Bells tolled at 2:03 p.m. Friday as Syracuse University remembered an event that shook the campus community 24 years ago.
35 students laid out roses in memory of the 35 SU victims who died in a terrorist bombing of Pan-Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. For the past week, events have been led by students chosen to represent the victims. SU senior Alice Fisher represents Jason Coker.
"I had a really strong connection with Jason, almost immediately," Fisher said, explaining how the 35 Remembrance Scholars read through letters, eulogies, and journal entries to get a sense of who the victims were.
Fisher said that the rose-laying ceremony was one of the most touching events of the week.
"There's always a really powerful moment when you're standing up there, listening to people talking about the victims, about real people who were our age, who had so much potential," she said.
Another two students, deemed "Lockerbie Scholars," are Scottish students chosen to attend SU on a full scholarship for their freshman year. They also spoke and laid roses in honor of the 11 Lockerbie residents killed by the wreckage of the plane.
SU wrapped up Remembrance Week with a convocation ceremony afterwards, in Hendricks Chapel.
"This was the deadliest terror attack that had occurred against the United States up until 9/11, so there's really a place for continued discussion of this," Fisher said.