The dark night filled with hundreds of flickering flames Monday night as nearly 1,000 students gathered in the Humanities Plaza to celebrate the lives of four fraternity members who passed away this year.
The candlelight vigil was organized in memory of Kappa Sigma members Chris Dowdle , 21, and Crawford Smith, 22, who drowned Sept. 29 at Tims Ford Lake when they were shocked unconscious by electrical wiring on a dock.
The ceremony also honored Taylor Rison, 19, of Phi Sigma Kappa who died Aug. 6 after suffering a heart attack, and Anthony Corlew, 21, the president of Phi Kappa Tau, who died Aug. 23 from kidney failure resulting from diabetes.
Brooks Moore, fraternity affairs adviser, thanked the crowd of students, family and friends for coming together in unity is what he called a grievous time.
We need to be guiding lights for each other, Moore said. That is where we draw our strength.
The reflection was given by John Stone, leader of the Bible study at the Kappa Sig House and the director of Reformed University Fellowship.
After reading Biblical selections, Stone told students to find comfort in their creed and each other.
Remember with tears and joy the lives of Chris, Crawford, Taylor and Anthony, Stone said. It is exactly what God would have wanted.
Members of the three fraternities stepped forward to share memories of the four lost brothers.
Rison, who was remembered by his pledge class, was described as being there when you needed him, always.
John Morris, a member of Phi Kappa Tau, said Corlew had the biggest heart of anyone he knew and he kept the best relationships with all of his friends. Morris expressed the fraternity’s feeling in three words.
We loved him, Morris said.
Dowdle and Crawford were remembered for their laughter and their deep involvement on campus.
I’ve never met two people who could have such an impact on a room, said Ryan Benefield, a Kappa Sig member.
Following the testimonials and a prayer, candles were lit as the Alpha Omicron Pi Women’s Choir sang Amazing Grace in the background.
It took something like this to make us realize what we meant to each other, Benefield said.
