University of South Carolina: FOREVER TO THEE

Memorial service at Koger Center The USC Concert Choir and USC Wind Ensemble perform the University's alma mater, "We Hail Thee Carolina."

November 7, 2007

University celebrates students' lives

Seven college students who perished in a house fire at Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., were remembered and celebrated during an emotional service at the University of South Carolina's Koger Center Wednesday (Nov. 7).

The USC Concert Choir and USC Wind Ensemble close out Wednesday's service by performing the university alma mater. Images of the six Carolina students who perished in the house fire are projected in the background.Carolina students Justin Anderson, Travis Cale, Lauren Mahon, Cassidy Pendley, William Rhea and Allison Walden, along with Clemson University student Emily Yelton, were remembered for their youth, achievements, friendships, laughter, energy and dreams, and the families, friends and university community were reminded of the fragility of life.

Officials from Clemson and Columbia Mayor Bob Coble, as well as faculty, staff and student representatives from throughout the university community, attended the service.

The Rev. Dr. Brad Smith, in delivering the memorial message, referred to Pope John Paul II's 1987 visit to Columbia, when the pontiff proclaimed, "It is good to be young. It is good to be young and to be a student. It is good to be young and to be a student at the University of South Carolina."

Smith, the founder and executive director of the Souper Bowl of Caring, said, "That quotation is as true today as it was then. Only today, we gather acutely aware of the fragility of life."

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said the deaths beg the questions, "What does it all mean, and where do we go from here?"

And while there are no clear answers, Sanford said, everyone must go on living and making a commitment to living a life of passion.

"We honor their passion by caring," Sanford said. Paraphrasing a biblical verse from Revelation, he urged everyone to "Be hot. Be cold. But don't be lukewarm."

The governor ended his remarks by using the lyrics from the hit song, "Live Like You Were Dying," by country singer Tim McGraw: "Some day, I hope you get the chance to live like you were dyin.' "

The Carolina and Clemson students had lived long enough "to fully embrace this thing called life and to live as though they were dying. Honor their lives with lives that do the same," he said.

Carolina will be enriched by having been touched by the students who died, university president Andrew Sorensen said.

"We shall never forget the vitality they brought to our campus, to our Gamecock family, or the positive influence they had on the lives of countless friends," he said. "We shall carry with us their joyful pursuit of new experiences, unprecedented growth and new beginnings."

"We live in a world shaped in part by these spirited young people," he said. "We must live up to the expectations they had for their fellow students, their faculty and all who are part of the University of South Carolina."

The memorial service, attended by approximately 1,500 people, ended with a video tribute to the students. The video, set to Phil Collins' hopeful, poignant "You'll Be in My Heart," was interspersed with photos of the students and images of life at Carolina, from football games to classes and activities on the university's historic Horseshoe.

The tribute echoed the sentiments of the song:

" ... you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart, always."

University celebrates students' lives

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