This afternoon, those students who have died in the past year were remembered in a memorial service at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center.

Family and friends joined members of the Penn State community to celebrate the lives of the 22 students who have passed away since April of 2006. The crowd of about 200 mourners cried as UPUPA president Jay Chamberlin read the name of each student; a bell chimed softly after each name on the list.

Lauren Mack, a Center for Ethics and Religious Affairs (CERA) fellow, spoke to the group about the tremendous sense of loss felt by the Penn State community. She encouraged families to hold on to every memory, both of joy and of sorrow.

Bob Smith, director of CERA, said when talking to the families, he was struck by the tremendous sense of loss and grief that they felt. He wanted to show the families that, although their son or daughter is no longer physically present, he or she will always be apart of the Penn State community.

“We just want to let their families know that we do care about their children,” he said.