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This year – the 35th anniversary of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing – is the first time Remembrance Scholars at Syracuse University were randomly paired with the victims they represent.

The change came along with the program no longer including Jason and Eric Coker, two students who died in the bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. Last year, a Remembrance Scholar found antisemitic materials in the Coker’s messages to their family. With their removal, the Remembrance program now includes a representative for the flight’s crew as well as the other passengers outside of the 35 connected to SU.

Many of this year’s Remembrance Scholars said the change in the selection process has pushed them to discover connections between themselves and the victims they represent that they otherwise may not have seen. While the week has proved to be emotionally challenging as scholars reflect on the terrorist attack, they said the experience will stay with them forever.

Hannah Starorypinski, a political science major, said she related to the familial aspect of representing her victim, Wendy Anne Lincoln, after her grandmother recently passed away. She said that after mourning her grandmother all summer, having the chance to remember someone entirely new and learn about their life was very special for herself and her family.

Starorypinski also said the randomized process pushed her to find connections with Lincoln, especially because both studied abroad in London.

“It’s more special to pick someone random and still find connections with them rather than put a preference for someone,” Starorypinski said. “I find it really meaningful to find my connections with Wendy.”

Grant Maxheimer, an international relations and citizenship and civic engagement major, said that while he and the victim he’s representing, Turhan Michael Ergin, had different academic paths, he found ways to connect with him through their shared love of sports. Throughout Maxheimer’s time reading through Ergin’s archives, he said he’s noticed other similarities between them, despite the randomized selection process this year – like how both he and Ergin have dimples on their right cheeks.

“His funeral song is my mom’s favorite song, and his mom’s name is my grandma’s name. It’s just been like a bunch of random things like that that’s been cool to kind of see when going through the archives,” Maxheimer said.

Mary Schieman, an environmental engineering major, said although the process was random, she is representing the only Pan Am 103 victim from Ohio, where she is also from. The SU student she represents, Peter Peirce, was attending SU to obtain one of his many master’s degrees, she said.
Schieman said the changes to the program this year of having two students represent the other victims and the flight crew were a positive expansion that allows for the inclusion of all victims, which helps family members of every victim feel more represented.

Schieman said she’s looking forward to seeing how the lives of the flight crew and other passengers will be represented in upcoming events this week. Kalmar said he’s seen openness to evolving and adapting the program from staff as they work on the events.

By spending time in the archives and participating in the week’s events, Starorypinski said she and other scholars have shared a sensation of grieving people they never met in identifying these connections with them.

“This entire process has really personalized the tragedy, and I often find myself thinking, ‘What would have happened if, while I was a junior or a senior now, if 35 students died who were abroad?’ I know lots of students that are abroad, almost all of my friends went abroad,” Starorypinksi said.

Starorypinski also emphasized the importance of remembering victims to keep their memories present and to reflect on their lives, especially when it is easy to disconnect from something that happened a long time ago.

Before Emily Shuman, a senior studying health and family science, became a Remembrance Scholar, she had already spent time in the archives learning about the disaster. Now part of the program, she works with archivists to get their firsthand perspectives rather than her historical perspective informed by the archives.

Shuman said interacting with the Special Collections Resource Center on Bird Library’s sixth floor is a way for SU students to educate themselves about the bombing’s effects on the school. This year, SU Libraries is hosting the “Pursuit of Justice” exhibit, which emphasizes the justice that was sought through both the legal system and by supporting victims’ families.

“It’s really important that we begin to start telling people what it is and showing people what the archives are and how they can get involved in remembering these people, especially since it’s the 35th anniversary this year,” Shuman said.

Kyle Kalmar, an architecture student, said the archives have provided a unique learning experience for the scholars that contrasts typical digital education tools.

“As students of the 21st century, we don’t necessarily have that opportunity all the time to really look at first hand sources,” Kalmar said. “That in itself, I think, has been a really moving element.”

Motolani Oladitan said getting the greater SU community involved with Remembrance was an important part of why she joined. After seeing some of her friends participate in the Remembrance cohort in past years, she saw the connections they developed with one another and the students they represented.

“I thought that by being a Remembrance Scholar, not only would I be able to learn more about the tragedy and how I can keep the memories alive, I would also be able to contribute to the wider Syracuse community as well, which is something that was really important to me,” Oladitan said.

Scholars also emphasized engagement through including the community into this week’s events. Monday’s Remembrance Stone Painting was another opportunity for the scholars to spend time with members of the surrounding community. Scholars were joined by students and other community members whose painted stones will be placed on top of the Wall of Remembrance during Friday’s Rose-Laying Ceremony.

Daniela Dorado, an advertising major originally from Colombia, said the Stone Painting was a more lighthearted method of commemoration.

“You’re so happy to be doing that and … shining a light onto what happened, but at the same time, it’s a very heavy subject,” Dorado said.

In contrast, the Candlelight Vigil on Sunday was a heavier time for the scholars. Schieman said the vigil was “eye-opening,” as it commemorated the victims of the bombing including those beyond SU.

Later this week, the Remembrance Scholars will participate in a volunteer event with the organization Rise Above the Streets. Scholars will make sandwiches for people experiencing homelessness in Syracuse as part of this cohort’s efforts to incorporate community engagement, Maxheimer said.

As a first-generation college student, Maxheimer said his family enjoys hearing about the Remembrance Week events and plans to attend the Rose-Laying Ceremony later this week.
Maxheimer also said he felt a family connection while studying Ergin’s archives because there was so much material donated by Ergin’s family. He said he feels grateful for the amount of archival material about Ergin, which includes records from kindergarten and letters of sympathy from after he died.

“I can imagine my mom kind of putting together a book like that when I was born with all of my awards and things, and then I can imagine Turhan’s mom doing that and then having to turn that over eventually to an archive when her son passes away, which is, I’m sure, really difficult for them,” Maxheimer said.

Dorado said she felt more of a connection to the attack itself because of previous acts of terrorism in her home country of Colombia. Hearing stories from her parents about such acts drew her to participate in the program, she said. Dorado is representing Mark Tobin, who was a Fordham University student studying communications in London with SU Abroad.

“When I heard about the Pan Am flight, I felt like I could actually do something for the scholars that passed away and something for the people that are still being hurt by these things, or by that event, and therefore possibly also help my family go through their pain,” Dorado said.

Dorado said although she understands why the alteration of representation had to happen this year, she sympathizes with the memory of every victim.

“It hurts me so much to think that they’re not gonna get represented this year, because they are part of the SU community, but I definitely understand why,” Dorado said.

Looking ahead to life after the end of Remembrance Week, Dorado said she’ll always be “touched” by what it means to be a Remembrance Scholar.

“I’m always going to have a community that nobody except for us is going to understand, like diving so deep into what life was like for a person and what such a tragedy does for you,” she said.

Kalmar said the program has not only impacted the community at SU but has set an example for the rest of the world. The program is looked at by many international organizations and institutions and shows them what it means to “really reflect” on a tragic event like this, he said.

“We’re all very imaginative people and we all have kind of strong positions, but there’s been a lot of delegation, a lot of really productive conversation and willingness to hear each other and think about the actions that we’re taking and the responsibility that we share in this year as scholars and will share years from now,” Kalmar said.

Published on October 18, 2023 at 2:12 am

Contact Stephanie: spwright@syr.edu