By ELIZABETH ZANGHI
Fordham students and faculty joined together Friday evening in Rose Hill’s Our Lady’s Chapel to pray for the victims of the elementary school shooting that happened earlier in the day in Newtown, Conn.
The shooting, which happened at the Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday morning, resulted in the deaths of 28 people — 20 of them children between the ages of five and ten. The shooting was the nation’s second deadliest school shooting, trailing only the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech (in which 32 people were killed, and then the gunman), according to The New York Times.
“Words like horror and tragedy almost lose their meaning in the face of such loss,” Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University, said in a statement Friday afternoon. “The pain and sorrow of the victims’ families is unimaginable, and must be nearly unendurable.”
“Heartbreaking” and “tragic” were just a few of the words used to describe the shootings by Erin Hoffman, assistant director of Campus Ministry for Spiritual Programs. Hoffman, along with Conor O’Kane, associate director of Campus Ministry at Rose Hill and director of Interfaith Programs, put together the service Friday night. It consisted of prayers, songs and readings from both the Bible and the Qur’an.
“Whenever you have tragedy there is a very human need to come together,” O’Kane said when asked why he and Hoffman decided to hold a prayer service.
“It was evident in our conversations with students and even in the Facebook buzz that our community was heartbroken,” Hoffman said. “We wanted to bring everyone together, and we didn’t want to wait.”
James Florakis, FCRH ’15, agreed that there was a need to come together.
“It was a great meditation service, especially because it helped put things into perspective,” he said. “We are all stressed about finals, but we are just lucky to be here.”
Nicholas Sawicki, FCRH ’16, said that the service was, “very centering, especially drawing on a wide variety of faith backgrounds, emphasizing the unity that we all share, especially in times of great loss.”
Hoffman and O’Kane both felt that the service would be a positive way for students and faculty to reflect on the tragedy, but agreed that there is a tendency for tragedies like this one to spark more adverse reactions.
“Now is the time for love, prayer and support for the families affected,” Hoffman said. “That should be our primary focus. It’s part of our human nature to feel anger. It’s a choice we have to make.”
O’Kane suggests that students find a partner to converse with (such as an RA, RD or campus minister) if students feel that they are having trouble reacting to the shootings.
“If you’re struggling, know that you’re not alone,” he said.
“Set political agendas aside,” Sawicki said. “In the end, it comes down to passion and love.”
In order to show this passion, Florakis mentioned an initiative from dosomething.org whereby it is possible to send text messages to the families of Sandy Hook Elementary school. Anyone can send HOPE to 38383 with a message or prayer that will be delivered to the families on Monday.
The Dec. 14 service was about showing support for those affected by the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
“As a Catholic Jesuit school, we respond with prayer and turn our thoughts to peace,” Rev. Philip A. Florio, S.J., said. “That’s who we are.”
Additional reporting by Connor Ryan.
