Chapel Hill, the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University are suffering through some of the same emotions we felt last week — sadness, confusion and anger.
So many of the facts of Tuesday’s events are different than what happened here last Thursday and some are still unclear. What is clear is that yet again a college campus, a community and a family are reeling from a tragedy.
Just because an event happens off campus and may be unrelated to the school doesn’t mean that students can brush off these horrible acts. Cherished members of these institutions are gone and we can offer our sympathy and perhaps empathy.
We may study at different schools or come from different backgrounds, but we must all push back against acts of violence that tear people away and don’t give us the chance to experience their greatness. College should be a collection of the best we have to offer, and it is good to see some of those qualities shine through in an attempt to shut out the darker parts of humanity that have touched these campuses.
In the same way we may be fearful of violent reactionism that can seemingly strike anyone, we must embrace that concept of oneness and try to turn that into a positive. Everyone should speak out and come together because it could have been anyone. We must not forget, however, those who fell. We must celebrate them so they are not remembered as just anyone, but for all the qualities that made them who they were.
We cannot speak on everything happening in Chapel Hill — we do not presume to know how deep the pain is even after the events of last week in Columbia. But we feel compelled to comment, if only to say we stand united with all college students especially in times like these.
It is heartening to see the response coming from people who studied with those lost. As we said last week, we stand strong when we stand together.