I don’t remember how I heard the news. It was Feb. 10 and I didn’t have morning classes. It definitely wasn’t via Alert Carolina — at least maybe not until way later. I do remember sitting at my alcove desk in Hinton-James my first year when I heard.
I scoured countless local news articles reporting the deaths of Deah Barakat, Yusor and Razan Abu-Salha. Nothing made a lot of sense in the days following their deaths, and Chapel Hill never looked the same to me or to even those beyond the student population.
This will not be a column where I express the rage for the heinous crime committed against these three individuals. It’s not my place to do so. I can say how often I think of Razan who was the same age as I was freshman year when she lost her life. I wonder what wonderful things she would be gearing up to do post graduation.
I know how dangerous it is to project onto those you never knew, but from what I read about Razan, it’s clear she would have impacted even more lives than imaginable. Again, it is not my place to feel anger, but I do feel an incredible sadness for her absence on this earthly world.
National championships, basketball games and academic scandals have all brought UNC quite a bit of national attention during my four years as an undergraduate. Some positive, some negative, but we have been in the spotlight.
On the third anniversary of the tragic deaths of these brave, selfless young people, I would encourage others to remember not only their names but also what they stood so passionately for.
The Our Three Winners Foundation continues the legacy of Deah, Yusor and Razan through humanitarian efforts. One thing that struck me especially on the foundation’s website was how they “lived for something beyond themselves.”
It’s so easy to get caught up in what seems so important right now, especially as a senior, like getting to class on time, going to every senior-specific event and making all the right connections.
What’s really important is to follow in these individuals’ footsteps and live for something bigger than we are. Especially to those of us graduating, it’s all the more imperative that we use what we have been given here and spread light elsewhere.
