During the past few weeks, someone in particular has grabbed my attention. I didn’t know, him and I hadn’t ever heard of him until two weeks ago. Truthfully, I wish I never had heard of him. If his name and picture hadn’t dominated local headlines, he would still be alive.

Student deaths do not occur often, but when they do, we easily forget about it shortly after.

While attending Syracuse University the past three years, I’ve received e-mails notifying me about the unfortunate and untimely deaths of students. It’s not a subject I would like to talk about, but it’s a subject that often gets overlooked just a couple of days after it happens. I like to keep my relatively small corner of the newspaper lighthearted, but today, this is an issue I can’t just simply sit back and observe.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s really nothing we as a student community can do about the sudden death of a fellow classmate. Unfortunate events occur every day, and there’s only so much human beings are capable of doing to prevent horrific tragedies from happening. Yet, we easily and quickly forget about our fellow colleagues when their time with us has abruptly been stripped away.

As you are reading this, sit back and think about the names of those students who have passed away since you have been attending this university, or perhaps even think back to your high school years and the fellow students lost then. Drawing a blank? I did too.

If you go to the search engine on the Syracuse University Web site and type particular phrases such as ‘Syracuse University student obituaries,’ ‘Syracuse University student deaths’ or ‘recent Syracuse student deaths,’ you will not be able to locate any of those deceased other than the most recent one.

There must be a more efficient and structured way the university can keep these names fresh in our minds. We could hold something, such as a moment of silence before a game, or possibly dedicate a day in memory of our fallen peers.

‘Our first goal is to come together and give resources for the individuals, faculty and staff, who knew the student who was lost,’ said Kevin Quinn, vice president of Public Affairs. ‘It depends on a case-by-case basis; typically the flags on the quad are lowered at half staff.’

I’m sure the university takes proper measures to ensure the student is remembered, and my objective here is not to criticize them. The problem is only a select few keep the name of the student in their minds.

‘There was a cardboard poster in Maxwell for a [lost] student. Other than that, the only thing I’ve noticed is the Pan Am Memorial in front of the Hall of Languages,’ said Spencer Bailey, a freshman information studies major. Bailey said he didn’t even know the name of the recently deceased student until one of his friends told him.

Student deaths have happened every year I have been here and regrettably, precedent hints it will happen again. The sad prospect is that we may not remember them, let alone acknowledge their death in between our busy schedules and heavy workloads.

It is unfortunate we do not recall any of our departed classmates, including the student who just passed away two weekends ago. If you don’t know the name of the student I’m referring to, you just proved my point.

And what a sad point it is.

Al Ortiz is a senior writing major. His columns appear weekly. He can be reached at asortiz@syr.edu.

Published on February 11, 2008 at 12:00 pm