerable and emotional setting is telling people that these were real humans with real dreams and aspirations,” Smith said.

Estheralice Lopez, who was studying abroad as a Remembrance Scholar last year, also attended the event. She said having another opportunity to attend the event helped to give her a more grounded perspective on the experiences of Pan Am Flight 103’s victims.

“What if it was these 35 students (in front of me) who had perished?” Lopez said. “How much grief would I personally be experiencing? Think how many people out there who were connected to these 35 students (and) how heavily impacted they were.”

Josh Spodek, an SU sophomore majoring in social studies education and history, said he attended the event to support some of the Remembrance Scholars he knew personally.

“I think it’s really remarkable what these students have done here,” Spodek said. “They’ve made a living monument almost to pay homage to those we lost on Pan Am Flight 103.”

Throughout the silence, attendees could read a plaque placed in front of the seated scholars. The plaque listed the names of the 35 students who died on the flight.

Over 30 years after the attack, Spodek said that the scholars’ participation at the event built upon the culture of remembrance that the university has established since the 1988 attack.

“It shows the innocence of what all those passengers went onto that plane thinking on that day,” Spodek said. “It’s transformative to see that, and it’s sometimes hard to see events in the past as a present thing. I really think this embodies that aspect of Remembrance Week.”

Heather Ryerson, SU’s Remembrance and Lockerbie Administrator, said “Sitting in Solidarity” gives Remembrance Scholars a concrete opportunity to connect with the 35 students they represent as they work to educate the university community about the attack.

“This event in particular is an effective way to communicate about Pan Am Flight 103 because it takes the ‘35’ number and gives it more reality,” Ryerson wrote in an email to The Daily Orange. “That connection then aids the scholars as they continue to educate the campus community beyond Remembrance Week.”

Remembrance Week events will continue through Friday, when the week is set to conclude with a rose-laying ceremony and a convocation for the year’s Remembrance Scholars.

Spodek said he feels proud of the current Remembrance Scholars’ efforts to educate the campus community about the bombing. As the week continues, Spodek said he hopes other SU students will take advantage of the opportunities available during Remembrance Week.

“This is a part of who we are as a school,” he said. “I think it’s very important for all of our student body to be informed about what Remembrance Week is recalling, what the significance of it is, and how we can learn from it and pave forward.”

Published on October 17, 2022 at 11:51 pm

Contact Dominic: dcchiapp@syr.edu | @DominicChiappo2